Food Picks: Go with a strategy to the Sunday Cocktail Brunch at Manhattan bar

SINGAPORE – Say “buffet” and my eyes glaze over. Say brunch with craft cocktails and please sign me up, immediately.

Post Covid-19, Manhattan bar’s adults-only, booze-soaked, three-hour-long Sunday brunch is back with a vengeance. It is priced at $168++ a person, with free flow of cocktails, wine and beer. Add $50++ a person for bubbles.

I do not, because there is a lot to drink and eat. The food stations are set up in cosy corners throughout the 98-seat bar. Please go with a strategy. At the entrance, I skip the popcorn and have two foie gras pops swathed in cotton candy.

Once inside, I start by getting a mezcal Bloody Mary and then head to the “garnish room”. It is awe-inspiring. Wedges of citrus, pickled onions, gherkins, olives, vegetables, herbs and fruit are laid out as toppings. I go with fried chicken – yes, it goes with the cocktail. Also a caper berry, a spear of asparagus, some dill, a wedge of orange and a blackberry. It is over the top, the way Sunday brunch should be.

Then, because life is short, I head to the dessert room, which in normal times, is the Andy Warhol-inspired East47 bar-within-a-bar.

There, you can order boozy milkshakes made with Michter’s Bourbon or Planteray Rum. I have a matcha one with bourbon, and top it with marshmallows and sprinkles. Naughty and nice. While there, I also get a Manhattan Banana Split with popping candy, nitro ice cream and caramelised banana. The NY Cheesecake is worth splitting with friends.

Now that I have tackled the best two stations, I am ready to explore. The pancetta and gorgonzola from The Delicatessen are fantastic, especially with a spoonful of fig chutney. I get a couple slices of the Mezcal & Maple Syrup American Bacon from The Carvery, and have them with the mac and cheese, although next time, I might make a sandwich with bread and condiments from The Delicatessen.

Throughout brunch, staff pop by to get cocktail orders and set down more food. Worth eating are the Cornbread, the Organic Purple Corn Chowder, the fantastic little hot dogs with very snappy sausage casings and the Manhattan Smashed Sliders, properly charred, with cheese and caramelised onions.

Of course, you can order any cocktail your heart desires. Mine desires the bar’s excellent Hazelnut Espresso Martini, Boulevardier and I have to have a Barrel-Aged Manhattan. Of course.

Where: Level 2 Conrad Singapore Orchard, 1 Cuscaden Road
MRT: Orchard
Open: Brunch is served on Sundays from noon to 3pm
Info: Call 6725-3377 or e-mail sinod.manhattan@conradhotels.com