The Rundown
The Jigger & Pony Group, who brought us fun concepts like Jigger & Pony, Sugarhall and Gibson, are back with their latest venture. Caffe Fernet is an Italian restaurant bar serving contemporary fare — don’t except nonna-style plates, but bring an open mind to try their refreshed renditions. We’re happy to report we really enjoyed our meal here!
The Vibe
The 130-seater, prime waterfront location at Customs House is great for a girls’ night out or meal with friends — make reservations for the comfy booth seats that still boast views of the bay. If you’re here on a whim, the alfresco area is pretty breezy, and makes a good option for drinks and bar bites. Those who take their drinks super seriously might want to make a beeline for the bar seats, which guarantees you more face time with the knowledgeable bartenders. The music here gets quite loud so it’s probably not the best place for an intimate date night.
What’s Good
To start, we highly recommend the Housemade Ricotta ($15), served with crusty sourdough slices for scooping. The ricotta is smooth, creamy and slightly salted to complement the accompanying chestnut honey. Burppler Veronica Phua really enjoyed the Crispy Golden Beetroot ($21), an appetiser of various complementary and contrasting textures — think red beetroot mole, rocket, feta and almonds; while Burpple Blueskies Cottonclouds waxed lyrical about the Charred Octopus ($26) — served with crispy chickpeas and mint gremolata, this reminds her fondly of Mediterranean summers. For mains, we really enjoyed the simple but tasty Mafaldine ‘Cacio e Pepe’ ($25), a lesser seen ruffled ribbon pasta coated in a sauce of pecorino cheese and accented with peppercorns. The Burpple community is also loving the clean, delicate flavours of the Spanner Crab Spaghetti ($29). Save space for the Stuffed Bomboloni ($13), golden Italian doughnuts filled with vanilla-lemon curd. These run out fast, so take Blueskies Cottoncloud’s advice to reserve a portion in advance.
The bar has put a lot of thought into the cocktails. The Fernet & Coke ($21) is heavy on the herbal, ointment flavour — an acquired taste that fans of Fernet will surely enjoy. The liqueur is also known for its digestive properties, so if you’re going for one, make it after your meal. Otherwise, play it safe with the Garibaldi ($20) that combines campari with aerated orange juice, or the sweeter, refreshing flavours of the limoncello-based Amalfi Spritz ($17).
Read what the Burpple community says about Caffe Fernet here!
