The BOILER @ Buona Vista | Best Seafood Boil | Crabs & Lobsters | — Restaurant in Singapore

Went there on a Wednesday afternoon just past noon with a reservation - wasn’t very crowded when we entered but subsequently got more crowded nearing 1pm.

What we got for 4 pax: duo plus bag (the one with mud crab), 3 mains (excluding 1 more main afterwards cos we were still hungry), side.

Duo plus bag: seafood not fresh - crab can be fresher. Mussels tastes like it was defrosted. Clams and prawn were okay. Smoked sausage was actually hotdogs but not chicken franks, it was actually good. Corn was good and sweet. Bun (mini fried mantou) was normal. Had our seafood with garlic butter - it tasted more like garlic carbonara sauce. Very thick and creamy but defo can taste the garlic. Will not order again.

Side: fried mussels were good! Will order again.

Mains, signature haddock fish and chips: batter looks puffy (it’s supposed to be light according to the menu), not to my personal liking but the flesh was okay!

Mains, baby back ribs: we actually ordered the small portion twice cos the meat was tender, and also cos among the other mains, this was the best. The coleslaw was GOOD. Will recommend. They have it as a side too.

Mains, ultimate burger: the patty was a bit too smooth (the inside) to my liking - I prefer the five guys kind but I think this was just okay.

Soup of the day and ice lemon tea: soup ran out 😂 server did ask if they could replace it with ice cream instead - they had caramel, coconut and vanilla flavours. Coconut ice cream was good. Vanilla ice cream has lots of vanilla beans in it. Portion for ice cream was also q big!!! I think really can replace the soup 😂 ice lemon tea was refillable and it didn’t taste artificial - recommended!!

Overall, seafood was okay, can tell its not the freshest but still okay. Service was good tho, even though it was evident they were shorthanded. Thought the team worked q well tgt, even the staff at the bar station constantly kept a lookout for customers who were looking for assistance and acknowledged us and redirect the floor staff to us. Crazy attentive. Floor staff were just here one second and the other side of the restaurant at the next second - very fast and just constantly running around 😂

4 stars for service, 3.5 for food. Will return to try...

Went on a Friday evening at 7.42PM with no reservation, but got a seat for 2 (thanks to the young lady who attended to us and helped us secure a seat). We were told that the time limit was 1.5 hours, and thought, ok no problem.

Few months back, we came for seafood so this time, we decided to try something different in the menu. We ordered - drinks (Jim beam & non-alcoholic mojito) and our main course (pork ribs with fries, and fish and chips) arrived at 7.58PM.

Food and drinks were great. Staff were quick to respond for extra tar tar sauce.

Suddenly, a female restaurant staff came over, interrupted our conversation halfway, and said sorry but could we hurry up and finish our meal as there was a group waiting outside. I looked at the time, and it was 8.32pm. Barely 34 minutes into our dinner… We have yet to finish our sides and my drink was still 3/4 full...

Another 2 mins later, another one of the staff came and ask if he could clear the table. After that, he came over to the table multiple times. First, to clear away the plate. Second time, to confirm if we still wanted our sides or if he can clear. About 3 staff were hanging around quite close to our table, like wanting to “spring into action” and quickly clear the table once we finish…

At this point, we felt very uncomfortable, quickly finished up and left at 8.35pm..

Why like that?? At least give us more time to enjoy the drinks lah.. our total bill was about $59. Could it be because we did not spend enough and the bill did not warrant a 1.5 hour dining period? It’s probably best for big groups people having their seafood, so it makes sense for them to allow you to spend 1.5hours dining.

But please do not do this to any other paying diners. We had a great time last year when we came, but this experience ruined the impression I had of the place. Probably will not come back here again :(

Thanks for taking the time to read my...

Place was simple, cozy and spacious with the high ceiling. Decent selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (no free water though). In addition to bibs and gloves, we were provided with plastic sleeves for our phones, in case you need to use your phone while hands are still dripping with sauce :). Food was delicious. The crispy soft shell crab salad was really good. I don’t normally like soft shell crab, but the crispy batter blended perfectly with the crab, creating a tasty crunch with every bite. Baby back ribs was tasty and tender. The spaghetti aglio olio was cooked to the right doneness and was a good pairing with the Seafood Bag, which was the highlight of our meal. We had the Duo Plus option which included a mud crab, prawns, mussels, clams and smoked sausages. For the sauce, we picked the Works (comes in 3 levels of spiciness) and it was SO GOOD. The two mantous that come with it was definitely not enough to finish off the sauce. We also had the lobster with garlic butter sauce, but I think the seafood bag is better value. Garlic butter sauce however may be a good alternative to the Works when I return next time. For dessert, the chocolate molten lava cake was quite good, except that it wasn’t quite flowing molten. Don’t bother with the petit chocolate fudge cake though. Total bill for 5 pax was just over S$300. Overall an excellent dining experience with friends and I can see myself coming back for more in the...