Amò

Amò
33 Hongkong Street

http://www.amorestaurant.sg/

Margherita DOP (SGD $25)

Smart, Sharp, Contemporary Italian Dining

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 9
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $43 per person.


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Established in February 2017 and operated by renowned Italian restaurateur-chef Beppe De Vito under the ilLido Group, Amò is a smart-casual, modern contemporary Italian pizzeria restaurant. Named after the colloquial term of endearment 'Amore' and focusing on handmade wood-fired pizzas, Amò will delight those who love fresh ingredients and bright flavours. Due to the esteemed background of their brand, there will be high expectations going in. As they aim to reach a refined clientele, children below the age of 6 aren't allowed in, and the preferred attire is smart casual at a minimum.

Ambience at Amò is smart casual, not unlike its philosophy. The restored warehouse boasts an open concept kitchen with an almond wood-fired oven, vintage brick walls and checked mosaic floor tiles retained from the 1950s, warm decorative globules of light, and modern contemporary furnishings. Singaporean artist Venetia Stravens Kjellqvist has painted a huge mural of fern leaves along the wall, while the open bar is well-stocked and eye-catching at the entrance. Seating up to 90 diners, inclusive of the outdoor al-fresco courtyard, this restaurant sets a high bar for stylish chic that exudes a quiet elegance.

Service at Amò is professional and attentive. While they have a strict seating duration policy (we had to return the table at a specific time), staff were polite and courteous throughout, according each table personalised attention. They display intimate product knowledge on the menu, offering astute recommendations, and briefly sharing about each dish as it was served. Staff also regularly check on each table, offer top-up of drinks, and proactively clear away finished plates. Orders are fulfilled quickly, and little touches of thoughfulness, such as offering assistance with bags, lend a good impression.

Food at Amò is best described as Modern Italian cuisine, yet they retain hallmarks of classic flavours and traditional techniques. The straighforward menu details their focus - antipasti, pizzas, pastas, and wood-fired grills. Flavours are bright, delicious, and creative. Chef Federico Schiraldi and Chef Mary Cirillo head up the kitchen, both having honed their pizza craft in Apulia / Puglia, Italy. Something they do differently is to add toppings to the pizza after baking, to ensure an even distribution. Portions are large, meant for communal dining. Prices are reasonable, comparable to most gastrobars. Budget about SGD $43 per person.


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Amò Signage

Amò Exterior

Amò Interior

Bar

Seating Bar Counter

Seating Dining Area

There's no offer of sparkling or still water here, even though it's available on the menu. When we requested for Water (SGD $Complimentary), staff defaulted to serving us tap.

Water (SGD $Complimentary)

The Mocktail Upsy-Daisy (SGD $12) features a refreshing blend of tonic water, fresh lemon juice, and homemade camomile flower syrup. This lively beverage has a bright zesty tangy sour sweet floral flavour, like a more energetic lemonade.

Mocktail Upsy-Daisy (SGD $12)

The Cocktail Sgrappino (SGD $15) features a blend of frizzante prosecco, lemon sorbet, Grappa grape pomace brandy, and thyme. The aggressive boozy flavour of Grappa has been tamed because of the blend of ingredients here, resulting in a smooth, sippable, lively tipple that has bold sweet sour herbal flavour.

Cocktail Sgrappino (SGD $15)

The Cocktail Jin Aji (SGD $16) features a blend of yuzu juice, homemade sage tonic (lime juice, lemon juice, salt, simple syrup, sage leaves, gin), and yuzu infused gin.

Cocktail Jin Aji (SGD $16)

The Pickled Green Olives (SGD $Complimentary) feature brined pickled green olives stuffed with garlic cloves. This unique pairing has a robust earthy sour herbal spice flavour, with a juicy crunch to texture.

Pickled Green Olives (SGD $Complimentary)

Pickled Green Olives

The Roasted Mushrooms With Egg Confit (SGD $12) has a medley of sauteed tender juicy mixed wild mushrooms (straw, oyster) and soft caramelised onions, served with a wobbly soft egg confit. Garnished with micro-greens, you're meant to mix in the egg to lend a silky texture to the appetizer. This has a bold earthy salty savoury eggy flavour, rather intense for me, but the others seemed to love it.

Roasted Mushrooms With Egg Confit (SGD $12)

Roasted Mushrooms With Egg Confit

Roasted Mushrooms With Egg Confit

The Hand Cut Fries With Rosemary (SGD $12) are served with a side of creamy truffle mayonnaise, which has delicate earthy milky sweet flavour. These fries are thick cut and fluffy to the bite, the potato having robust herbal sweet salty flavour. Actually rather addictive, you can't stop reaching for more.

Hand Cut Fries With Rosemary (SGD $12)

Hand Cut Fries With Rosemary

Our nearly unanimous favourite pizza, the Margherita DOP (SGD $25) won our hearts with its clean-tasting, bright, simple vegetal sweet bready flavours. Their signature pizza dough is made with natural leaven, semolina, a secret aged yeast starter, and extra virgin olive oil. The result is a pizza crust with a beautiful, thin, crispy edge, however, the center tends to be soft, doughy, and limp, unable to support the ingredients. In classic Italian style, this is garnished with fresh tender basil leaves, San Marzano tomato passata (which is light but juicy fresh), and creamy Denominazione Di Origine Protetta (DOP) buffalo mozzarella cheese. The latter 2 ingredients (tomato and cheese) are imported from Campania, Italy, a region known for producing the best quality tomatoes and cheese. Highly recommended!

