Liora review – New contemporary restaurant at Clarke Quay

If you’re after a date night spot that actually backs up its ambience with the food, Liora is worth putting on the list.

Liora is a new contemporary restaurant in Clarke Quay that pairs Korean flavours with modern European technique. Almost everything on the table, from the sauces to the fermentation bases, is made in-house.

What’s on Liora’s menu

One step in and we were already charmed by the warm amber theme with the dim lighting. But what caught our eye was the flaming wood-fired grill from their open kitchen.

Of course, it’s not just about the ambience.

The way they inject Korean flavours into their dishes is subtle and tasteful, rather than a slap in your face.

Take the Chikin Nugget: a gourmet spin on the fast food staple, finished with a house-made Maesil BBQ Sauce that’s a surprising, well-balanced twist. It doesn’t scream “Korean”, but you can still kinda get the vibe.

The Tofu Hummus does something similar with Middle Eastern hummus, swapping in tofu for a version that’s familiar enough when scooped up with pita, but distinctly different in flavour. I was skeptical at first, but this was actually so so interesting. The tofu flavours were surprisingly distinct, and paired well with the pomegranates. I also loved how its addition resulted in a way silkier and creamier texture.

The Makgeolli Panna Cotta is where the kitchen’s sense of sequencing really shows. It opens with a hit of Korean rice wine that mellows out into a creamy, milky panna cotta, layering flavours in a way that keeps unfolding as you eat.

And just when we thought we found our favourite dish of the night, the Tteok was served. Tteok is traditionally a Korean rice cake, but they made theirs extra big to serve as a vessel for an interesting assortment of ingredients: charred banana puree, made by charring a whole banana on their wood-fire grill until it browns and mashing it into a paste, tofu ice cream, and injeolmi.

I was surprised at how they managed to find such a good balance between a chewy and soft rice cake texture. And I loved how charring the banana imparted such a deep, dark caramelised flavour, which paired well with the lighter tofu ice cream.

If you’d rather play it safe, their Steak – Wagyu Cube Roll MB 4/5 is the more classic order. But even that comes with a perilla coriander chimichurri that adds a subtle minty note. If you really like perilla like me, you could even wrap it in a whole perilla leaf, like a Korean barbecue bite.

Why it’s worth going?

What stands out most at Liora is the commitment to craft.

Everything is made in-house, right down to the sauces, and it isn’t as simple as just throwing in kimchi and gochujang and calling it a day. Instead, Korean flavours are delicately introduced in all the dishes, in such a subtle way that it might slip your mind until you catch a glimpse of the menu.

The finest dishes are those of seamless harmony, where individual ingredients vanish into a singular, unforgettable flavour.

Location: 3B River Valley Rd, CQ @ Clarke Quay, #01-09 Singapore 179021
Opening hours: 12-2:30pm, 5:30-11pm

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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.