I have heard of Epicurious before but never thought that I’d go one day. It so happens that I was staying at the hotel just opposite The Quayside and as I walked to Robertson Quay, spotted the cafe. It was very full during weekend brunch times, and mostly with groups of friends catching up.
I was quite surprised to see only about 3-4 tables on the inside, while the majority of the seats were the al fresco ones. Despite the possibility of suffering from the heat, the al fresco seats do offer a great view of the colourful Alkaff bridge. I ended up sitting at one corner of one of the long tables in Epicurious as I’m alone.
As they are promoting casual dining, I can understand the quaint, unpretentious decor used. The mish mash of pre-loved chairs, tables with displays is charming, but bits of the restaurant has also started showing signs of wear. Still, it’s all part of the “charm” of this neighbourhood joint.
The comfort food served here consists of salads, soups, sandwiches, pasta etc and is listed on the blackboard behind the counter. However, the brunch menu is available on a print out.
The items that were highly recommended by others which I could recall off hand was this baked eggs with toast soldiers (sounds heavy :P) , the full monty (3! eggs, bacon strips, sausages, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans) and pancakes. I ended up ordering the Green Eggs and Ham, which is really eggs scrambled in pesto for that greenish tinge, and a slice of prosciutto ham on bread and some herby potato cubes. Apart from the eggs being a tad salty, I would say it’s rather delicious! The bread was fresh and had a nice crunch and I loved the potatoes!
One thing that disconcerted me a little during my brunch here was probably the staff. Service was not the best, but the waiters were efficient enough. Yet, the lady behind the counter (which I later found out was one of the owners) made me uneasy as she seemed to enjoy snickering with the other help on customers. i mean, we can hear you!
well if there’s to be a second chance, i’m sticking to the al fresco seats to escape the “bad vibes”…
Epicurious (www)
#01-02 The Quayside,
60 Robertson Quay,
Singapore
Opening hours :
Tues-Fri 11:30am to 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 10pm
Sat & Sun 9 am-4pm, 5:30pm -10pm
other reviews;
– timeout singapore
– accidental epicurean
– ladyironchef
she, the epicuriousgirl. 
J2Kfm said
Gossips? 🙂
Makes it all soooo homely? Haha. Epicurious Girl go Epicurious.
lotsofcravings said
well thats a good suggestion, nxt time i might dump some pesto into my eggs!
gina said
After I reading comments on the place, I guess I would give it a miss.. afterall, it’s not worth it to pay for bad service.. and being called a bitch! Haha!
Brenda said
Went to Epicurious @ Robertson Quay for brunch after reading your excellent review on them last weekend with my girlfriend to celebrate the news of her pregnancy. What an utter disappointment that was.
Granted it was a nice sunday afternoon at 1:30pm, the restaurant was busy with tables laid out at the front and people chit chatting away. After ordering, I (accompanied by my gf) went to have a smoke merely 5 meters away from out table and indicated so to one of the waiters. Upon our return, everything was cleared from our table and no one seemed to know how. They then took a total of 45 minutes to serve us our BREAKFAST food (eggs + sausages), and because we were famished, the food was walloped without us being able to taste much at all.
When I was trying to give feedback about the quality of service, the lanky lady boss (who walked out with an air of annoyance) was extremely unpleasant and defensive. She did not want to listen to constructive criticism and basically left me feeling that I had expected too much from her and her staff as they were busy. A simple notification at the point of our ordering would suffice, so that customers are given the choice to stay or go.
The couple sitting at the next table had a similar experience – the gentleman had to wait 45 mins for a simple bowl of mushroom soup.
I will NEVER EVER go back to ‘Epicurious’ again and I strongly advise your readers NOT to go there.
Maybe I shouldn’t have expected an epicure to be in ‘Epicurious’. Just a disrespectful person who doesn’t take pride in her restaurant nor care about her customers.
epicuriousgirl says: thanks for your comment. it’s always good to hear honest feedback on one’s experience at eateries which should help restaurateurs improved their services. however, it doesn’t seem like it’s appreciated here. if you did indeed make your choice to go there based on my review, I apologise. i did enjoy my food but not so much the experience as per my review. and it does seem that your experience mirrors most of the comments I read up after my meal. I too wonder sometimes if good food is really enough to bear with bad service?