Atmastel Tasting Session
26 Beach Road
#B1-22 South Beach
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 11:30am - 10pm,
Closed Sun
http://www.atmastel.com/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session, but I did pay the standard price during subsequent visits.
Attended with representatives from Singapore Food Listing, msginginly, Ms Janice Eats, Jelly Love Fats, and Her Pen And Fork.
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| Atmastel Pizzas |
Artisanal Ingredients And Authentic Natural Flavours
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 9
Service: 7
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $35 per person.
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Opening its doors in January 2017, Atmastel is an Italian casual dining restaurant, located in the South Beach area of Singapore. Being a Pizzeria and Trattoria, Atmastel promises real Italian food, made with artisanal, quality Italian ingredients, handcrafted to showcase the best natural flavours. The team is headed by Executive Chef Andrea Tarini, who brings 30 years of culinary experience including being a sous chef in a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant, and Head Pizza Chef Matteo Fabbian, whose skill in traditional pizza making techniques has been showcased across 4 continents.
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| Atmastel Signage |
Ambience at Atmastel is modern, casual, and welcoming. This multi-concept restaurant features an open kitchen with a pizza section, the main restaurant dining section, a Crudo (cold cuts and cheese) and drinks bar, and a small but well-stocked retail area, with over 70 varieties of artisanal cold cuts, cheeses, wines, and condiments. The warm spotlit place is neatly arrayed with sturdy wooden furnishings, complementing the shades of wood, grey, and turquoise. Floor to ceiling windows offer a view of the street on one end, and on the other, the open kitchen allows diners to watch the chefs at work. A green wall and a projector screen playing movies complete the look. So many things to look at here, it's worth lingering.
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| Atmastel Exterior |
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| Atmastel Interior |
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| Kitchen & Bar |
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| Seating |
Service at Atmastel is decent, passable enough. Staff are quietly efficient, and don't particularly make their presence known. They assist in arranging plates when serving orders, and also clear away empty / dirty tables quickly when diners leave. However, nothing memorable stood out for me, but it's also good that nothing terrible happened either. I've yet to see staff being tested under pressure. For what it's worth, the service standards here are functional enough to get the job done.
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| Menu Food |
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| Menu Drinks |
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| Menu Ingredient Highlights |
Food at Atmastel is all about authentic Italian cuisine, using good quality ingredients, made to showcase their natural flavours. The highlight here is naturally the pizza. The menu is varied, offering a range of traditional favourties, with several modern innovations from Executive Chef Andrea Tarini and Head Pizza Chef Matteo Fabbian. Because the chefs take great pride in their food, their insistence on doing things in a specific way results in fantastic, delicious dishes that are consistently well executed. Portions are naturally large, designed for communal dining, and I recommend visiting with at least 3 people or more. Prices are comparable to other casual Italian restaurants, being mid-range. Budget about SGD $35 per person for a meal without any drinks here.
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| Prosciutto / Cured Ham |
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| Cheese Wheel |
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| Liquor Cabinet |
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| Display Of Bottles |
Having just returned from Italy, where I had excellent coffee over several days, I find the Cappuccino (SGD $5.50) here to be just decent.
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| Cappuccino (SGD $5.50) |
The Calamari & Zucchini Fritters (SGD $18) is the most popular appetizer here. And with good reason, this unique treat has thinly shredded zucchini strips and fresh bouncy calamari rings, coated in a light, satisfiyingly crispy batter. Sprinkled with a little salt, yet the natural sweet flavours shine through. Completely unstoppable, you just keep wanting more. I even see people coming in just to order this! Served with a light sweet sour green tomato jam sauce, and a creamy homemade mayonnaise. Highly recommended!
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| Calamari & Zucchini Fritters (SGD $18) |
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| Calamari & Zucchini Fritters |
The hand crafted Pizza here features 100% stone-milled flour. Pre-fermented with artisanal biga, commonly used in Italian baking, this adds complexity to the pizza crust's flavor, and gives it a light, airy texture, while lending greater grain flavour. Allowed to rise for 48 hours, the result is an excellent pizza crust, light, crisp, airy in texture, big with grain flavour. Fantastic mouthfeel, and because it's baked, completely non-greasy. So good, you'll want to eat every bite of the pizza crust!
