Singapore boasts a couple of Spanish restaurants, but this newly-revamped restaurant along Joo Chiat is a little different—boasting more performative elements to the meal like meats carved and sliced tableside, and specialising in woodfire cooking.
Asador has recently refreshed its space and menu, and now features a cosy and homey cabin house or cottage-esque interior with an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs cooking up a storm. What caught our eye as soon as we walked in was the trolley displayed within the dining room holding a massive whole leg of ham; the sight was so striking that we just had to try it. The Jamon Iberico ($16) comes served atop slices of cristal bread topped with freshly-grated tomato—the quintessential Spanish way.
Jamon Iberico, $16
Pan Casero, $13
Anchoas, $10
Salmorejo, $18
The whole ham leg trolley is wheeled directly to your table, where the staff will hand-carve slices of the cured Iberian ham. You really can’t go wrong with Iberian ham, especially if you’re a fan of smoked or cured meats; but our only gripe is that we wish there were more slices topping our bread. Each slice of bread was topped with 2 slices of ham, and the taste of the ham itself wasn’t as pronounced when eaten together. Other starters you can try include the Pan Casero ($13), loaf of warm sourdough bread served with a side of house smoked butter. The smokiness of the butter really came through for this, and was actually a tad too smoky for our liking. If you enjoy umami flavours, the Anchoas ($10) is a good option, topped with premium OO anchovies on crispy toast.
Gambones, $26
Pulpo, $36
Next are a series of mains, and one of our favourites has got to be the Gambones ($26), grilled king prawns bathed in a creamy amontillado sauce that was unctuous, seafoody and rich—almost like a thick seafood stew. The sauce was so addictive that we just had to use our bread to mop it up. We also had the Pulpo ($36), a classic Spanish favourite of chargrilled octopus leg served with potato pavé and red pepper purée. The octopus was perfectly grilled and still tender, and we loved how crispy yet fluffy the layers of the potato pavé were.
Cochinillo, from $98
If you’re coming in a larger group, definitely order the Cochinillo (from $98) to share: roasted Spanish suckling pig that’s cooked in a woodfire oven. You can order the half a pig for $188 or a quarter like we did for $98; but do note that it takes around 45 minutes to an hour to cook, so you might want to place your order for it in advance. The suckling pig is sprinkled with a generous shower of flaky sea salt before being brought to your table to be deboned and cut tableside. You absolutely have to dig into this while it’s still steaming hot to really enjoy the uber soft texture of the pork and the ultra crispy skin—almost like the skin of a Peking duck.
Tarta de Queso “La Viña”, $16
We ended off our meal with the Tarta de Queso “La Viña” ($16), the restaurant’s tribute to the original Basque cheesecake. Unfortunately, our cheesecake wasn’t molten or oozing from the centre, but it was still super creamy and rich with that classic burnt top and custard-like interior. Overall, we felt that Asador’s dishes were very well done, and definitely more of an “elevated” kind of authentic Spanish dining experience instead of your casual Spanish tapas joints. We’d consider coming back for a special occasion or to dine with a larger group friends for their sharing dishes.
Taste: 8/10
Price: $$
Favourite dish(es): Gambones, Cochinillo
Would we come back: Yes, for date nights or gatherings with friends!
Asador
Address: 51 Joo Chiat Pl, Singapore 427775
Opening Hours: Monday-Thursday, 5.30pm-12am; Friday-Sunday, 12pm-2pm & 5.30pm-12am
