Food Review: Cendra Tapas Bar and Grill At Gemmill Lane | Trendy Spanish Tapas Restaurant In Telok Ayer

Posted on July 3, 2024 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place Located on Gemmill Lane, Cendra Tapas Bar and Grill is a new Spanish tapas restaurant which took over the now-defunct Catfish Izakaya. The interior of Cendra is pretty open concept, brightly lit and it exudes a relaxed dining ambience with regular tables and bar seats. Cendra is helmed by chef-owner Xavi who has worked alongside renowned Spanish chefs at Michelin-starred establishments such as Nandu Jubany, with his latest position being Executive Sous Chef for FOC Group in Singapore. At Cendra, his style of cooking infuses Catalan Spanish cuisine with modern techniques.

The Food It is a concise ala carte menu split into cold tapas and hot tapas, grill items, rice, sides and one dessert on the menu. Signature dishes include the Squid Ink & Wagyu Striploin Rice ‘A la llauna’, a traditional way of Catalan Spanish cooking unique to Cendra.

For a start, I had some Tapas dishes like the Crystal Bread with Tomatoes (S$12), Canadian Oysters N3 with Pisco Sour Foam (S$8) and “Ensaladilla Rusa”, Smoke Mackerel On Crispy Toast (2pc/S$22).

The Crystal Bread with Tomatoes is quite a surprise for me as I didn’t expect the bread to be so light and crisp. The fresh tomatoes also make it a very refreshing course to start.

I also enjoyed the “Ensaladilla Rusa”, Smoke Mackerel On Crispy Toast, which is like a potato salad tapas.

For hot tapas, I highly recommend the Iberico Ham Croquetas (2pc/S$7) which has a nice cheesy filling as well. The texture of the croquette is a nice golden brown as well. Delicious!

For rice, I had the Squid Ink Rice “a la Llauna” (S$42) where instead of being served in the usual round pan, this is served in a rectangular cast iron pan instead. The portion is good to share for me, and you get a rich and flavourful squid ink rice here topped with seared scallops.

For their grilled meats, I had the Spanish Pork Ribs with Green Herbs Sauce (S$36) where the portion is good for 2-3 pax. Expect a very tender pork rib with a balance of lean and fat meat. I also had a side dish of Confit Piquillo Peppers (S$12) to balance the richness of the pork ribs here.

Dessert is a classic Basque Cheesecake with Strawberry Sorbet (S$14). I am honestly quite over the Basque Cheesecake phase and the version here is a tad too dry for my liking. I am thankful for the Strawberry Sorbet.

Rants It is a pity that there is only one dessert option on the menu.

Will I Return Again? Overall, Cendra is worth checking out if you love Spanish tapas and I think it is a great addition to the Telok Ayer enclave. I like the relaxed vibes and the food is generally quite good. An ideal spot in town for small group gathering or couple date night.

Make your reservations instantly at Cendra Tapas Bar and Grill here.

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