Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar Restaurant Review:

Strategically located in a ground-level Chinese shop house, behind a dark and obscure sliding door, this understated Italian restaurant is owned by chef-turned-restaurateur Roberto Galetti. Beyond an antechamber cum bar complete with lounge seats and a walk-in wine cellar, a glass door leads to a grayish-green dining room that is unexciting but provides a pleasant backdrop to the reliable dishes. Skip French-inspired starters such as roasted rougié goose liver and even the caviar and blinis. Opt instead for chef Galetti’s healthy rocket and cherry tomato salad with grilled prawn tail drizzled in lemon, or the creamy buffalo mozzarella with plump San Marzano tomatoes. Pastas taste like a spin around Italy in every bite. We especially like the spinach gnocchi in creamy Gorgonzola sauce and the unexpected combination of pumpkin-stuffed pasta shells in Taleggio fondue with veal jus. Risotto often appears on Singapore menus but it doesn’t resemble the real thing; however, have no fear at Garibaldi. Among the choices, we recommend the risotto richly endowed with ham, Parmesan and a poached egg yolk. Meat lovers will have to decide between the roasted lamb rack with mint sauce and the chef's signature braised veal cheek with bone marrow and saffron risotto. End with the molten lava chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato and raspberry coulis or simply a scoop of homemade lemon sorbet.