Trattoria Nonna Lina — Restaurant in Singapore

Dining is an adventure that engages all senses. Part of the excitement is discovering new tastes and textures of food, and another part is like a mini travel to a new place and immersing oneself in it. And at Trattoria Nonna Lina, I get exactly what I'm looking for: enjoy a good unique meal at a place like no others in Singapore. Yes, the place feels like an Italian home, super cosy and full of personal touches.

Frittura di Calamari is served in very generous portion, perfect for sharing, but I have no problem finishing it by myself since deep fried squid rings are easy to bite. Tartar sauce is thick and creamy, more nuanced in flavours, going very well with the calamari.

But the real highlight is the arrabbiate sauce, yes, that red sauce. I seldom get arrabbiate sauce served with calamari at other Italian restaurants, so this is quite a new experience, and a good experience at that. With tomatoes as base, this sauce has the refreshing tangy taste that balances well with the seafood flavour of the squid. What makes this sauce special is spicy element from the garlic and red chilli peppers that really kicks things up a notch.

I never knew just chopped tomatoes with herbs and spices on bread can be so good until I have them here at this restaurant. Definitely another unique experience and the spread being handmade really gives that homely feel. The toasted aroma of bread accentuated by the zest of the tomatoes and the pungent flavours of the herbs + spices. The refreshing juices of the tomatoes also goes very well with the crunchy, crispy texture of the toasted bread. This is so good. I also like the pretty tongs that come with the bread and also the calamari, giving that "Come help yourself to these treats" vibe.

Lots of Italian restaurants serve spaghetti but not many serve gnocchi. And this restaurant is one of the few that do. Actually I love gnocchi due to its slightly chewy texture of potato starch. So when I see Gnocchi Mare e Monti on the menu, I immediately order this. Again, this dish has that homely feel where the chef adds in lots of goodies such as large prawns, smoked pork jowl, porcini mushrooms and special secret spicy sauce, which is like wanting the family enjoying a yummy and nutritious meal. I also love this dish a lot. It is so full of flavours and the spicy flavour makes the taste exciting.

Panna Cotta comes in pretty generous portion. The milk pudding is full of milky goodness and is of perfect consistency, being soft and jiggly smooth. The alcohol within adds a kick and refreshing taste to the milk. A very nice dessert to complete the meal with. Checkered tablecloth, Italian memorabilia and collectibles, quirky quotes and Italian posters, this place is full of personal touches and really feels like a cosy, rustic, comfy Italian home. The service is very welcoming. The young service staff is very efficient, friendly, knowledgable and quick to response to requests. One special noteworthy gesture is that he straightaway pull out a chair to place beside me to put my bags. That's so thoughtful! And the Italian guy will serve the dishes with lots of gusto, livening up the atmosphere to make it feel like, well, a home gathering.

Dining here is an experience like no others. This place is definitely worth a trip for that unique experience and the good food, of course.

Thoughts: Loving the Heart-warming...

Casual yet homely Italian Restaurent. Staff were pleasant but it felt like an in between experience. Not casual and not fine dining. It seemed like trying a bit too go finer on the menu but in my mind just missing the mark… so let’s get stuck in!

We started with a form of bruschetta which was on the house as aperitivo which was actually really well done with good strong herb flavours. We had a couple of glasses of 2 different house reds - both reasonably priced and actually quite ok. Some of the better house wine I’ve had recently. For starters we shared a beef carpaccio which was large, but far too much green leaves. It ended up dominating the dish instead of the meet. The porcini mushrooms were delicious.

For main course I had the fish - sea bass. It was well cooked but for such a delicate flavour the tomato sauce was dominating and the olives too strong a flavour. Would have been delicious in another dish. Vegetables were crisp & fresh. The lamb was very good, though I thought a tad underdone close to the bone, but on this I could be a bit picky, certainly not raw or criminally underdone - just preference. For desert we shared a tiramisu. Nice, a little sweat. Was ok but not that special. The overall ambiance was again ok. Personally I think a little overpriced. We didn’t walk feeling disappointed but neither did we feel like we would be in any rush to go back.

If you like Italian, give it a go and let me know...

Service - 5 stars Staff were very friendly and attentive. Thank you!

Complimentary bruschetta Came with a rye bread.

Soup of the day - seafood bouillabaisse ($30) - 3.5 stars Slightly on the fishy side for me.

Pappardelle al Ragu Toscani ($46) - 5 stars The star of the night and simply the best ragu I've had. To be fair I don't eat much ragu and often choose seafood over meat dishes as I find meat too gamey. The sauce was on point - it had the perfect balance of umami, acidity and sweetness that made me keep wanting to eat more. The handmade pappardelle was on the softer side.

Penne al Granchio ($48) - 4.25 stars I've had a lot of crab pasta and this was one of the better ones. They were so generous with the crab meat there was practically more meat than pasta. The crab didn't taste fishy at all and the sauce was flavourful. My only gripe is the penne - it tasted almost wholemeal and was on the harder end of al dente. I'm not a big fan of penne as well and would personally have preferred a linguine or their handmade pappardelle. The pink cream sauce did get a little jelak towards the end.

Tiramisu ($21) - 3.75 stars We loved that they gave a Real Slice. I haven't had tiramisu in a while - this wasn't too sweet for me throw my husband thought it was a little too sweet. Could barely taste the alcohol. Tasted more like whipped cream...