Buona Terra, An Intimate Fine-dining Italian Experience

Fine-dining Italian restaurant Buona Terra is an intimate nook with just 24 seats including a six-seater private room. Serving modernistic Italian cuisine plus an extensive selection of Italian wine, Buona Terra occupies a corner space in a colonial house that is a stone’s throw away from busy Orchard road. It is somewhat secluded, quiet, private and quite exclusive. Yet it is casual and not pretentious.

The dining experience is described as a journey of tastes and the menu is organised so diners can decide if they want an eight to 10 course Good Earth degustation menu, or a three, four or five course dinner under their Constellation of the Stars menu.

Chef Denis Lucchi’s degustation menu (S$228++ per person) uses the freshest and finest seasonal produce to work up an exquisite lineup of delectable dishes. As such, the menu can change slightly each day depending on the ingredients available. However, the overall degustation menu changes every two to three weeks so frequent diners can expect variety and new dishes. What’s more, there is wine pairing (with additional S$130++) so that each dish you savour comes with a chosen wine to enhance the gastronomic experience.

Highlights from the degustation menu included:

• Hokkaido scallop tartare with caviar, in tomato consomme.
• Marinated ocean trout with asparagus and ikura.
• White asparagus wrapped with parma ham and with a generous side of white truffle.
• Pasta with bamboo clam.
• New Zealand lamb loin layered with pistachio, served with artichoke.
• Traditional tiramisu dessert with white chocolate, for the perfect ending.

For the Constellation of the Stars menu, diners get to customise their meals, choosing the three-course Star menu (S$88++ per person), four-course Moon menu (S$108++ per person), or five-course Sun menu (S$128++). Wine pairing starts at S$58++ person. You can mix and match to create your very own dinner menu from a range of dishes in four categories – Antipasti, La Pasta, I Secondi, I Dessert. Each category has four to six different dishes to cater to different palate requirements.

A must try from the Antipasti category is the Wagyu beef carpaccio with pear and “red cow” parmesan cheese. Or a lighter Mediterranean fish and seafood soup. For Pasta, a good choice is the Taleggio cheese casoncelli with seasonal black truffle  or Linguine “Garofalo” with red prawns. Portions are small so you would have enough space for Mains which include dishes like Charcoal grilled Iberico pork jaw with potato rosti, Pan seared atlantic cod fish with porcini mushroom and Veal tenderloin with asparagus and aromatic herb zabajo. If you have a second stomach for dessert, you cannot leave without trying the Tiramisu or the Nougat parfait with passito wine sauce.

You can check out their full menu in their website www.scotts29.com/buonaterra

Buona Terra is located at 29 Scotts Road, Singapore 228224. It is open from Monday to Saturday and Public Holidays from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.  For reservations, call +65 6733 0209 or email reservation@buonaterra.com.sg

Dress code: Smart casual