The Place If there is one new pasta place which got me excited this year so far, it has to be Scarpetta. Located along the buzzing Amoy Street which took over the now-defunct Tambi, Scarpetta is the brainchild of owner Aaron, and is a contemporary, sleek and cosy casual Italian restaurant which focuses on pasta.

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Upon entering Scarpetta, I felt the vibrant energy of the space where it is predominantly counter seating with a view of the open kitchen, along with limited tables for couples. The kitchen is helmed by Chef Danny Ng, who was previously head chef at Bar Cicheti.  

I had a brief chat with Aaron during my visit, and quipped that the concept of Scarpetta reminds me much of Bancone in London which is known for offering good value pasta on its concise menu. With his years of experience working in London and being exposed much to the global food scene, Aaron has the vision of bringing casual and good pasta to the masses, and therefore Scarpetta was born. 

The Food The food menu is and elevated take on Italian food, and is kept concise. It is split into toasts, starters, pastas and desserts. I like that it is kept this way and even though it is concise, there is a good variety within each category such that I had a dilemma deciding what to go for.  

For a start, I had the Auction-Grade Uni, seaweed butter, ponzu salt (S$16/piece). It looks every bit luxurious (note that caviar is usually not part of this toast) and comes with copious heaps of fresh Uni for its price. The toast itself holds the Uni well, as it has a nice crisp texture to it.  

The other toast also worth trying is the Charred Bone Marrow, parsley salad, Maldon sea salt (S$14). I love bone marrow for its soft gelatinous texture and pair it with a crisp toast, it becomes a winning formula.

Salad is not usually my priority but throw in words like hazelnut and truffle vinaigrette and I am more likely sold by the idea. The Radicchio Salad, truffle vinaigrette, hazelnut, parmigiano (S$14) is something I would not mind having for lunch daily as it is a well-balanced and tasty greens along with crunchy bits from the hazelnut.  

A more sinful starter as opposed to salad is the Zucchini Frites, shoestring, burnt lemon tzatziki (S12). I like the idea of making the traditional notion of fries less sinful sounding by having zucchini version instead. The texture of the fries here is slightly greasy, but all is forgiven once I mopped it in the burnt lemon tzatziki which is a Greek origin yogurt sauce. 

The last starter I had was the Smoked Baby Gem, yolk jam, chicken skin crumb (S$14). While the Radicchio Salad is refreshing, the baby gem leans towards a more umami version of a salad especially with the yolk jam and the crisp and savoruy chicken skin crumb. 

On to the main highlight of Scarpetta – the pastas. It is a very exciting range of options with various types of Italian pastas and combination of ingredients. As shared by Aaron, the pastas are made freshly in-house daily and hence there are limited portions a day. What is also amazing here is that the pasta starts from S$18 with the most expensive being S$26. In today’s dining context in Singapore, it is unheard of for a restaurant of this calibre and in the CBD.  

I started with classic Cacio e Pepe with Crispy Guanciale, pici, smoked black pepper, pecorino romano (S$20). Cacio e pepe literally means ‘cheese and pepper’ and what you can expect here is a beautiful al dente texture with a good balance of cheese and pepper along with the crispy guanciale which adds that tinge of saltiness to the pasta. Go for this if you want something classic.  

For something more inventive, the Bolognese Ravioli, beef cheek, bone marrow, sun-dried tomato, parmigiano (S$24) is a good option. You get that nice bite texture of the ravioli which wraps the beef cheek nicely, and it is a generous portion which is good to share for two persons if you want to try other flavours too.   

The most expensive pasta one the menu is none other than the Al Granchio e Limone, taglioni, blue swimmer crab, confit garlic, lemon (S$26). I love taglioni because it is so similar to the kind of noodles we have in Singapore, and this version is packed with umami. It is saucy with a tinge of lemon zest along with shreds of crabmeat where you get that seafood sweetness in each mouthful as well.  

That said, I have a clear favourite pasta on the menu, and it has to be the Spicy alla Vodka, baked rigatoni, tomato, chilli, fresh basil (S$21). I was surprised myself as rigatoni is typically not my type of pasta, but what I really like here is that this is a baked version of rigatoni so you get that nice and crisp, slight charred texture on the edge of the rigatoni.

The secret ingredient though is the chilli where the spiciness is just right, and it comes and go in the palate like a tornado – hits you briefly and retreats subtly before you realise. Wow. 

Dessert wise, there is the classic Tiramisu (S$11) though I went for the Cannoli, pistachio ricotta, dark chocolate (S$8) and Gelato con Olio, mile gelato, Umbrian extra virgin olive oil, crunchy salt flakes (S$6).

If you can only have one, go for the milk gelato which uses Hokkaido milk, and it is surprisingly compatible with the EVOL.  

Rants No reservations are taken for now, and I thought that a small and nice enhancement to the counter seat is to have hooks for bags beneath the table. The space is also not designed for big groups as it is mainly counter seating and small tables.  

Will I Return Again? There is nothing like Scarpetta in Singapore right now. Sure, we do have other pasta centric concepts but a dedicated pasta restaurant at such a pricing in the CBD, this is a first. Every dish is good or excellent for me, and do yourself a favour and try the food here.  

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Overall Experience: 4.5/5 

Scarpetta 
47 Amoy Street 
Singapore 069873 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Wednesday: 11:30am to 2:30pm; 6pm to 10:30pm 
Thursday: 11:30am to 2:30pm; 6pm to 11pm 
Friday: 11:30am to 2:30pm; 6pm to 11:30pm 
Saturday: 11:30am to 2:30pm; 6pm to 11:30pm 
Closed on Sunday 

Ranted by The Ranter