85 Amoy review – Romantic old world-style bar with a set menu

This might be one of the vibiest restaurants for date night.

Located at Telok Ayer, 85 Amoy sets itself apart with its posh furnishing and decor, exuding a timeless, vintage charm reminiscent of an old-world gentlemen’s club.

Date night also couldn’t be easier with a no-frills set menu. For $68 per pax (minimum 2 diners), here’s what you can get.

Our honest review of 85 Amoy

Luxury set menu for 2 pax

Here’s what we think about the set menu from start to finish.

The house-made bread Foccacia with Garlic Confit. It’s a little too crispy to be foccacia; more like a well-toasted brioche. While it was aromatic, it didn’t live up to its name.

However, the next two starters fared much better.

The Golden Pillow was akin to a samosa. Rich, umami bursts of flavours, with a touch of spice and zest. If you weren’t hungry before, you definitely would open up an appetite after taking a pop of this.

Meanwhile, the Snow Cabbage had a creamy and milder profile. Topped with a generous pile of aged parmesan,

For the sharing side, you can choose between the Hamachi Ceviche and Wagyu Ceviche. I was a little surprised that both sharing sides were rare, considering it doesn’t appeal to everyone’s palate. But, as someone who enjoys ceviche, their hamachi was thick and meaty. It was also a little fishy in the good way.

Now, for the mains, 85 Amoy highly recommended the Meh, which is a grilled lamb rack.

The lamb was perfectly seasoned with middle-eastern spices. It was earthy, slightly spicy, but the texture — with the fat cap rendered till it melted in our mouths — was its strongest selling point. I also loved how the harissa hummus paired well with the seasoning.

Next, you can’t go wrong with a steak. The NZ Cyu, a ribeye, was cooked to a nice wall-to-wall medium rare. Its served with three types of sauces, but to be honest, the harissa hummus it was laid was its perfect match.

The other two proteins are the Iberico and Pez, which are pork belly and grilled hamachi respectively; all are served with a bed of harissa hummus.

For an additional $30, you can also get one of the best paellas I’ve ever had. 85 Amoy’s Pequeño Paella belonged to the wetter kind — a point of debate among paella enthusiasts regarding tradition. Regardless, the fresh seafood used infuses the dish with a briny richness that simply can’t be achieved with lower-quality ingredients.

Lastly, for dessert, choose between the Crema Catalana and Smokey Banana.

We heard that the Crema Catalana was some sort of pistachio dessert. Although it sounded interesting, we played it safe and picked the Smokey Banana, which was a dense banana cake, paired with a light coconut foam and a shot of rum (optional).

Location: 85 Amoy St, Singapore 069904
Opening hours: 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-2am

Looking for the best things to eat at Telok Ayer? Check out our recommendations on:

Colman Cheung

There are pros and cons when being friends with Colman. You get good food recommendations and the occasional candid shots between taking snaps of the food. But there’s also the mandatory 15-minutes waiting time and the constant whining of how your noodle pull sucks. He’s also a sucker for coffee.