One of my girlfriends recently had dinner at Fratini and was raving to me of her awesome experience. With her strong recommendation, I decided to check Fratini out with my (other) Italian-cuisine-loving girlfriend. And reservation is a must. On our first attempt, I tried to make reservation on the same day we meant to have dinner but was told they were full house for the night. Hence, on our second attempt, I called at least 5 days in advance to make reservation for a Saturday dinner. =)

Located in Bukit Timah, there’s no neighbouring MRT station. I took a bus from Botanic Garden MRT station and got off in front of Hwa Chong Junior College. Since I was familiar with Greenwood estate, I was able to make my way quickly from the bus stop without referring to Google map. From the bus stop, it’s a 10 to 12 minutes walk to the restaurant, which is nestled inside the estate of private houses.

Upon arrival, we were led to our table and was told by the staff that the chef would attend to us shortly. So yes, the unique thing about Fratini is that there’s no menu. It’s the Italian omakase (I’ll leave it to you)! The only hints we got (before the chef came to us) were from the boards that were hung on the wall. Pricing for lunch starts from $45, while dinner starts from $85.

As with omakase or tailored menu, communication is key. My girlfriend and I are pretty easy going people. We just nodded our heads away when chef Gabriel Fratini said he will do a 4-courses meal with pasta as mains for us.

And with that, we started our dinner with:-

  
  

1) Appetizer #1 (above) – Crab meat with apple, prawn with mashed pumpkin, chopped yellow tail and asparagus tossed in citrus dressing and scallop with paprika and burrata cheese.

2) Appetizer #2 (above) – Pork rib with pear and meat ball comprised of chicken & pork served with tomato sauce.

3) Appetizer #3 (above) – Grilled prawn with spinach sauce, zucchini & beans and sea bass with asparagus sauce. I especially liked that porcini mushroom was sandwiched between the skin and meat of the sea bass which introduced an interesting mix of textures into the dish. So good!

4) Appetizer #4 (above) – Pan-seared crayfish.

5) Main #1 (above) – Ravioli with spinach filling, topped with spinach sauce and grated ricotta cheese. 2 pieces each for my girlfriend and I.

  

6) Main #2 (above) – And chef Gabriel happily introduced this as the traditional Italian dish; Tagliatelle with prawn and squid. And we liked the idea of our pasta being served in a skillet where we portioned out our pasta with the given tongs.

7) Desserts (above) – Spicy chocolate mousse, pana cotta with mango mousse and tiramisu. For the chocolate mousse, we were told to lift the tart into our mouth with the chilli. But don’t bite into the chilli. Pull it out! Our favourite of the 3 was the panna cotta!

And the reason why our dinner became more than (the originally planned) 4 courses was because when my girlfriend and I were onto our second dish, we realised our dinner was coming to an end very soon! And that’s unusual for us cause our dinners together tend to be a long affair. As such, my girlfriend and I requested for additional dishes. Which of course, the staff got the chef to tend to us. Chef Gabriel came up to us and went “So what’s happening here?” with a wide smile. Ha!

So yes, communication is key. While one can’t choose what one wants specifically (if not that would defeat the whole intention of ‘leaving it to the chef’), chef Gabriel tailors the menu according to one’s dietary restriction and to what was purchased (daily) from the market. But if one is like us who eat a lot, do let the chef know too! He probably (initially) thought 4 courses would be sufficient by judging us from our appearance; My girlfriend is really skinny.

Speaking of which, my girlfriend and I love variety. We requested for 2 different mains. But as there was only 2 of us, it was slightly difficult for chef Gabriel to do 2 different mains as the food was served in a pot. Although 2 different mains was no issue for groups of 3 and above. So it was really nice that chef Gabriel managed to squeeze in something for us and came up with 2 different mains; Ravioli and tagliatelle. =)

So yes, I definitely recommend Fratini La Trattoria. Food was finger-licking good, and service was exceptional too! One could also tell they are definitely doing it right when most of the patrons were regulars. It’s amazing how chef Gabriel juggled between managing the kitchen and interacting with the customers! Most of the dishes were introduced by head chef Gabriel himself. If he was busy conversing with a table, the co-chef would personally serve the dish on his behalf.

Our dinner worked up to $100 (before GST and service charge) per person, which was affordable and very value-for-money.

FRATINI LA TRATTORIA
10 Greenwood Avenue, Hillcrest Park, Singapore 6468 2868, Website, Facebook
	Overall: 8
Opening hours:-	Food/Beverage: 8
Tues – Sun : 12:00 – 14:30 (Lunch)	Ambience: 7
Tues – Sun : 18:00 – 23:00 (Dinner	Value: 8
	Service: 8
* Closed on Mon

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