Brunch details: $98 with free-flow Delamotte Brut NV champagne and other options; $50 without. Sunday, 11.30am to 2.30pm.

By Shamus Sillar
Issue 92 - March 2010

Il Lido
#02-00 Sentosa Golf Club
6866 1977
www.il-lido.com


At a table across from mine at Il Lido, four women arrived individually for brunch, only to discover that all the male partners had pulled out, citing work and other reasons. This seemed to cause immoderate glee. Instantly, several upgrades were made from the non-booze menu to the free-flow version, and corks were popped.

It’s hard not to be happy at Il Lido. The views of golf course, beaches and ocean on this southern edge of Sentosa are among Singapore’s best.

The menu, meanwhile, is short and sweet. This is a Sunday Italian lunch rather than a true brunch – so, no eggs or bacon. No journeys to a buffet table are required, making for a pleasant and indolent change.

The food on my visit was flawless. An antipasti platter included tender calamari, a generous clump of Parma ham on a spiral of shaved rockmelon, and an artfully designed Caprese salad.

From a choice of pastas, I opted for homemade tagliolini with seafood and white wine: modest in size, but sublime.

Breaded scallops aren’t easy to perfect, but Il Lido has them nailed, pairing them perfectly with an asparagus salad. The other main-course options were beef tenderloin and lamb loin.

When reviewing this restaurant a year ago, we hinted that the dessert could use a touch of chocolate. They must have read the story. My platter of four fantastic mini-puddings included chocolate fondant and a chocolate-coated strawberry.

As I got up to leave, I heard the nearby women reminiscing about another brunch where they got so drunk they were decanting Veuve into a teapot and filling their glasses from it. I’m guessing their partners were away on that day, too.