Food Review: Le Pristine Singapore At Grand Hyatt Singapore | Fun Fine-Casual Restaurant In Orchard By Chef Sergio Herman

Posted on October 16, 2024 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place The most anticipated hotel reopening in Singapore this year is undoubtedly Grand Hyatt Singapore, and a handsome looking new restaurant just opened in the Hyatt property. I checked out Le Pristine Singapore, a New Italian cuisine dining concept by celebrated Dutch Chef Sergio Herman’s debut in Southeast Asia. Le Pristine took over the space of what used to be Mezza 9 and is located at level 1M of the hotel.

You can access Le Pristine from the hotel’s grand stairway at its entrance, or access via the escalator and you will be greeted by a cool beyond words walkway tunnel which makes you feel like a supermodel.

The whole concept and design of the restaurant is quite cool in my opinion, and it feels more than just a restaurant. The strong design elements are visible from the huge open kitchen which makes me think I am watching a scene straight out of Netflix Culinary Class Wars, the red moody lighting at the bar area for pre-dinner or post-dinner drinks, the elegant interior of the private dining rooms, and more. A meal here feels like a complete package.

The space is huge as well, as the 120-seater restaurant is spread out over 650 square metres sectioned into two intimate and cosy dining areas, divided by the open kitchen and five uniquely designed private dining rooms. It is not positioned as a formal fine-dining concept, but a more fun fine-casual dining vibes.

The Food Chef Sergio will be serving New Italian cuisine, a contemporary tribute to pure Italian flavours and Sergio’s deep-rooted Zeeland (located on the southwestern coast of the Netherland) heritage. Both à la carte and tasting menus are available for lunch (from S$90 for 3-course) and dinner (from S$180 for 5-course).

For a start, I had the fresh Irish Mór Oyster (S$28/2 pieces) with sea buckthorn, cucumber and salted herbs. Not at all briny and this goes well with my champagne.

The Mussel (S$18) with aguachile, tomato and kaffir lime is another outstanding showcase of the seafood aspect of Le Pristine in a delicious mix of aguachile. It is moreish dish, and whets my appetitive right at the start.

Next up I had the Pizzette Chili King Crab (S$26) with basil zucchini, where the crust is thick and holds all the contrasting flavours of the ingredients very well.

Fresh complimentary baguette and sourdough are also served along with French butter.

This sounds absolutely luxurious, but I would be tempted to have this dish again, the Langoustine, Foie Gras, Soursop, Caviar (S$48). All the luxe ingredients come in a caviar box, and you see nothing but caviar at first sight. Dig deeper and it contains layers of the foie gras and langoustine all mixed together to form a luscious combination.

I had it on its own, bite by bite, and carefully rationed it on the accompanying crispy toast as well. Either way works very well for your palate.

If you love scallops, the Scallop, Hamachi, Butternut, Truffle (S$45) is not to be missed. I like the duo combo of scallop and hamachi, and you get that nice buttery flavour too.

On to mains; one signature dish to try is Le Pristine Signature Seafood Orecchiette (per 2 persons, S$60 per person). You get a mix of various seafood like mussels, squid, and langoustine, along with their housemade orecchiette and a rich nduja sauce. I couldn’t help mopping all the sauce with the al dente pasta.

For meats, I had the Black Angus Beef (per 2 persons, S$75 per person) with 3 sauces – classic beef sauce, pepper sauce, bearnaise – along with Pot-au-Feu vegetables. Expect a tender and flavourful beef here, along with complementary side dishes of burrata salad and mini soup.

On to dessert, I really enjoyed the Le Pristine Vanilla Ice-cream a-la-minute, chocolate, caramelized nuts (per 2 persons, S$25 per person). Made fresh to order, the vanilla ice cream is finished tableside with caramelised pistachios, hazelnuts, and chocolate sauce. The combination of nuts and the fresh vanilla ice cream taste is so good that I unknowingly finished it all.

Another dessert I tried was the Tiramisu Collapsed (S$20), a huge serving which can easily be shared by 3 pax. I am not big on tiramisu, so it is definitely the vanilla ice cream for me if I were to only have one dessert.

Rants Despite being fine-casual, the prices are quite steep at Le Pristine. Take the Vanilla ice cream for example, which cost S$50 for a couple since the serving is minimally made for 2 persons.

Will I Return Again? Don’t doubt it, I enjoyed every dish at Le Pristine. The flavours are on point and the dishes are executed with finesse. Be prepared to budget about $150-$200 per person to try a decent number of dishes here, else I also think it might be worth considering just going for the tasting menu which might turn out to offer a better value than the ala carte option. Save this for a celebratory occasion or to impress your date, as the space is gorgeous too.

Make your reservations instantly at Le Pristine Singapore here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 4.5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Overall Experience: 4/5