Address: 110 Telok Ayer St, Singapore 068579

Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (Downtown line), Raffles Place (NS / EW line)

Cuisine: Mediterranean, Western

Moosehead Kitchen occupies a corner on Telok Ayer Street that you’ve no doubt heard about, owing to their strategic location (at the cross junction of Cross Street and Telok Ayer Street) and it exudes a palpable kinetic buzz.

Moosehead serves edgy, freestyle food that centers around Mediterranean flavours with influences from around the world. Unafraid to colour outside the lines of traditional small plates cuisine, the menu is constantly evolving; filled with diverse, smoky fare, prepared from an open kitchen that features an INKA charcoal grill.

The surrounding bar helps revive the “counter culture”, acting as the best seats in the house amongst a refreshingly non-traditional approach to décor. Dusky wood tones and mismatched chairs channel a cool cabin in the woods, while inked up walls and an indie soundtrack provide an energetic rhythm to the place. The walkway into the restaurant was quite narrow but I was impressed with the decorations.

Some of the recommended items on the menu include sweet-savoury bacon wrapped chargrilled dates with roast garlic aioli and crunchy pine nuts, fried artichoke, house-made ricotta and bottarga shavings, and the cauliflower, garlic miso and leek confit.

The restaurant is really small, maybe around 10 tables and it would be full. So on a Friday evening that we visited, we went in around 6.30pm and had to leave the premise by 7.30pm as they had upcoming reservations. Even though we had one hour only, it was sufficient for us to order a main course and eat it without rushing through. The 1-for-1 main course on the Entertainer app is available for use here.

I had the roasted barramundi ($32) which was very flavourful, with olive oil and cherry tomatoes that enhanced the taste of the fish. The fish was not overcooked and still maintained its juiciness. The portion was quite small for a main course though.

As for the pork jowl ($34), it was a crowd favourite with melt-in-your-mouth slices of pork, accompanied by fried crispy pork skin. The pumpkin and pickled raisins provided some sweetness to the dish, reminding me of a tagine dish in Morocco. It was a fusion of senses when I tried the first slice of pork and I enjoyed it. There is a layer of pork fat on the pork slices, which may not be the liking to everyone and after a while, it can feel quite oily. For others it would be heavenly though.

Overall, Moosehead is a cozy bar kitchen concept. We did not have any drinks here as the menu did not appeal to us. There were no special handcrafted drinks. In terms of food, it was prepared with an elegant touch and the taste also met our standards. The price was slightly steep for the small portions. However, my friend had tried the hamburgers here before and the reviews were good. So you can check out for yourself next time.