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| Pizza |
The Margherita Pizza (SGD $26), also sometimes known as a Neapolitan Pizza, is a classic Italian pizza, the 'true original' of all pizzas. Said to be styled in the colours of the Italian flag, this traditional favourite has the pizza crust topped with San Marzano tomatoes, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius, along with mozzarella fior di latte / cow's milk mozzarella cheese, Grano Padano DOP (Denominazione Di Origine Protetta) 24 months aged cheese, basil leaves, and extra virgin olive oil. Bite in, and you get the crisp crunch of the pizza crust, then a bright burst of tangy sour sweet flavour of tomatoes, the gooey stringy texture of the cheese, and a hint of herbal and grainy flavours on the end. Tasty, though it's more sour in taste instead of sweet like those from its country of origin. Good!
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| Margherita Pizza (SGD $26) |
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| Margherita Pizza |
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| Margherita Pizza |
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| Margherita Pizza |
The Prosciutto & Asparagus Pizza (SGD $34) is a signature creation here. Topped with mozzarella cheese, large stalks of asparagus, San Daniele DOP (Denominazione Di Origine Protetta) 24 months aged prosciutto / parma ham, Grano Padano DOP (Denominazione Di Origine Protetta) 24 months aged cheese, and broccoli cream. The novel and innovative combination of flavours is a sensational burst on the palate, layers of crunchy, creamy, smoky, savoury, sweet, salty, vegetal. I can see this being among their more popular pizza creations. Worth ordering!
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| Prosciutto & Asparagus Pizza (SGD $34) |
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| Prosciutto & Asparagus Pizza |
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| Prosciutto & Asparagus Pizza |
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| Prosciutto & Asparagus Pizza |
The San Daniele Pizza (SGD $36) is crafted to showcase the quality of the San Daniele DOP (Denominazione Di Origine Protetta) 24 months aged prosciutto / parma ham. Along with Grano Padano DOP (Denominazione Di Origine Protetta) 24 months aged cheese and San Marzano tomatoes, you're supposed to taste the layers and depth of flavour distinctly. Pretty decent, though I personally liked the other pizzas more.
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| San Daniele Pizza (SGD $36) |
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| San Daniele Pizza |
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| San Daniele Pizza |
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| San Daniele Pizza |
Loved the Sausage & Potatoes Pizza (SGD $34), which despite the rather ordinary name, is the most outstanding pizza in terms of flavour. The signature pizza crust is topped with mozzarella cheese, gorgonzola cheese, purple potatoes (not sweet potatoes), wild rocket leaves / arugula, and homemade pork sausage. You get textures of crispy, crunchy, tender, chewy, and gooey, while the flavours of sweet, bitter, savoury, sour, salty, earthy, and cheesy, is bold and robust on the palate. This is either a love-or-hate sort of pizza, due to the strong flavours of the cheese and vegetables. I personally loved it, especially the juicy homemade pork sausages. Highly recommended!
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| Sausage & Potatoes Pizza (SGD $34) |
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| Sausage & Potatoes Pizza |
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| Sausage & Potatoes Pizza |
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| Sausage & Potatoes Pizza |
Part of what makes a great pasta is the pairing of pasta type with the sauce. And in the Garganelli With Homemade Sausage (SGD $21.50), they've achieved a perfect balance. The garganelli is a hollow, tube-shaped, egg-based pasta noodles, which picks up the rich, thick, fresh tomato and cream sauce beautifully, such that it bursts upon the palate. The sauce itself has notes of sweet and spicy, very enticing. I already knew how good the homemade sausage was, the juicy, chewy chunks of pork sausage with its savoury salty flavours work so well with the pasta. Plus, I like that they've done it really al-dente, with a firm chew in texture. Highly recommended!
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| Garganelli With Homemade Sausage (SGD $21.50) |
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| Garganelli With Homemade Sausage |
It's not an Italian dessert, but the sous chef, who also doubles as the pastry chef, is so skilled in making the Portuguese Egg Tart (SGD $4.20 for 2 pieces), that customers begged for it to be added to the menu. On first bite, you'll know why this egg tarts are so special. The flaky, buttery, crisp puff pastry crust gently holds the wobbly soft egg custard, which is full of eggy vanilla flavour. Dusted with cinnamon powder for the finish, it has a slight caramelisation on the outside, yet the inside still remains hot and moist. Super shiok. I can understand why customers come here just to takeaway this delicious dessert. Highly recommended!
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| Portuguese Egg Tart (SGD $4.20 for 2 pieces) |
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| Portuguese Egg Tart |
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| Portuguese Egg Tart |
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| Portuguese Egg Tart |
Overall, I'm very impressed with the dining experience at Atmastel. Love the lively, vibrant ambience, and the delicious, authentic Italian food. The service standards are decent enough, but the Chefs do go out of their way to accomodate guests requests. I would return to Atmastel again for more!
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CONVERSATION