I first went to Il Lido few years ago as part of Restaurant Week. The ambience coupled with the set menu of the time had won me over and I promised to be back. So it was for a relaxed dinner with friends that we chose Il Lido recently. The location and ambience of the place are hard to beat. Situated within the Sentosa Golf Club premises, the entrance is through a narrow walkway which leads you to the elegant reception of Il Lido. You are greeted by soft lighting, dark furniture and well spaced out tables. I was not too happy with the table reserved for us since it was smack in the middle of the restaurant. Desiring more privacy, I requested for a wall-side table which was duly arranged.
We started off with tried and tested appetizers : fried calamari and insalata caprese with lobster soup and peas soup. Whilst its tough to go wrong with caprese, the mozzarella definitely tasted fresher and better than in lot of other Italian restaurants in Singapore. The calamari was ordinary and nearly half the portion was left unfinished. The soups were too watery and bland. Not meaning to insult the chef, we had no option but to sprinkle a lot of pepper and salt on them. Another niggling thought was how could lobster soup and peas soup be priced the same (SGD 22++) ! We had bought a bottle of Chianti Classico with us. Il Lido does not levy any corkage but for every bottle you bring from outside, you have to purchase a bottle from the restaurant. We ordered a bottle of Le Pupille Pelofino. It worked beautifully after the first round of Chianti. If you are a group that will consume at least two bottles of wine, this arrangement of get your own + buy one is perfect.
For the main course, we ordered a mix of pastas as we had a couple of vegetarian diners on our table. Our waiter pre-empted the vegetable pasta request and of his own volition detailed all the vegetables that would go into it. Nice touch! Among the items we ordered, the cod ravioli with lobster bisque sauce was just average. The two spaghetti orders, one with tuna and other with crab meat, were disappointing as well. They hardly had any meat and I had to fork through my pasta to find the two bits of crab in it. At SGD38++ these were definitely the most expensive crab morsels I've had in my life ! Needless to add, most of the dishes were left unfinished. Being thoroughly disappointed with the food so far, we ordered desserts to stave off any hunger pangs. The vanilla Creme Brulee was excellent, chocolate cake good and the Tiramisu totally skippable.
As if the mediocre food is not enough, the icing on Il Lido's cake is the service. You really have to strain yourself to catch the waiters' eye to take your order and then remind them couple of times to serve it. It took us nearly fifteen minutes to catch the attendant's eye to serve our wine bought from home since they had promptly taken it away on arrival to 'cool it.' Every course had the same story what with the waiters being unavailable just when you need them to order the next round. And this is when the restaurant was not running to a full house. Maybe lunch time is better when you can sit outdoors taking in the expansive sea views to make up for the disappointing food. Whoever lists Il Lido as a fine dining establishment probably went there for a premises' inspection and thats it. All the negative factors coupled with how pricey the place is ensure I would not be returning here till there is a management or ownership change. It is a pity to see a great location and elegant ambience being put to such poor use.
We started off with tried and tested appetizers : fried calamari and insalata caprese with lobster soup and peas soup. Whilst its tough to go wrong with caprese, the mozzarella definitely tasted fresher and better than in lot of other Italian restaurants in Singapore. The calamari was ordinary and nearly half the portion was left unfinished. The soups were too watery and bland. Not meaning to insult the chef, we had no option but to sprinkle a lot of pepper and salt on them. Another niggling thought was how could lobster soup and peas soup be priced the same (SGD 22++) ! We had bought a bottle of Chianti Classico with us. Il Lido does not levy any corkage but for every bottle you bring from outside, you have to purchase a bottle from the restaurant. We ordered a bottle of Le Pupille Pelofino. It worked beautifully after the first round of Chianti. If you are a group that will consume at least two bottles of wine, this arrangement of get your own + buy one is perfect.
For the main course, we ordered a mix of pastas as we had a couple of vegetarian diners on our table. Our waiter pre-empted the vegetable pasta request and of his own volition detailed all the vegetables that would go into it. Nice touch! Among the items we ordered, the cod ravioli with lobster bisque sauce was just average. The two spaghetti orders, one with tuna and other with crab meat, were disappointing as well. They hardly had any meat and I had to fork through my pasta to find the two bits of crab in it. At SGD38++ these were definitely the most expensive crab morsels I've had in my life ! Needless to add, most of the dishes were left unfinished. Being thoroughly disappointed with the food so far, we ordered desserts to stave off any hunger pangs. The vanilla Creme Brulee was excellent, chocolate cake good and the Tiramisu totally skippable.
As if the mediocre food is not enough, the icing on Il Lido's cake is the service. You really have to strain yourself to catch the waiters' eye to take your order and then remind them couple of times to serve it. It took us nearly fifteen minutes to catch the attendant's eye to serve our wine bought from home since they had promptly taken it away on arrival to 'cool it.' Every course had the same story what with the waiters being unavailable just when you need them to order the next round. And this is when the restaurant was not running to a full house. Maybe lunch time is better when you can sit outdoors taking in the expansive sea views to make up for the disappointing food. Whoever lists Il Lido as a fine dining establishment probably went there for a premises' inspection and thats it. All the negative factors coupled with how pricey the place is ensure I would not be returning here till there is a management or ownership change. It is a pity to see a great location and elegant ambience being put to such poor use.
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