The Place Located in Bukit Pasoh on the second floor of a heritage building, I was keen to check out Clos Pasoh upon reading that it is helmed by Head Chef Louis Pacquelin, a protege of Alain Ducasse. The name Clos means a “walled vineyard” in French, while Pasoh is a reference to Bukit Pasoh. The interior of the restaurant is contemporary chic, with different zones from the Dining Room to the Terrace, Wine & Cheese Room and Chef’s Table.

Alas, I didn’t have that great a dining experience. Read on to find out why.

The Food It is not a fine-dining style at Clos Pasoh, with the menu is split into appetisers, starters, mains, sharing plates, sides and desserts. Expect French dishes done in a modern fashion. My meal started off with the complimentary bread.

For appetiser, I had the Rillettes (S$18), duck rillettes with foie gras and chargrilled sourdough.

For starter, the Bisque coco-homard (S$29) is essentially steamed lobster dumplings in coconut and lobster bisque. There are three dumplings here, and I do enjoy the sweet flavours of the lobster bisque and dumplings. Will recommend this if you are visiting Clos Pasoh.

For mains, I had the Boeuf aux échalotes (S$48), which comes with Wagyu (MB5) striploin, shallots, beef cheek confit and fondant potatoes. I had it done medium-rare, where the beef is fairly succulent and flavourful.

A side dish I had along was the Gratin de macaroni aux truffes (S$19), which sounds too good on paper to ignore its presence. The Macaroni gratin with black truffle could have done better with more cheese for me.

For the sharing dish, I went for the Pot-au-feu (S$138), good to share for 2-3 persons.

This is a Traditional French beef stew (Cheek, Oyster Blade & Short Rib), poached foie gras and vegetables. It comes in a fancy apparatus set up which is a blast from our science lab days. The mushroom broth was first boiled over the burner, before it reached boiling point and spill over to the top layer of spices. It’s a really interesting presentation, but the fun also ends there.

While the broth is comforting to enjoy as it was served in cups to us first, the stew itself didn’t live up to our expectations as it is not as flavourful as we imagined. As for the meats, it also leans towards the bland side, and were dry as well. Unfortunately the dish did not life up to its hype on social media.

For desserts, I had the Mille-feuille (S$15) Bergamote & Earl Grey 3 “sheets”; and the Mousse au chocolat (S$14), Chocolate mousse with Guanaja dark chocolate. Not much of a surprise element here for both desserts.

Rants If you do follow us on our Instagram, you will know the unpleasant service we had from the restaurant’s General Manager. From getting the name of the reservation wrong, to the discriminatory service whilst pressurising me and my dining companions to order wines, no amount of good food from the kitchen will make us return to Clos Pasoh. If the restaurant requires diners to order wines as part of the dining experience here, do feel free to let diners know at the point of reservation. Pressurising diners to order wines ain’t the classy French service we are used to in the fine dining French restaurants in Singapore, Clos Pasoh has much to learn from its peers.

Will I Return Again? The beautiful space at Clos Pasoh is not matched by its service, which will dissuade me from returning again. The quality of the food is no longer important here, leaving a sour taste for me and my fellow diners.

Make your reservations instantly at Clos Pasoh here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 2/5

Clos Pasoh
48A Bukit Pasoh Road, Level 2 
Singapore 089859 
Tel: +65 6980 0672 

Opening Hours
Tuesday: 4:30pm to 11pm
Wednesday to Saturday: 12pm to 11pm
Closed on Mondays & Sundays

Ranted by The Ranter