Steeped in the traditions of a summer outdoor grill beloved by Italians, Griglia Open Fire Italian Kitchen delivers deliciousness and conviviality over an open flame.
When summer descends on Italy, the outdoors burst with activity and the word on everyone’s lips is “grigliata”. Grigliata is the outdoor grill cook-out dreamed of in foodie heaven. A larder of the season’s finest produce sizzling on a bed of burning charcoal. The company of family and friends. Luscious wine and overwhelming hospitality.
The Italians have honed this summer ritual to perfection, and adored and honoured it like religion for generations. Now imagine sitting down to this cornucopia of flavour and life and you are at Griglia Open Fire Italian Kitchen. Griglia is a brand-new contemporary Italian grill restaurant nestled on the ground floor of a conservation shophouse in charming Craig Road.
Griglia - House-made tagliolini with Sicilian Red Prawn
As its name promises, diners at Griglia will be treated to the tastes, sensations and emotions of the grigliata in a casual setting-- and fall in love with the magic of the Common Flame.
Typically, guests bring along their favourite dishes to a grigliata. Multiple courses are enjoyed over a long afternoon, leisurely savouring appetisers and side dishes while sipping tasty wines, before embarking on the main course; meanwhile the charcoal fire perpetually glows in one of the oldest cooking styles known to man.
The grigliata celebrates fresh seasonal produce, cooking it over hot coals and open flame to accentuate the natural inherent flavours. Grigliata dishes are less intense and more Mediterranean in flavour, consisting of meats, seafood, fish and seasonal vegetables and fruits seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper, lavished with olive oil marinades and judicious squeezes of lemon.
Griglia prepares these same recipes using traditional as well as modern methods, making them even lighter and more refreshing. The menu conceptualised by Andrea De Paola, Chef Partner of Griglia & Group Executive Chef of Food Concepts Group, is based on classic grigliata dishes from different regions of Italy with additional recipes from his family and friends.
By offering a wide selection of food, and serving it smaller sharing portions, diners are encouraged to order and taste many dishes in the style of the ‘bring-your-own’ grigliata. At Griglia almost all the ingredients, and not just meat, fish and seafood, are cooked with the cast iron charcoal grill. This stunning equipment, made-to measure for the open kitchen, brings out the intrinsic flavours of the fresh seasonal produce.
Meanwhile the warm and cosy restaurant is constructed and clad in the raw materials of the grigliata – wood, bricks and metal. Food and aesthetics work together to honour the element at the crux of the grigliata and the restaurant - the Common Flame that draws people together in the embrace of Italian hospitality; fostering human bonds over food and fire, and creating moments that beget enduring memories.
The menu is conceptualised by Chef Andrea De Paola, and executed by Head Chef Federico Schiraldi. To showcase the culinary essence of the grigliata, the dishes are based on its classic recipes, with flavours made lighter and more refreshing and presented in a refined contemporary style using handcrafted Mediterranean-style tableware.
Griglia serves antipasti, artisanal salumi, main courses, sides, cheeses and desserts, and carries an extensive range of more than 100 wines from different regions, with up to 85 percent from Italy. Cocktails focus on different flavours of Negroni, Spritz and Gin & Tonic. Traditional Italian digestives, such as limoncello, amaro and grappa are also served.
Highlights of the menu include Antipasti which showcases seasonal produce From the Garden, From the Sea, and From the Land. From the Garden Burratina, Zucchini 'Scapece’ style, Pine Nuts, Mint - A modern take on the traditional Neapolitan appetiser, the thinly sliced Zucchini is marinated with olive oil, mint and garlic, then served on the thin and crispy tart with fresh burratina and garnished with herbs and olive oil.
From the Sea Hokkaido Scallops (pictured above) crudo, White Corn, Amalfi lemon and Capers Sauce - A grigliata classic of seafood, corn and lemon. A perfect balance of sweetness from the caramelisation of the corn and briny tang from the scallops. and From the Land, Short Ribs Cannellone (pictured below), Taleggio, San Marzano Tomatoes, Ligurian Basil - A classic rendition from Napoli, served with San Marzano tomatoes and basil cream.
Open Fire Grill highlights (pictured above) an irresistible selection of beef, lamb, pork and fish. Aged beef and brined pork are used for its deep complex flavours to enhance the overall dining experience.
The meats, especially the ‘Fiorentina’ 30 days dry aged Porterhouse, are served in unconventional small sharing portion to allow diners to enjoy a wide variety of dishes from the menu. Seasonal fish such as Turbot is offered in large and small sizes.
Desserts are carefully curated and finely executed including The Italian Souffle (pictured above) Rosemary Souffle, Negroni Ice Cream – An Italian flavoured souffle served with a full-bodied Negroni ice cream.
Griglia, nestled on the ground level of a 3-storey conservation shophouse along Craig Road, is a 41-seater restaurant with an open kitchen. Decorative Italian accents are artfully woven in to the design of the interiors.
The pattern of tiling on the cement screed floor evokes the many archaeological finds in Italy that bear half ravaged surfaces, in particular the ancient mosaic floors of a Roman villa.
Meanwhile classic Sicilian kitchen tiles on the back splash of the open kitchen resemble an Italian kitchen. Meanwhile, the open kitchen affords diners a dynamic view of the vigorous action around the stunning cast iron charcoal grill specially customised from Russia.
a. 37 Craig Road Singapore 089675
