Moutarde review: Like Denny’s for grown-ups

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Moutarde B1-219-221 Weave Resorts World Sentosa 26 Sentosa Gateway Singapore 098138 Tel: 6577-6256 Open Mon to Fri for lunch and dinner: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 6 pm to 10 pm. Sat & Sun: 11.30 am to 10 pm.

[SINGAPORE] The name might be French, but Moutarde feels more like an equal opportunity cultural appropriator. Bistro by concept, it gleefully borrows whatever culinary accent it desires – be it English carvery, Chinese condiments or Indonesian street fare – all wrapped up in a glossy, theme-park setting with both American diner and Movenpick Marche vibes.

But it all works surprisingly well – thanks to Moutarde’s easy-going, come-as-you-are hospitality, which welcomes both tourists dropping in for fries and beer on tap, and those who know their BMS from their 1++. Think of it as a grown-up version of Denny’s – where the food is family-friendly, but the cooking is not dumbed down.

It shouldn’t be, either, since Moutarde comes with serious pedigree in the form of Paul Pairet – the French chef whose genre-bending Ultraviolet in Shanghai scored three Michelin stars. While it is now defunct, Pairet’s Mr & Mrs Bund is still open in the Chinese city.

The space is large – high ceilings, steel railings, leatherette banquettes and gaudy chandeliers – with an impressive meat-ageing and cheese room, a carvery section and a bar offering different types of water and beer on tap. Adding to the fun factor is the ice-cream parlour next door – Sundae Royale – specialising in soft-serve combinations in a nostalgia-themed space.

The menu is smallish but well-curated – snacks and charcuterie, a selection of meat and fish from the carvery, mains and sides. There are also a couple of self-affirming desserts – The Real French Toast and Good Churros (from the ice cream shop next door) – perhaps named because they spent most of their formative years being doubted.

If you’re there before the dining room fills up, you might see a very affable American chap making the rounds, offering very detailed menu recommendations. Turns out he isn’t a senior server but executive chef Greg Robinson – Pairet’s right-hand man for almost two decades, now posted to Singapore to do the same.

His warm, best-buddy demeanour sets the tone for the rest of the team who are engaging and authentic, especially Joey – who makes you feel at home even as she and her mates briskly change plates and handle hot crockery.

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Robinson waxes lyrical about the eggs mayo (S$12) but maybe he oversells it – we’re expecting something more resplendent than hard-boiled eggs topped with aioli and crispy croutons. Apparently there’s a trick to boiling them and a secret recipe for the sherry-soy aioli. Mayo aside, Ya Kun has its own trick to boiling eggs – and it doesn’t cost S$12.

But they have us at the cheese souffle. It takes 20 minutes for this wobbly pillow of puffed egg white to appear, and a few more for the sweet but all-thumbs server to carefully extricate from its ultra-hot bowl. She then injects it with a rich cheese emulsion, in a way we hope to never experience at our next vaccination. 

Dig into the creamy cheese and fluffy meringue, the richness offset by the extra tart vinaigrette that dresses the salad on the side.

French onion soup is another winning classic. As a nod to Robinson’s years in Shanghai, the gratinated cheese toast is made with you tiao instead of bread – creating a dense, chewy, cheesy, layer that hits a high on the comfort meter. Below it is an intense but not overpowering beef and onion broth – one of the better versions of this bistro stalwart.

There’s only a prime rib (S$38 for 180 g) from the carvery when we’re there, but the slow-cooked hunk of marbled beef is pink and tender – flanked by meat juices on one side and aioli on the other. 

But the hit of the day is the Indonesian sup buntut or oxtail soup (S$30) – so unexpected that you wonder if someone’s ibu is hiding in the kitchen. Pairet is apparently obsessed with this dish and learnt to make a very good version of it.

This one is a clear beef consomme with subtle spices, paired with a mammoth hunk of gelatinous, fall-off-the-bone meaty oxtail. Dunk the mild sambal into the broth to amp it up, eat it with the rice and bitter belinjo crackers, and burp in pleasure.

Finally, The Real French Toast (S$14) lives up to its name – super-eggy soaked brioche pan-fried till fluffy with bite, finished with a crunchy burnt sugar crust. It’s served with Sundae Royale’s signature milk soft-serve.

You have to go next door for the Good Churros. We’re too lazy, so we order the pistachio cherries sundae (S$14) – creamy ice cream with crunchy pistachios, sour cherries and crumbled speculaas. 

It’s a long mental trek to Sentosa for soft-serve and French toast, but if you find a good reason to be here, Moutarde’s eclectic French-everything appeal is the real cherry on top.

Rating: 7