Margherita DOP (SGD $25)

Margherita DOP

Margherita DOP

The Broccolini, Pancetta, Pumpkin, Smoked Mozzarella (SGD $28) has the same signature pizza crust that is thinly crisp on the outside and doughy limp on the inside. But we loved the bright and unique combination of ingredients, which resulted in a pleasant contrast of vegetal sweet salty savoury meaty flavour. There's tender broccolini florets, chewy pancetta / salt-cured pork belly, creamy soft pumpkin, and smoked mozzarella cheese. Fairly addictive, I voted this as my favourite pizza. Highly recommended!

Broccolini, Pancetta, Pumpkin, Smoked Mozzarella (SGD $28)

Broccolini, Pancetta, Pumpkin, Smoked Mozzarella

Broccolini, Pancetta, Pumpkin, Smoked Mozzarella

Broccolini, Pancetta, Pumpkin, Smoked Mozzarella

The Pork Sausage, Caramelised Onions, Potatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella (SGD $29) has the same signature pizza crust that is thinly crisp on the outside and doughy limp on the inside. The toppings of bouncy pork sausage chunks, tender caramelised red onions, chunky potato, and creamy Denominazione Di Origine Protetta (DOP) buffalo mozzarella cheese, lend robust sweet savoury flavour. Perhaps overly so, as we found ourselves wondering why this pizza was so sweet on the palate. The use of potatoes here is unusual, and didn't contribute much to flavour. Too 'far out' for us, we couldn't appreciate this pizza.

Pork Sausage, Caramelised Onions, Potatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella (SGD $29)

Pork Sausage, Caramelised Onions, Potatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella

Pork Sausage, Caramelised Onions, Potatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella

Straight from the almond wood-fired oven, the Grilled Iberico Pork Chop (SGD $32) wows with its large, succulent, juicy bone-in pork chop, whose firm meat has a delicate smoky savoury salty sweet flavour, coming off the bone with some effort. Served with a creamy grainy celeriac puree with vegetal earthy sweet salty flavour, and crunchy broccolini florets with vegetal sweet spice flavour. Portion size is suitable for individuals, but we chose to share this delicious dish.

Grilled Iberico Pork Chop (SGD $32)

Grilled Iberico Pork Chop

Grilled Iberico Pork Chop

Staff surprised us with the Cioffe / Frappe (SGD $Complimentary), serving this bite of a dessert unannounced. Also known as Italian Bow Tie Cookies, these pastries consist of deep-fried pasta dough (eggs, sugar, salt, all-purpose flour, oil), dusted with icing sugar. They have a fragile, crisp texture that crunches softly, and a grainy bready sweet flavour. Good!

Cioffe / Frappe (SGD $Complimentary)

Cioffe / Frappe

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Update May-2020: With the ongoing COVID-19 circuit breaker in Singapore, we decided to order delivery from Amò. Glad to see their pizzas and appetizers were served looking fresh and visually pleasing. Amò is offering a discount on delivery during this period, get 25% off when you use the promo code 'DELIVER25'.

The Calamari With Sumac & Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli (SGD $22.50) features fresh, large, bouncy chunks of calamari squid, coated in a light crumb batter, seasoned with salt and pepper. Bite into the tender calamari squid, and you get a pleasant hit of sweet savoury salty spice flavours. Served with a sumac and sun-dried tomato aioli on the side, whose creamy thick texture holds bright floral earthy sweet flavours. I like that even after being delivered, it wasn't soggy or limp, still retaining a nice look-and-feel. Highly recommended!

Calamari With Sumac & Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli (SGD $22.50)

Calamari With Sumac & Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli

Calamari With Sumac & Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli

The Romana Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Anchovies, Capers, Tomato, Oregano (SGD $29.95) is an acquired taste pizza, which I love, but I understand if it may not appeal to most. Originating from ancient Rome, it features the house signature pizza crust that is thinly crisp on the outside and doughy limp on the inside. The toppings of anchovy fish, capers, oregano, and fresh tomato paste are held together with mozzarella cheese made from cow's milk (instead of buffalo milk). This has a big chewy bite to texture, with an intense hit of salty notes from the anchovies, followed by vegetal sweet floral flavours from the other ingredients on the pizza. Worth ordering!

Romana Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Anchovies, Capers, Tomato, Oregano (SGD $29.95)

Romana Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Anchovies, Capers, Tomato, Oregano

Romana Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Anchovies, Capers, Tomato, Oregano

The Mushrooms, Truffle, Mascarpone, Tuscan Pecorino (SGD $37.45) is a classic al-funghi mushroom pizza. It features the house signature pizza crust that is thinly crisp on the outside and doughy limp on the inside. The toppings of brown beech mushrooms, white beech mushrooms, and black truffle paste are held together with mascarpone and Tuscan pecorino cheese. Has a tender creamy bite to texture, with robust earthy savoury sweet vegetal flavours. Good!

Mushrooms, Truffle, Mascarpone, Tuscan Pecorino (SGD $37.45)

Mushrooms, Truffle, Mascarpone, Tuscan Pecorino

Mushrooms, Truffle, Mascarpone, Tuscan Pecorino

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