NEW RESTAURANT Poisson 48 Bukit Pasoh Road Singapore 089859 Tel: 6223 2131 Open for lunch and dinner Tues to Sat: 12pm to 2pm; 6pm to 11.30pm

YOU don't need to read French to know what's on the menu at Poisson. Right outside, there's a fish hanging literally with its name on it. Step inside and you're in a painted underwater setting, with a school of faceless wooden tilapia covering one wall, and monochrome pictures of seafood and grizzled seafarers on the other. There's even a creepy life-size aquanaut standing right at the door, just so you know.

If after all that you still walk in and order a hamburger, may the cod help you.

What would really seal the deal for us? If the long, see-through kitchen could only squeeze in a display of the real thing. A catch of the day on ice or something, anything, so we know their commitment to fish is more than just an ability to decorate to theme.

But that doesn’t seem to be on the agenda/budget of this cute but conventional restaurant that could serve anything else, but just happens to focus on seafood. There’s little fanfare about provenance, sourcing or anything special about the produce - they’re basically ingredients to be prepped, cooked and plated like any other. 

A nice touch is the complimentary bread basket - not fancy but it comes with a proper salmon rillette for dipping and edamame for snacking on. 

If you’re looking for recommendations, expect to pay as they tend to be the priciest. Like the Smoke Uno (S$62) we’re egged on to try - a sort-of open-face, rice-free futomaki of thin, crisp crackers topped with layered sweet omelette, negitoro, bafun uni, a bit of caviar and salmon roe, and seaweed. There are two of them, presented with drama under a glass dome of smoke ceremoniously lifted for you to sniff and crunch. We wonder how they price this dish - maybe it’s S$60 for the crackers and S$2 for the smoke.

The sweetish cracker is an awkward base for this ubiquitous uni-caviar-toro compilation that’s pleasant enough with clean-tasting uni but it’s otherwise a luxed-up canape to justify the price.

Still, at least the server also recommends the better value St Jacques (S$28) - a ceviche of good, fresh scallops thinly sliced and cured in a citrus dressing, coloured with strips of red pepper and a crown of shaved marinated cucumber. 

We rather like Le Gris (S$23) - a creamy salad of walnuts, avocado, tomatoes and what tastes strangely like mock chicken but turn out to be Belgian grey shrimps. We understand the desire to introduce this Flemish "queen of seafood" and we would definitely make a point of trying it on our next trip to Flanders. But in the interest of freshness would it be faster to go to Jurong Fish Port? Instead, the stars of this salad are the dressing and spot on combination of nuts, melty-soft tomatoes and avocado.

Ditching the frozen in favour of the fresh would be a good move for Poisson since it’s really hard to appreciate this deathly pale species with the texture of reconstituted dried shrimp. It’s the same for the other "signature" that we’re persuaded to try: "hand-peeled" lump crab cakes named Sebastian (S$58), where questions like peeled "when" and "by whose hand" are ignored. From the patties of withered, stringy lumps barely held together in a skimpy coat of batter, we can only surmise that if Sebastian has indeed been touched by human hands, it wasn’t recently.

Finally, Poisson’s messaging kicks in with the likes of Maximus (S$75) - yes, another recommended house special - a hearty roasted side of French turbot served in its natural state, with simple roasted carrots, asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes. A whole bulb of roasted garlic finishes off this wholesome, satisfying tribute to the restaurant’s name. Thick and meaty in parts with gelatinous bony bits, there are no distractions to enjoying seafood in its natural state. We don’t even mind the same grey shrimp that give a briny boost to the beurre blanc sauce. Another olive oil dip works just as well.

For dessert, there’s Choco De Coco (S$15) which is a bit like chocolate lava cake without the lava, baked in a flan dish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s nice and warm, with a grainy texture with more sweetness than depth, but an easy-pleaser.

Poisson could accomplish a lot more if it pushes the seafood agenda with more clarity and purpose, and focus on ingredient quality and building a stronger menu. Good seafood done well never goes wrong, yet it’s always forgotten in a sea of fancy concepts and slick PR-speak. So if you’re looking for a good catch at Poisson, maybe give it a little more time.

Rating: 6

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN

10: The ultimate dining experience 9-9.5: Sublime 8-8.5: Excellent 7-7.5: Good to very good 6-6.5: Promising 5-5.5: Average

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