One of Singapore’s more highly lauded fine dining restaurants since it opened in late 2015, Odette’s food definitely deserves its accolades. In fact, it’s likely to be one of those with Michelin stars when the inaugural list for Singapore is published in July. In short, the food is good but our experience was marred by a rather bizarre wine pairing that seemed to fight Chef Julien Royer’s creations rather than to complement them (at least in my simple non-expert view – I’ve seen contrary reviews). So, do go to Odette and skip the wine pairing and instead, bring your own bottle of wine – which the restaurant does allow if you buy a bottle from their list.

Odette is situated in the National Gallery, just off the entry foyer to the Supreme Court Wing. It’s an impressive area and Odette itself is very pleasantly decorated in muted tones, modern but not sparse. Coupled with the good food, it’s no wonder that the restaurant is booked solid a month in advance. There is no a la carte menu – just two tasting menus of six courses or eight courses. I had a very generous host who ordered the eight course menu with the aforementioned wine pairing.

My favourite dishes for the evening ended up being the Crispy-Skinned Kinmedai (Splendid Alfonsino fish in English although the Japanese direct translation is Golden Eye Snapper), the Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg (but then I like any egg), and the Heirloom Beetroot Variation. I think Chef Julien Royer’s expertise is in his preparation of seafood and vegetables but the BBQ Pigeon was also good. If I had to fault any item, it’s probably that dessert was underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the dishes.

Odette was also flexible enough to change a couple of our dishes due to dietary constraints. Our host is allergic to shellfish and nuts (I know…very sad), so they replaced his Hokkaido Uni with an edamame concoction, which I’m told was very good even though we laughed that it didn’t seem like a fair exchange. I swapped the Majestic Oyster for a Beef Tartare, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And another friend doesn’t like pigeon and so they prepared a Guinea Fowl instead. These changes were managed smoothly and pleasingly well.

Our first course is called Hokkaido Uni which had raw langoustine and uni (sea urchin) underneath a “cloud” of mussel infused cream with a dollop of caviar on top. Great ingredients although I think I would have preferred a little less of the cream so to get more of the taste of the uni and langoustine through.

The second course for me was the North Highlands Beef Tartare that was accompanied with smoked bone marrow, pickled kohlrabi and grain mustard. Great combination I thought. My husband had the Oyster “Jacques Cocollos” which is actually two oysters – one cooked tempura style with vadouvan spices and one raw with dill and sea pearls. He said the oysters were super fresh.

The next two dishes were among my favourite for the evening. Beetroot is not often a vegetable that a lot of people like but in this case the salt-baked beetroot was thinly sliced and accompanied by a slew of other items including stracciatella – a rich, creamy buffalo mike cheese, and honeycomb. So this looked like and at times tasted almost like a fruit salad (okay, a finer version).

I had not tried Jaan while Chef Royer was there but I’m told that the Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg is a signature dish that has followed the move to Odette. I can understand why it’s popular – it’s a soft boiled egg accompanied by crispy chorizo and crunchy buckwheat. I could have this for breakfast every day. Being an organic egg, the yolk is creamy and rich. The eggs are presented in a carton with lots of dried ice so it made for a nice picture as well (see up top) before the contents are poured into the serving dish with the condiments.

Following the egg was a Seared Foie Gras – a usual crowd pleaser and while this was tasty, it didn’t stand out as much as the other dishes in my view. A miso caramel, lemon quinoa and strawberry provided the accompanying textures and tastes. I liked the lemon quinoa but was a little less keen on the strawberry. However, I liked the shiso flowers, which is normally found with sashimi, with it.

We collectively agreed that the Kinmedai was the best dish of the evening. A lobster based bouillabaisse dressed the fish which was perfectly cooked and its skin well crisped. The fennel and tomato added a nice tangy counterpoint to the sweetness of the fish and bouillabaisse.

I’m not the biggest fan of pigeon as it can be gamey but this dish was very well done at Odette. The pigeon was tender and not at all gamey, accompanied with petit pots, roasted porcini and pickled cherry. The croquette looking item actually contains the liver or heart (?) which was liquefied and so is meant to be eaten in one bite. I missed that instruction so it does squirt out but luckily stayed within the plate.

Before dessert, a palate cleanser or pre-dessert (err…what else would it be called) was served. This was a lemon-verbena granite with diced cucumber and apple. While refreshing, I think it did a bit of disservice to the dessert which I thought was too similar. Dessert was a lemon tart with lemon curd on a sable breton and basil sorbet. It probably didn’t help that the lemon-verbena granite looked similar to the basil sorbet. I guess this is probably the reason that I thought dessert was a bit underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the meal.

Overall, it was a good meal and I would certainly look forward to trying more dishes at Odette. Reservations are definitely needed and around a three week wait is normal (bookings can be made online). Odette is closed on Sundays. Lunch is available.

Odette’s website: http://www.odetterestaurant.com/home