Rubato

Modern Italian Fare. Good food, good service. Not cheap though. The charcoal grilled squid (Italian イカ焼き) was fresh and grilled to just the right texture; the smokey taste was enliven with a squeeze of lemon over the olive oil. The risotto with ribeye & mushroom had an excellent broth and rice was cooked to the correct texture, however the ribeye, I felt, was a bit extraneous: too chunky and may have been better skipping the beef chunks or changed to a ragout. Conversely, the chunky mushroom was a delight. And now, the pizza...lovers of the thin yet chewy pizza crust rejoice! The bismark had a nice tomato base but otherwise not striking. I wonder if the egg was left still a tad runny would it had been better. Lastly, the chocolate fondant was definitely better than most of the other subpar ones out there. Now, if they only had a better wine list, and accept AMEX.

Update (27 July 2011): Went back for lunch. The executive lunch set was attractively priced but unfortunately, the meat balls were out. In the end, I just ordered the parchment wrapped seafood linguine. The pasta was good, as was the sauce. The seafood was fresh, but as I am allergic to crustaceans, there were no prawns (and crayfish, though I only told them "No prawns, pls."). So unfortunately, without the crustaceans, the price does not commiserate with the quality and quantity.

Update (3 Apr 2014): Wow, it's been three years since my last visit and now Rubato has undergone a little bit of re-branding and re-located to Greenwood Avenue. Had the squid ink, seafood risotto for a late dinner (9.30pm) and the dish was served within 15 minutes (draw your own conclusion here), but the rice was definitely a mix of long and short grain. Asked for the chef to skip the prawns, but there did not seem to be any additional seafood added to it, just squid and 2 mussels, the latter of which was not exactly fresh. At the price, it was not really worth it.

Return Policy: Highly unlikely.