La Cantina In Venezia - Closed
1 Netheravon Road
#08-02 Le Meridien Changi
http://www.cantinafoodwine.com/Restaurants/changi.htm
Excellent Italian Food And Nice Views, At A Price
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $48 per person.
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La Cantina In Venezia means The Cellar In Venice, which gives a clue to the theme of this restaurant. Probably one of the better, and also more expensive, Italian restaurants I've dined in, La Cantina In Venezia serves traditional Italian food in a comfortable and whimsical setting, with great views of the bay.
Ambience at La Cantina In Venezia is styled after the famous masquerade balls in Venice during the Renaissance period, with a touch of colonial European class. Floral arrangements adorn the interior, with manicured bushes outside. La Cantina In Venezia occupies 2 storeys, and both offer a good view of the beach and bay nearby. However, the overall floor space here is rather limited, even with outdoor seating, and reservations are recommended.
Service at La Cantina In Venezia is befitting a fine dining restaurant. We had a problem with a shaky table, which staff fixed on the spot. They also acceded to our request to portion out food, as we were sharing. Staff also offer to change dirty plates throughout the meal.
Food at La Cantina In Venezia is traditional Italian, with antipasta, pasta and pizza being the main highlights. The key in Italian cuisine is simplicity and freshness of ingredients, both of which La Cantina In Venezia has managed to get right. Flavour in most dishes comes from one or two key ingredients, and their dishes are generally quite tasty. I did note that their seafood tends to make their pizza crust slightly soggy and the pasta sauce thinner, due to the presence of water.
Prices at La Cantina In Venezia are on the expensive side, with the total bill for 5 of us coming up to SGD $240. And this was without alcohol or wine. For what its worth, I'll probably only visit La Cantina In Venezia for special occasions.
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Carpaccio is a traditional Italian dish of raw meat or fish, typically beef, venison, salmon or tuna, pounded and thinly sliced, served with a light marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, shavings of Parmesan cheese and topped with arugula. Since the meat is raw, the key to this dish is the freshness.
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| Carpaccio Beef |
The Calamari Deep Fried Squid With Home Made Tomato Sauce was crunchy and perfectly seasoned, and the home made tomato sauce gave a burst of flavour and freshness.
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| Calamari Deep Fried Squid With Home Made Tomato Sauce |
Focaccia Bread is a typical Italian bread, dipped in olive oil and consumed.
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| Focaccia Bread |
A traditional Italian starter, Bruschetta consists of grilled bread, rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, diced fresh tomatoes, onions and mozzarella.
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| Bruschetta |
The ambience here is great, themed after the Masquerade Ball that Venice became famous for during the Renaissance period.
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| La Cantina In Venezia Table Layout |
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| Sky Light |
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| Vaudeville Masquerade |
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| Floral Arrangement |
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| Flowers Outside |
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| Italy Flag |
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| La Cantina In Venezia Interior |
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| La Cantina In Venezia Menu Books |
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| Mask On The Wall |
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| View Outside |
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| View Outside |
The Pasta Linguine Al Granchio is the signature dish here, and consists of crab meat and linguine in a creamy tomato sauce. Very fresh and tasty, highly recommended!
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| Pasta Linguine Al Granchio |
The Pasta Spaghetti Pescatora is a seafood pasta, consisting of mussels, prawns, squid and scallops in a light spicy tomato sauce with spaghetti. I thought the sauce was a little too light and diluted, as the seafood made the sauce thiner. Could have been better. Fortunately, the seafood was fresh.
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| Pasta Spaghetti Pescatora |
The Pizza Fruitti Di Mare is a seafood pizza topped with pomodoro, mozzarella, prawns, scallops, squid and mussels. While tasty, I thought it was a little odd to have seafood stuck on the pizza crust, and it also made the crust a little soggy. I won't recommend this.
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| Pizza Fruitti Di Mare |
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| Pizza Fruitti Di Mare |
The Pizza Love is topped with pomodoro, mozzarella, garlic and crabmeat. Really good, but a little heavy because of the cheese.
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| Pizza Love |
A generous serving of Lemon Sorbet, presented in a frozen lemon skin. Tasty and refreshing, a great dessert to end the meal.
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| Lemon Sorbet |
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| Lemon Sorbet |
A horribly expensive and weak Latte, you're better off ordering other drinks instead.
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| Latte |
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Update Jul-2017: More than 4 years, and we've only just paid a return visit to La Cantina In Venezia. Ambience here remains styled after colonial masquerade balls, and while the view is still good, the decor and furniture are showing signs of age. Service remains professional, courteous, and efficient, very good. Food remains largely traditional Italian cuisine, though I notice slight changes in the ingredients of dishes. I'm glad they've maintained a high quality in taste and presentation. Prices remain high though, so plan accordingly.
Got a fizzy Italian Soda Peach (SGD $5.50), which has a good balance of sweetness, and is rather refreshing and thirst-quenching.
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| Italian Soda Peach (SGD $5.50) |
Loved the warm, fluffy, porous focaccia bread in the Focaccia Bread Basket (SGD $Complimentary). Helps open the appetite nicely, and goes great with the dipping sauce of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
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| Focaccia Bread Basket (SGD $Complimentary) |
The style of the Calamari (SGD $16.50) has changed slightly from before, but it's still delicious. The light golden batter crunches satisfiyingly, and the bouncy, meaty sweet squid meat within is fresh and succulent. The fresh tomato sauce which accompanies on the side lends a light sweet floral flavour. Good!
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| Calamari (SGD $16.50) |
The Vongole Al Vino Bianco (SGD $18.50), or clams in white wine sauce, feature small but meaty clams, which are fresh and come easily off the shells. The delicious white wine and clam stock sauce is sweet savoury, and really brings the overall flavour to life. Serving size is generous too, making this great for sharing.
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| Vongole Al Vino Bianco (SGD $18.50) |
The Burrata Cheese With Parma Ham (SGD $36.90) is an off-menu, special appetizer dish of the day. Fresh, crunchy, bitter arugula / wild rocket leaves, juicy sweet cherry tomatoes, and savoury salty parma ham, paired with creamy milky burrata cheese. The cheese isn't as firmly set as elsewhere, but the taste is still pretty good. Overall, it's an above average dish.
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| Burrata Cheese With Parma Ham (SGD $36.90) |
The signature dish of Pasta Linguine Al Granchio (SGD $29.90) remains as good as before. The al-dente strands of long, flat linguine pasta noodles pick up the creamy sweet tomato sauce nicely. Love that each mouthful has a slight bite to it. The garnish of fresh deshelled crab meat is generously sprinkled in large chunks over the pasta. Very satisfiying, so tasty. Highly recommended!
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| Pasta Linguine Al Granchio (SGD $29.90) |
The Pizza Margherita (SGD $17.90) may only feature pomodoro and mozzerella on a thin, crisp pizza crust. But it's well-executed, each bite having a bold sweet savoury flavour. Much better than I expected, in fact, we'll order it again. Good!
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| Pizza Margherita (SGD $17.90) |
The Pizza Raikkonen (SGD $26.90) was mildly disappointing. Features pomodoro, mozzerella, bacon, salami, and spicy chorizo pork sausage, on a thin, crisp pizza crust. I felt there could have been more ingredients per portion, and I also wish it was less salty.
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| Pizza Raikkonen (SGD $26.90) |
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CONVERSATION