Smoke & Mirrors — Restaurant in Singapore

My experience was not pleasant. When I first stepped in, the view was great and the atmosphere seemed good. After getting seated, it took us at least 20 to 30 minutes to get the staff to take our first order.

The food came as pictured. The cost is high but the quantity was small. To make things worse, the food was below average. The pasta tasted very simple and the prawns were cold. The pizza was probably microwaved. For the price range, pizza with such crust and flavour should not have been served. The basil was the star of that dish. Lastly, we ordered the jalapeño poppers. It was filled with ricotta cheese and jalapeño slices and came with 6 pieces for 26 bucks. With a side of salsa that only had tomatoes in it. They also served fries to the table next door. I was in disbelief when I saw the portion size – their table had 3 people. For the night, they probably have to order fries twice to snack on.

The cocktails tasted like flavoured mocktails. It’s the best way I can put it. The bespoke cocktails were bad even though we told the staff to concoct a strong drink for us within the price range we chose. The cocktails lacked dimension and it tasted all too basic.

The service was extremely lacklustre. The staffs were not attentive except one guy whose name I did not get. The plates took over an hour to be cleared even when I stacked them because we didn’t have space. It was hard to get a staff to take our order. The food took 30 to 45 minutes to arrive to our table each time.

I would not recommend this bar to anyone. If you want a view, please look up other bars. It is not worth your money and simply...

Sharing my review from TripAdvisor here from March 2022.

Horrible service, great view Mar 2022 TLDR: horrible service, mediocre food, appalling cocktails, burnt chemical smell (preparation of Smoke On Water cocktail), waiters who leave you without cutlery for ages, oh, and a view you can enjoy for free anyways.

No hard feelings from not getting alfresco dining, the outside was humid and the indoor’s air conditioning was great.

However, we were given a table in complete darkness, no lighting from the place, LED lights on the table were snuffed out.

Waitress and waiter walked around and only paid attention to customers in the back under the spotlights, completely ignored my high raised hand for 15 minutes before I got to place an order.

After the soup arrived, no cutlery were given, again I was ignored with my arm raised high for another 15minutes. The appalling cocktails did not make the experience any better.

The restaurants responded to bad reviews to inform the staff directly so something could be done, and I did.

I approached a waitress to tell her that we’re having a really bad time being ignored at a dark corner with no utensils, and all she did was replied coldly “oh, so sorry about that” and brought us cutlery.

Was later offered to swap out to Alfresco dining ($50/pax) but decided added even $5 more to hit the minimum order wasn’t worth it.

Saw reviews that only the view was good; I gave the benefit of doubt but would like to reaffirm that this place has nothing to offer but the view, which you can enjoy from free access to public or the ART restaurant...

Perched atop the beautiful National Gallery, Smoke & Mirrors is one of the few bars in Singapore that I've been to more than once. & if you haven't been recently, it's probably time to visit again.. To check out their newly launched drinks menu - The Real Art of Drinking Volume II.

While I haven't conquered all 16 cocktails on the menu (slowly lah, I'll get there eventually), I was lucky enough to try this one pre-launch. Perks of sitting at the bar, I say. Even though the panoramic views of Singapore's skyline - my favourite night view - from the outdoor seats tempt me every time I visit.

Cha Cha Duet ($26++): Haku Vodka Matcha Distillate, Roku Gin / Chivas Mizunara Blended Scotch, Acid. These look simple, but don't knock it 'til you try it. Y'all remember Suntory's clear & colourless milk tea, & how confused you were when you first drank it? Same experience. Except this drink is 3497587934 times better, every sip of the way.

The complexity of the matcha flavours blew my mind. Both are great, but I have a slight preference for the green one. But anyway, they come as a pair. Wee Siong knows that 2 drinks in 1 makes auntie very happy - thanks for suggesting this. Now, for 15 more suggestions....

💳 Accepts credit cards ☀️ Al fresco seats only 🖥 Accepts reservations on Chope (I walked in, though) 💦 Water is not chargeable 📍 Inside the National Gallery: #06-01,...