Mangiamo Italian restaurant is a small family-run Italian restaurant located in Albert Court, Singapore. It is located in a quiet corner in the neighborhood and often go unnoticed unless being told about it. A family friend recommended the eatery. It is tucked in an large central courtyard managed by village hotel group in the Rochor area.
Also, the Albert Court establishment has several Food and Beverage outlets. The restaurant offers a combination of outdoor and a smaller air-conditioned indoor seating. Notably, most patrons prefer the outdoor courtyard seating as it is more airy and spacious.
The ambiance at Albert Court is pretty chill. The entire compound is owned and managed by far east village hotels. The establishment has a hotel block and large courtyard. Rows of F&B shops flank the sides of this courtyard. They range from pubs and restaurant including Mangiamo we are visiting today.
A delightful European selection
On menu selections, you have the fanfare you expect from an Italian restaurant. Mangiamo serves a large variety of European “western-food” main courses. It comprises of steaks, chicken, fish and kebabs. In addition are a selection of pizzas and pastas too.
Great Pasta and Pizzas
Mangiamo offers an extensive pasta selection. There are 20 different pastas ranging from Penne, Tagliatelle, Ravioli and no-brainer Spaghetti. Also, filling sauces-wise, you have meatball ($14) to seafood vongole ($16). Prices range from $12 to $17 a plate. There are also are all-vegetarian pasta choices, they are priced all under an affordable $20 per plate.
Moreover, an interesting pasta recommendation will be their squid ink pasta ($15). It is served with squid rings. Their pasta quality rivals that of big name restaurants. Also, it is noticeable cheaper than most main-stream Italian-run pasta places, where the dishes can easily set you back $20 to $25 a plate. Mangiamo portions appear small when served but does it fill you up a sizable bit when done.
Furthermore, their pizzas are available in two sizes, a 9 inch and 13 inch. Pizzas starts at $12 for the 9″ and two dollar extra for a 13″. They are served on a large raised wooden platter. The pizza are observed to have visibly slightly charred edges, typical of stone fired oven pizzas.
Also, their pizzas are of the thin crust type and probably not hefty enough to be sizable for a meal. However, I recommend the pizzas being an excellent sharing dish. They do not make you overly full when served as an appetizer for 3 to 4 pax before your main course.
Furthermore, Pizza recommendations includes Hawaiian (you can’t go wrong with Hawaiian) and Chicken pizza. I found their smoked salmon pizza pretty good too, though its salty pickled taste might not be favorable to everyone’s taste. Nonetheless, you can’t go wrong with simply just a plain Margarita.
Main courses
A main course recommendation shall be their beef steaks. Their steaks are cooked well to a done-ness you specify when ordering. Main courses starts at reasonable $12 with their Fish and Chips. Also, you have Chicken breast ($14) and a selection of Kebabs all under $20 per plate. You get kebabs in three offerings- chicken, beef and vegetarian.
Notably, the restaurant serves seafood, though I didn’t order them during my visit. It does not look like a popular dish in the restaurant either. Seafood selections are more pricey with tiger prawns at $25 and salmon fillet and grilled seabass at $18 and $22 respectively. Their fish is really good, it is soft and juicy on the inside, as well as firm on the outside. My only gripe is that the portions are tad small for large eaters.
Moreover, their Pork ribs ($17) are sweet with an offering about 5-6 rib pieces. Similarly, I found the portions tad small to my liking, probably not enough, but entices you to order more. All main courses comes served with a hearty assortment of country vegetables as well as potato wedges.
Their offerings are on average more expensive (about $2-5 more per plate), than other comparable mass-market western dine-in restaurants like Collins Grill or Astons steak houses, but offers Mangiamo justifiably better quality.
Great Steaks
The steaks in Mangiamo are what you should visit the establishment for. The quality of the steaks are good. Main course recommendations will be their Tenderloin steak at $22 or their sirloin steaks $16. Both weighs in at 200 grams per serving and are lean and mostly fat-free.
Furthermore, their steaks are well cooked with juicy center soft internal core with a harder and drier outer core. Also, the outer edges are noticeably slightly charred, which gives the outer sections a roasted flavor different from inside. The steaks offers a quite a rather delightful meal. Also, the thought that you can get your meal under $30 is one definitely one to bring home about. Similarly, your steaks are served with potato wedges, small salad and vegetables.
Interestingly the restaurant also offers some local selections, there is chili crab at $34 on top of $55 for lobster. Moreover, to top up the offerings, the restaurant offers 1 for 1 drinks during their 1pm to 7pm happy hour. Beers starts at $6 per bottle, $10 for cider and $10 for single Italian liquor shots (Limoncello or Sambuca).
Moreover, a dessert worth trying is their Coppa Tartufo. It is a like a lava cake icecream with a creamy inner center.
Good service and price to boot
Moreover, restaurant service is good and friendly. Orders are taken quickly and food comes out fast. This despite noticing that the restaurant appears to be rather shorthanded with only two waitering staff always running about. Interestingly, on one of my visit, a waitress made a mistake on my order, but they were a spot and offered to honor the price difference of their error.
Surprisingly despite the upmarket looks, you can get a really affordable, decent meal here for under $20 a head. Also, you get a 10% discount on your bill regardless whether you are a regular or new. I had the impression that the discount is typically reserved for village hotel guests who dine-in. I guess that is the restaurant’s way of thanking you for your patronage.
One interesting quirk of the establishment worth mentioning is that there no toilets at the restaurants here. All the F&B patrons here have to utilize the common toilets accessible at the ground floor of the village hotel lobby.
All in all, dining at Mangiamo is a joy. I saw myself dining there about 3 times in a month since I first found the place this year. I kept going back for their nice Sirloin or tenderloin options, paired with their extensive pizza and spaghetti selection to boot. Also, their location with a nice quiet conducive environment makes it ideal for a dinner nights out. Their offerings of good friendly service together with an affordable, and surprisingly quality menu for the price makes it difficult not to recommend Mangiamo. I recommend a visit when you are in the Rochor area.
Verdict:
Must Go! | Worth Trying | Shortlist Optionally | Should Avoid
Mangiamo Italian restaurant
Albert Court Complex
180 Albert St,
Singapore 189971
Opens daily 1:00pm to 11:00pm.
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