BROWNICE ITALIAN BISTRO: For a great vegan Italian dining experience.
Finally visited Brownice Italian Bistro for dinner with my parents a while back! Ever since I tried the pizza and ice cream from Brownice Ice Cream, I have been wanting to visit this restaurant to try out more of their savoury dishes!
THE PLACE
THE PLACE
Brownice is located along a row of shophouses, slightly further up from Baker's Well (if you know where that is). It is pretty hard to find a parking lot around there so I would recommend that if you do come by car, park it at 112 Katong and cross the road before walking to Brownice.
From the outside, Brownice looked pretty small and dark. But upon walking inside, there was actually a really pretty dining room with simple but pretty wall deco! Thumbs up for great ambience!
Even though the restaurant was only managed by two young women (the chef and a trainee), they maintained a friendly and warm disposition while greeting us and taking our orders. Considering that they were pretty short-handed, the food came within a reasonable waiting time.
There was also some simple table deco - organic root beer, flower and a small basket consuming cutlery.
THE MENU
THE MENU
Food menu
Drinks and dessert menu
THE FOOD
Since my parents aren't huge eaters, we decided to order one pizza, one pasta and one dessert for us to share.
First Visit
My first visit to Brownice Italian Bistro was with my parents! We ordered two mains and one dessert to share since they are small eaters!
BBQ 'Chicken' Pizza ($15): 8/10
THE FOOD
Since my parents aren't huge eaters, we decided to order one pizza, one pasta and one dessert for us to share.
First Visit
My first visit to Brownice Italian Bistro was with my parents! We ordered two mains and one dessert to share since they are small eaters!
BBQ 'Chicken' Pizza ($15): 8/10
The pizza arrived the first. We ordered the BBQ 'Chicken' Pizza, which came with tomatoes, olives, soy chicken, BBQ sauce, pineapples and vegan cheese.
Firstly, let us first talk about the crust. I remember first trying Brownice pizza a while ago at Brownice Ice Cream. It was thin yet firm and crunchy. Similarly, this pizza had a really nice golden brown crust which held the ingredients nicely.
The soy chicken was really good as well! Even though there was a slight aftertaste of soy, overall the texture really resembled that of the real thing.
The vegan cheese was pretty good as well, pretty creamy, but a far call from the real stretchy stringy gooey pizza cheese. Oh well, it's a good attempt of making vegan cheese, though. I must admit that trying to make something resemble pizza cheese is pretty hard - almost virtually impossible.
The soy chicken was really good as well! Even though there was a slight aftertaste of soy, overall the texture really resembled that of the real thing.
The vegan cheese was pretty good as well, pretty creamy, but a far call from the real stretchy stringy gooey pizza cheese. Oh well, it's a good attempt of making vegan cheese, though. I must admit that trying to make something resemble pizza cheese is pretty hard - almost virtually impossible.
However, I feel like they could have been more generous with their toppings (mock chicken, veggies, barbecue sauce and cheese). Pockets of crust could still be seen (my ideal pizza would be one that no crust is left uncovered) and the BBQ taste could hardly be tasted.
Overall, I still really like this pizza and would definitely recommend everyone to get it if you come to Brownice Ice Cream or Brownice Italian Bistro.
Arrabbiata ($8): 8/10
Overall, I still really like this pizza and would definitely recommend everyone to get it if you come to Brownice Ice Cream or Brownice Italian Bistro.
Arrabbiata ($8): 8/10
This spicy arrabbiata pasta arrived the next! I asked the chef for pasta recommendations and she immediately reccomended me this one if I could take the spiciness! However, since I felt like eating spaghetti, I changed the penne it originally came with to spaghetti!
Our pasta dish came immediately after we had finished our pizza - almost like our second course of some sort. It came garnished with garlic (the chef had previously asked us if we could take garlic and I said yes), rocket leaves and the rims of the plate was also drizzled with a balsamic reduction of some sort.
This plate of pasta was really really delicious. The spaghetti was cooked to al dente, the tomato sauce was chunky with veggies like onions, carrots and tomatoes, and most importantly, the sauce wasn't too spicy for me! It is pretty mild when you first put it in your mouth, but gives a nice fiery kick right at the end! Super delicious!
The garlic also added a nice garlicky flavour to the dish - what doesn't go well with garlic, anyway? The rocket leaves were a bit of a nuisance since I don't exactly fancy the bitter taste of rocket but oh well, aesthetic purposes, I guess. The balsamic reduction was completely redundant in terms of flavour profile, but added a nice finishing touch to the appearance of the dish.
My parents and I both enjoyed this thoroughly - especially since we're all spicy food-lovers! However, one downside is that the portion is too little! I could definitely finish two portions of these to myself and I believe that this portion would also be too small even for small eaters. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this dish when you come to Brownice Italian Bistro!
Warm Walnut Fudge Brownie ($8): 7/10
Warm Walnut Fudge Brownie ($8): 7/10
Warm walnut brownie drizzled with vanilla ice cream and fizzled with chocolate sauce!
The brownie was warm and cakey and chocolatey, with crunchy bits of walnuts inside. The vanilla ice cream tasted a little bit thin compared to the other ice creams I've tried from Brownice Ice Cream but still paired very well with the brownie!
Price is a bit steep for the size of the brownie but not bad overall! Recommended as well!
Second Visit
My second visit was with two of my friends. This time, we ordered three mains and two desserts!
Lasagna ($15)
Second Visit
My second visit was with two of my friends. This time, we ordered three mains and two desserts!
Lasagna ($15)
Four Seasons Pizza ($18)
Artichoke & Soy Ham, Taggiasche Olives, Sundried Tomato & Capsicum, Truffle Mushroom
Creamy Mushroom Penne ($14)
Penne pasta coated in a rich creamy mushroom sauce, a must for mushroom lovers
Waffle with Two Scoops of Ice Cream ($8 + $2, additional $1 for premium flavours)
Ice cream, Chocolate Fudge, Roasted Alonds, Double Scoop of Ice Cream ($4)
Ice cream, Chocolate Fudge, Roasted Alonds, Double Scoop of Ice Cream ($4)
LAST WORDS
First Visit: Even though service is a little slow due to shorthandedness, Brownice Italian Bistro does not compromise the quality of their service because of this. Price-wise, it is not too bad as well since Italian food is usually pretty expensive by itself already, not to mention vegan Italian food. Furthermore, Brownice Italian Bistro doesn't charge service charge or GST - yes, all their prices are nett prices! In conclusion, I would definitely recommend all three items I ate on this night as they we absolutely fantastic.
RATINGS
Location: 3/5
Taste: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Speed: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Overall: 8/10 (Highly Recommended)
BROWNICE ICE CREAM
Address: 53 East Coast Road, Singapore
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 22:30 on Monday, Wednesday - Thursday, 12:00 - 23:00 on Friday - Sunday, Closed on Tuesdays
First Visit: Even though service is a little slow due to shorthandedness, Brownice Italian Bistro does not compromise the quality of their service because of this. Price-wise, it is not too bad as well since Italian food is usually pretty expensive by itself already, not to mention vegan Italian food. Furthermore, Brownice Italian Bistro doesn't charge service charge or GST - yes, all their prices are nett prices! In conclusion, I would definitely recommend all three items I ate on this night as they we absolutely fantastic.
RATINGS
Location: 3/5
Taste: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Speed: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Overall: 8/10 (Highly Recommended)
BROWNICE ICE CREAM
Address: 53 East Coast Road, Singapore
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 22:30 on Monday, Wednesday - Thursday, 12:00 - 23:00 on Friday - Sunday, Closed on Tuesdays