Affordable Fine Dining With Gorgeous View in Singapore

1919 Waterboat House

1919 Waterboat House is a seafood-centric restaurant in a restored colonial heritage building at Fullerton Road on the edge of Central Business District (CBD) of Singapore. The vibe is classic with stunning views of the city skyline. It's perfect for corporate lunches, date nights, anniversaries, romantic gestures and anything in between. The restaurant seats 65 diners in the main dining hall, 200 outdoors and 80 on the rooftop. 

I like the elegant setting to feast on delicately assembled dishes. There is a vast menu featuring signature dishes such as Hokkaido scallops with braised leek, sugar peas, buttered lentils with rich scallop emulsion or lobster tail poached in paella butter with a seafood emulsion. 

However, the restaurant is located at level 3 of a heritage building. You need to climb up the stairs. There is no lift to go up. It is not suitable for diners with wheelchair and baby-strollers. 

Waterboat House The Rooftop

Rooftop is open in the evening. The rooftop menu features a selection of bar bites; 10-inch pizzas ($20 each) and sharing plates (for three to five), such as charcuterie plate ($48) and The 510 ($48), which includes mini burgers and buffalo wings.

Starter At 1919 Waterboat House

In formal dining situation, bread and butter is always the first item on the table. They presented a butter in a special small plate. The shape of the butter looked interesting to me. Bread was warm and fragrant. It seemed like a small part of the meal but they used a good quality butter. Combination of bread and butter was amazingly delicious. 

Mixed Salad Greens With Boursin Cheese

To me, salads are absolutely versatile that dinner is not complete without one. Starting dinner with a salad ensures I reap those nutrients instead of skipping the salad at the end after eating high protein and fat components in my main course. Thus, my first course for my dinner was mixed salad greens topped off with Boursin cheese. Cranberries, mixed purple and green vegetables came together with Boursin cheese to create the perfect salad. This salad was sweet and crunchy. It was so delicious that there were no leftovers.

Smoked Salmon Tartare, Parmesan Crisps And Parfait

One of the table manners for fine dining is to take small portions of food at a time. We had cold seafood for starter. Smoked salmon tartare was served in a table spoon, with fish roe toppings. Seafood tartare was accompanied with parfait and parmesan crisps. Most restaurants provided parmesan crisps in the beginning of fine dining. I liked to eat parmesan crisps because it was savoury, crunchy and cheesy though it had a bit of bitter taste. 

1919 Waterboat House With Stunning View

I was lucky because I was seated at a table next to the window facing waterfront promenade, Esplanade, Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands. I made a reservation but I didn't ask for a window seat. From my point of view, a scenic view is one of many parameters to look out for a good fine dining restaurant. 

View From My Table In 1919 Waterboat House Restaurant

Lobster Ravioli And Seafood Bisque

First main course was lobster ravioli with seafood bisque. They served lobster wrapped in four round ravioli in a deep plate, garnished with fine parsley and covered with generous bisque. I was skeptical about the food presentation as the dish didn't look beautiful. I was wrong. It was an excellent dish. Lobster was tender, creamy and perfectly seasoned for my taste. It was sweet and somewhat like a prawn and crab. Lobster was finely sealed in the ravioli. There were no leaking. Ravioli texture was fantastic. Size and shape looked the same for all ravioli. Ravioli was smooth and thin. The thickness was just nice to chew.  

Kurobuta Pork

Another main course was Kurobuta pork accompanied with Bordelaise sauce, shiitake mushroom and potato mousseline. Kurobuta pork chop were perfectly marbled, distinctively juicy and packed with pleasant flavour. Although pork chop was ordinary, Bordelaise sauce was exceptionally tasty. Eating Kurobuta pork with Bordelaise sauce and shiitake mushroom was really succulent. Potato mousseline was creamy, rich and delicious. The chef kept the earthy flavour of the potato. 

Apple Mille Crepe Cake And Raspberry Sorbet

For many people, dessert is favourite part of the dinner and the perfect ending to a great meal. To me, I had an apple mille crepe cake and raspberry sorbet. It was like having the best of both worlds. Apple mille crepe cake was sweet and it had natural apple flavour. Texture was soft and fluffy. More than 20 layers of apple crepe stacked on top of each other.   I enjoyed the elegant, luscious dessert as a fitting finale to a nice dinner in 1919 Waterboat House. 

Dinner At 1919 Waterboat House

I enjoyed the whole dining experience. The starter, main course, dessert, service and atmosphere were exactly what I expected. After dinner, we walked down and took a stroll along the waterfront promenade while admiring the night scenery and skyscraper. I highly recommend this restaurant for amazing food, good service, romantic ambience and spectacular view.

View From The Window At 1919 Waterboat House

Location

3 Fullerton Road,
#03-01 The Waterboat House
Singapore 049215
Tel: +65 6538 9038 for reservations
Opening hours: Monday to Friday (Midday to 2:30pm and 6 to 11:30pm) Sunday closed


Nearest MRT

Raffles Place