Savory

Unlike most Burpple Beyond merchants, I was unaware that if you were to dine at Pasta Brava with the Beyond deal, you had to call the restaurant directly for reservations (check out Burpple’s T&Cs in the last bullet point) and not through its online reservation with Chope (the ‘Reserve’ button on burpple will direct you there).

It was definitely extremely misleading and resulted in unnecessary confusion when I dined on a Friday evening.

Made an online reservation for 7.15pm on a Friday through Chope. The staff at the entrance asked if I was using the Burpple app and informed me that by default, I should’ve called them directly as Burpple Beyond users are only allowed to come at 6.15pm and 8.15pm on Fridays & Saturdays.

While I should have read the T&Cs more carefully for this restaurant as the reservation via calling turned out to be of utmost importance to them- so as to segregate the Burpple users from the rest of the customers. I had two options from the staff- either to continue dining but to eat finish by 8.15pm, or wait till 8.15pm so that I can join in the next wave of Burpple customers. Chose the former as we were already there and it didn’t make sense to wait for another hour since we were already present, but the entire dining experience was already ruined because of the restaurant’s inflexibility and distinct boundary of Burpple and non-Burpple customers.

To add on, the staff also marked ‘B’ (for Burpple I presume) on the paper that was placed on our table with a crayon. I guess they just wanted to make it clear to the other waiters/ waitresses that we were not their usual group of customers since we did not come in at the said Burpple timing(s), yet this very distinct indication on the table contributed to the cheapened ambience of an otherwise posh restaurant.

Food wise, the Stracci and mushroom soup were pretty palatable. Ordered Tiramisu for desserts but it was mediocre at best. Last came our hot tea. As our time was almost up by then at 8.15pm, we had to hurriedly sip the drink which was ironic.

Dining should be relaxing, not rushed; especially on a weekend.

Overall, I suggest dining without the Burpple deal because of the unpleasantness and before my dinner was served- partly due to the vague T&Cs mentioned for this restaurant. I believe the portion for the 3 course meal was also reduced significantly, as my partner and I did not find it satisfying.

Dine here with Burpple Beyond at your own risk, especially during weekends.

Maiden experience here this evening- my friend and I were really impressed by the Mentaiko Salmon Don (Regular, $23.8) and Truffle Wagyu Don (Large, $25.8)! Brownie points for the truffle and torched salmon aromas that piqued our senses before we even consumed our sumptuous dons. With generous portions of proteins, accompanied by a good balance of rice, this cosy cafe is a definite to-go place when dining with small groups of friends!