Recently went to a restaurant in a very unlikely place, a park which is called HortPark in Singapore.

Vineyard – as it is called is a charming and cosy restaurant serving french-italian food with selections of wine of course.

The greenscape of the Hortpark was recreated to an experience of a countryside with beautiful gardens all separately cloned somewhat.  There was this Bali Garden, Edible Garden, and even a Butterfly garden.

Imagine having a meal surrounded by a luscious green all around you.

But the restaurant had very old aged tables and it was very brown with an artificial fireplace and domed cane lighting.  The lights were pretty though!

We can eat either at the air-conditioned room or just outside amidst  a recreated garden.

As there were two of us, we tried some wine, an appetizer and 2 main dishes to be shared.

We skipped dessert as  I had tea only at 4 pm.  And Dinner was at 6 pm!

The waitress was not able to suggest the wines properly, even though the restaurant is called Vineyard!  I expected some good suggestions but she was just stammering and we decided to take their house wine, which happened to be a right choice.

But the  food, especially the appetizer that we had, Baked brie fondue with toasted brioche was very good and we loved the slight sweetness of honey and balsamic vinegar over the small pot of brie. It went well with the strawberries and grapes that came with it,  Will recommend this to anyone who loves cheese or for that matter even for non-cheese lovers!

For the main course we had Roasted chicken with a balsamic and a dark sauce,  Chicken was juicy, tender and went well with the sides of baked crispy potatoes, baked asparagus, carrots and 1 roasted garlic.

The next main that we had was Miso Cod, and it was served with ramen noodles – surprising as it was supposed to be a french-italian restaurant.  But regret not, it was very good and  flavorful and the only french thing about this dish was  – it was a very small portion.  Definitely not enough for a person who eats moderately.  For me it would have been enough as I eat small meals throughout the day.

There was no room for dessert for me as we both had tea around 4 pm at our respective offices.

Food was good,  there was of course other main courses which looked so tempting,  pastas and pizzas were in the menu too.

Service  needs to be improved.  Some were experienced but some are not.  No personal touches, no thank you and no proper recommendation for the food.  We went through the menu and decided for ourselves what to eat.

Ambience would have been nice probably in the daylight hours  but needed some room fragrance.  It was very musty as we were one of the early customers. The room seemed dreary with the dark brown furniture and dim lights.    Nevertheless you will be able to catch the setting sun in the reflecting infinity pool just outside the restaurant while sipping wine and forget your worries, if any!

I  will definitely return with my close friends who love food!  Thank you Vineyard!

links – HortPark  website: nparks.gov.sg/gardems-parks

Vineyard 33 Hyderabad Road, Hortpark Singapore 119578