Add this to your bucket list: La Dame de Pic is a stunning dining experience to indulge in.
Want a superbly indulgent night out? Walk this way. La Dame de Pic is a standout French sensory dining bucket list experience at Raffles Hotel Singapore, ideally done while wearing your most comfortable elastic waist trousers.
The original La Dame de Pic is a stunning Michelin-starred restaurant in the city of London. It’s helmed by Anne-Sophie Pic, one of the world’s top female chefs who has seven Michelin stars under her belt. Singapore is where she made her Asian debut in 2019. Chef de cuisine Francesco Di Marzo leads the kitchen and kindly made an appearance to welcome us to the restaurant – always a nice touch.
Dining at La Dame de Pic: A theatrical experience
The Alice in Wonderland decor will flutter your heart with stunning gold chandeliers, pink velvet booth seats, oversized vintage mirrors, and wall sconces that seem straight out of a fairy tale. There’s no question you’ll be in awe of the charm, enchantment and down the rabbit hole feels. I later discovered “La Dame de Pic” translates to “queen of spades”, so it’s fair to say the design brief was met.
One of the (many) standout elements of the whole experience was the service. The wait staff, adorned in tailored and pristine uniforms (we expect no less at Raffles), attended to tables in choreographed unison. They delivered plates, wines and napkins in synchronised timing. Drop a disposable face mask and it’ll be seamlessly picked up with tongs and replaced with a Raffles-branded one – on a silver tray, of course.
Whenever your sommelier has to climb a double-storey brass ladder to select your wines from a wine fridge, you know you’re in for the fanciest of fancy bottles. But, never fear. While it was posh, the sommelier was knowledgeable, friendly and warm – and the wine pairing was perfection. It felt like we experienced the world’s very best wines, beautifully complemented by the world’s finest ingredients at each course.
Indulgence at its finest
On to the food. We chose the Elegance menu: a seven-course degustation ($338 per guest) with matching wines ($218). My guest had the non-alcoholic pairing ($88), and it was honestly worth every cent. Unlike most fine dining experiences, we were actually served a total of 14 courses including all the amuse bouche plates – which were equally a feast for the eyes and tastebuds. What a surprising sensory delight.
The standout dishes were the mackerel and caviar, which delicately married the salty with the earthy woody flavours. Oh, and the ‘Berlingots’ were small delicate pasta parcels filled with mouth-watering soft cheese. We also loved the blue lobster from Brittany, which had incredible “ocean in your mouth” sensations, and the extremely tender wagyu (most probably the best wagyu I’ve ever tasted). We did indulge in the optional cheese board, which was highly unnecessary, but when it was wheeled out and presented with such finesse, it was perfectly irresistible and transported us directly to France.
The most memorable dish was the very first amuse bouche served. It was a brightly coloured, super fine shell full of refreshing tangy flavour that exploded in your mouth (we were warned!). A fantastic experience that set the scene for an evening full of surprises and delights.
Finally, I need to take a moment to mention the stunning china and vintage-style glassware. I had to remind myself this was not the type of restaurant where you could pocket the glassware – and resist the temptation to take home a souvenir (which was hard!).
Would I go back? Absolutely. This is an indulgent experience that I’d love to relive. While it’s on the pricey end of a night out for me, it’s one of those bucket list experiences you might want to tick twice. But heed my warning: don’t eat lunch (and possibly breakfast) before this experience. You’ll want all the space you can get to truly savour the indulgence.
La Dame de Pic, Grand Lobby, Raffles Hotel Singapore, 1 Beach Road, Singapore 189673
