Food Picks: Come for the steak, stay for the fish at Meadesmoore

SINGAPORE – It takes a certain breed of independent thinker to visit a steakhouse and order a fish. I am not sure I am that kind of person. But in a better world, I would be. And in that world, I would go to Meadesmoore alone and order, first and foremost, the French turbot ($65). 

One expects many things from a steakhouse: great steaks, of course; a decent smattering of sides – some greens, a fry or two; a leather booth perhaps, or some sort of ornamental tribute to the 20th-century steakhouses of New York and London. 

Meadesmoore, a steakhouse in Telok Ayer, delivers on all three counts. It has a larder stocked with premium cuts of beef – including a 25-day dry-aged slab comprising three distinct types of muscle ($220 for 500g), as well as the just-fatty-enough N34 Garnet F1 wagyu striploin ($180 for 400g) – destined to be grilled to the perfect shade of pink.

This it serves with generously spiced sides such as grilled broccolini ($20) and roasted honey saffron cauliflower ($16), which can be enjoyed in leather booths, though these are sequestered in the back of the restaurant. 

Meadesmoore even throws in some solid starters for good measure: a dry-aged wagyu tartare ($24) that somehow whets your appetite for more beef, as well as chimichurri-crusted bone marrow ($26) – a fat slap of opulence shot through with just the right degree of herby acidity. 

None of this is particular surprising, however. Until the restaurant trots out a plate of turbot at the tail end of the meal, sectioned into neat little blocks like the keys of a piano and swimming in a pool of its own bone jus.

I regard this with a polite nod and some reluctance. Why waste precious stomach space on something as unremarkable as fish in a steakhouse? But I do anyway, and thank goodness because it is superb – delicate and buttery, with a mild sweetness that is enhanced by the deeper tang of the roasted bone jus. 

For dessert, the restaurant, which just refreshed its menu, has introduced the pavlova flotante ($18). Light, airy and tart, it is the palate cleanser many diners will gravitate towards after such a heavy meal. 

But if you, like me, have no respect for the balance of things, embrace the fat of the land and get the restaurant’s very creamy, very excellent tiramisu ($22). 

Where: Meadesmoore, 21A Boon Tat Street
MRT: Telok Ayer
Open: 11.30am to 3pm (Mondays to Fridays), 5.30 to 10pm (Mondays to Wednesdays), 5.30 to 11pm (Thursdays to Saturdays)
Info:

meadesmoore.com