Monoceros picked Ristorante Da Valentino for her belated birthday dinner and boy was it a fantastic choice!
Tucked away in a little road called Jalan Bingka which is off Rifle Range Road, this tiny Italian restaurant exudes a cosiness with its rose-red walls and home-style furnishings and decorations. You feel like you’ve just stepped into someone’s home on entering.


A warm bread roll soon landed on each of our plates. The bread was slightly crisp on the outside and warm and fluffy inside. A pesto dip flavoured with some hint of lemon was the perfect accompaniment. I wiped out the entire dip. Actually it’s “dipS” cos we all asked for another each!!!


Our starter was a piece of cheese wrapped in parma ham. The ham and cheese were then lightly pan-fried to melt the cheese a little to give it a gooey texture. It was served with some garden salad with some vinigrette. This starter was absolutely delicious and was a good indication as to what was to follow. The ham was tasty and the cheese was delightfully gooey and it is sliced through. The garden salad gave some balance to the otherwise heavy dish.


The wild boar fettucine was one of the specials of the day. The homemade pasta was nice and springy and the wild boar in a tomato-based sauce was delectable.


Always a favourite of mine, the linguini al pesto was nice and light.


The ravioli con funghi porcini was another special of the day. The minced mushrooms encased in the ravioli with cheese sprinkled on top was also tasty and had the requisite springy texture of homemade pasta.


The dish of the night had to belong to the beef steak, the Cote de Boeuf. Served on a huge platter and sprinkled with rocket, this dish is good for 4 to 5 to share. Any fewer bodies and you’d have to doggie bag. Actually, your dog would love the bone! Prepared medium-rare and lightly pan-fried with some light seasoning, the beef steak was one of the best I’ve ever had. For about $88, it’s a really good deal especially when shared between five of us.
For desserts we had the following below. I didn’t think that much of their desserts compared to the mains, but still it was a good way to end a thoroughly satisfying meal.


Chocolate apple pie – liked this one best out of the three. A nice twist to the normal apple pie and utterly sinful. Just my kinda thing.


Chocolate Salami – this was a bit dry so I didn’t like it that much.


Tiramisu – creamy enough, but could have done with more alcohol.
Service: Good
Price: $50 and above per person
Ristorante Da Valentino
11 Jalan Bingka
Singapore 588908
Tel: 64620555