Mad For Garlic

Safe Haven During The Vampire Apocalypse

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 9
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $35 per person.





Revolving around the concept of an ingredient, Mad For Garlic is a new concept restaurant that originated in Korea, but focuses its menu on serving classic Italian dishes such as pasta, pizza, and risotto. Offering over 50 kinds of menu items all based around garlic, Mad For Garlic is definitely not a place to dine at if you plan to do any kissing later.

Even the ambience reflects its theme of garlic and wine. Mad For Garlic has an attractive wine rack which takes up an entire wall, and the overhead lightings are wreathed in garlic cloves. Beyond this, Mad For Garlic has a rather simple, minimalist look, with dark colours and large, functional booths.

I find the service at Mad For Garlic to be above average. Staff constantly move around to check on diners, and are knowlegable about items on the menu. I find that they project a certain level of professionalism when speaking to them, especially the senior staff. Food is served relatively quickly. However, the junior staff do lack wine knowledge, only able to offer basic advice on wines.

While Mad For Garlic offers classic Italian dishes, they put their own spin on it by incorporating garlic into everything, even the appetizers and desserts. Portions are generous and suitable for sharing, and prices are reflective of a up-market cafe, but not as expensive as a full service restaurant. I especially liked that Mad For Garlic makes its own pasta in-house, however, they only offer spaghetti as the sole pasta choice.





Garlic and wine are the theme here, and these ingredients are featured everywhere, even as part of the decor.

Mad For Garlic Interior

Mad For Garlic Lighting

Garlic Wreath

Val D'Oca Prosecco is a sparkling white varietal from Italy, with light and fragrant floral notes, with a soft sour and sweet citrus taste.

LaPlaya Estate Merlot is a red varietal from Chile, with aromas of roast meat and dried grapes, and a fruity, full bodied taste that has a soft tannin and long, slow finish.

Val D'Oca Prosecco 01

Val D'Oca Prosecco 02

LaPlaya Estate Merlot 01

LaPlaya Estate Merlot 02

A house specialty, the Garlic Bread Tower (SGD $12.50) is served table side, providing mini entertainment for diners. Filled with fresh garlic puree, I find the crisp, warm bread to be really tasty. Recommended as a starter.

Garlic Bread Tower 01

Garlic Bread Tower 02

The Grilled Chicken & Mushroom Risotto (SGD $22.50) has beautifully smooth and creamy risotto, while still being al-dente enough with a slight bite, and a fragrant mushroom aroma. Generous slices of mushroom, garlic cloves, and leaves of spinach make this dish healthy and fragrant, while the grilled chicken slices were tender, moist, and had a slight smoky char from the grill. Excellent dish, and I would highly recommend this!

Grilled Chicken & Mushroom Risotto 01

Grilled Chicken & Mushroom Risotto 02

The unassuming appearance of the Spicy Cream Chicken Pizza (SGD $21.40) hides the fact that the spice level builds as you eat it. The crisp thin crust pizza is generously topped with spicy minced chicken, onions, garlic cloves and chili, with a thin herb cream sauce. I thought this was pretty good, but not particulary outstanding. Would be better if there was more chicken, or more spice for a bigger kick.

Spicy Cream Chicken Pizza 01

Spicy Cream Chicken Pizza 02

The Shrimp And Garlic Sprout Spaghetti (SGD $23.50) features house-made spaghetti, in an light olive oil, chili and garlic base (aglio olio), topped with fresh, whole prawns and garlic sprouts. Loved that the freshness of the ingredients shines through, and that the 4 whole shrimp are quite large. Thought the use of olive oil was a little too liberal though.

Shrimp And Garlic Sprout Spaghetti 01

Shrimp And Garlic Sprout Spaghetti 02

Love the freshness of the vegetables in the Teriyaki Mushroom Salad (SGD $19.90), which features a trio of shiitake, abalone, and straw mushrooms. The teriyaki sauce gives a nice 'grilled' flavour to the earthyness of the dish, while the red bell pepper capsicum is nicely grilled and complements the profile. For a salad, it's quite a large portion!

Teriyaki Mushroom Salad

The Lobster Cream Spaghetti Pasta (SGD $23.50) has a gentle, delicate taste, very unlike the rest of the strongly flavoured offerings on the menu. The lobster is fresh and meaty, but the cream sauce is rather muted, and it gets cloying towards the end. Not that great.

Lobster Cream Spaghetti Pasta

Garlic as a dessert? The unique Garlic Berry Ice Cream (SGD $8.90) features sweet garlic jelly that releases a burst of garlic goodness after the initial sweetness of the gelatin gummy. Served on a dollop of French Vanilla ice cream, with topping of raspberry and blueberry compote, the contrast of sweetness, tartness, and sharpness of the garlic complement each other well.

Garlic Berry Ice Cream 01

Garlic Berry Ice Cream 02

The Garlic Snowing Pizza (SGD $22.50) is almost like a turbo charged version of the classic Hawaiian Pizza, featuring fresh shrimp on each slice, pineapples and 2 types of cheese. Garlic chips are sprinkled liberally across the thin crust, giving each mouthful a powerful flavour. Very good!

Garlic Snowing Pizza 01

Garlic Snowing Pizza 02

The Pumpkin Spicy Cream Pizza (SGD $21.40) features a thin, crisp, pizza crust, topped with a spicy cream sauce, garnished with minced chicken, simmered till soft pumpkin slices, and gooey cheese. Lovely, the contrast of cream and spicy heat awakens the palate, and it's more intense than it looks!

Pumpkin Spicy Cream Pizza 01

Pumpkin Spicy Cream Pizza 02

The Ham & Sausage Pizza (SGD $22.50) features savoury, salty, smoky chunks of sausage, ham, onions, mushrooms, and bacon on a thin crust pizza covered in a sweet cream and pepper sauce. Pretty good on its own, but rather average compared to the other items on the menu.

Ham & Sausage Pizza 01

Ham & Sausage Pizza 02