Italian cuisine is very popular in Singapore. I have been to quite a few Italian restaurants in Singapore but somehow most of them did not live up to standards.
Let me go straight to the point: La Cantina in venezia is one of the best Italian Restaurants in Singapore, and I will definitely recommend it for that special occasion.
La Cantina in venezia is located on the 8th level of Changi Village Hotel and it has a very classy yet soothing ambiance. The Italian restaurant is ideal for a quiet lunch, or a romantic dinner with your date.
Sometimes, it can be quite boring to have Italian food all the time. But I certainly will not mind eating at La Cantina every day if I live in the area. Okay maybe not every day, but you get the idea.
La Cantina in venezia’s menu has a good selection of Antipasti (from $15-$20), Pizza ($20-$30), Pasta/Risotto ($20-$27), and Main Course ($27-$35). Amongst the twenty pasta/risotto available, I’d probably come back again to try the squid ink linguine and seafood pasta in spicy tomato sauce.
The pizza section had interesting choices (with unique names) like Ferrari (pomodoro, mozzarella, bacon, salami, capsicum & fresh tomato) and Raikkonen (pomodoro, mozzarella, bacon, salami & sausage). If you are a big eater, go for the meats like grilled lamb in rosemary ($35) or rack of veal in italian mushroom sauce ($35).
Our lunch started with the Parma Ham on Rock Melon ($18.50) which was absolutely delightful. The paper thin slices of Parma ham came with the extremely sweet melon.
My dining companion is a big cheese lover, so it goes without saying that we ordered the Mixed Cheese Platter ($31) when she saw it on La Cantina’s menu. It was a lot of cheese, and even with the others helping us, we could not finish everything.
Our table ordered a few thin-crust pizzas, and they were huge. It was impossible to finish a whole pizza by yourself – definitely recommended for sharing.
La Cantina Italian Restaurant’s Linguine Al Granchio ($26.90) was PERFECT. The al dente linguine had huge chunks of crab meat and it was definitely one of the best pasta I’ve had. The portion was also quite substantial – I’d advise you to share this as the pasta was pretty rich and heavy.
Throughout lunch, I was pacing myself to save room for desserts. La Cantina does not have that many options for desserts, so we went for safe choices like the Tiramisu and Chocolate Lava Cake.
The Tiramisu was competent. It had a rather heavy dose of liquor and since the others were too full by then, I had the whole dessert to myself.
It took around 15-20 minutes for the Molten Chocolate Lava Cake to come, and luckily, it was worth the wait. After having under-par chocolate lava cakes elsewhere, I was relieved to find that the one here had a molten centre.
After trying the Italian food at La Cantina in venezia, it has joined Ristorante Da Valentino as my favourite Italian Restaurants in Singapore.
Valentino has a very homely vibe and serves really good authentic Italian food. On the other hand, La Cantina in venezia is stylish and it is definitely one of the most romantic restaurants in Singapore. The Italian restaurant at Changi Village Hotel may not be the most accessible place, but they are definitely worth a try.
Singapore Food Blog Review
La Cantina in venezia
1 Netheravon Road
#08/09-02 Changi Village Hotel
Tel: +65 6546 9190
Featured in
you HAVE to try the crabmeat linguine the next time you dine there
Hi, do you know if there is a need to call for reservation during dinner time? or can just go and wait to be seated? Thanks..
shane: I think it’s better to make a reservation (just in case). You don’t want to go all the way to Changi Village only to find them full yea?
I’ve been a huge fan of their crabmeat linguine for the longest time. Now that picture is evoking some really delicious memories for me. yum.
I have to totally disagree with all the comments and review here. La Cantina is probably one of the worst Italian restaurant in Singapore. The main course took almost two hours to arrive despite repeated reminders. The service is atrocious..can you imagine being told to eat steak with a butter knife after the waiter couldn’t find a steak knife. The pork dish came and the waiter insists that it is scallop linguini which we did not order. Even request for warm water took three reminders and all of 15 minutes. When we try to cancel our main course as it was almost 10 pm, the “Manager” stormed into the kitchen and shouted at the kitchen staff in language I do not understand. She even showed her anger by flinging a sprig of parsley or something onto a plate of pasta to vent her anger. in full view of the customers and me. The food is truly forgettable. How the writer in this blog arrive at this “best’ italian restaurant in Singapore is totally beyond me.
Frank..cos the writer gets free meals there and at every place he dines…!
I agree with Frank on the service they provide! Is totally atrocious! I went there with my bf at between 9pm-10.30pm on 14 Jan 2014 and when we reached the restaurant, we rang the bell to be seated. Despite seeing us ringing the bell, the waitress ignored us and continued with her work. Only then, we walked in and asked if the restaurant is still open and then she finally seated us. She put on a ‘black’ face when my bf and I were placing our orders. We ordered a molten chocolate cake with strawberry ice-cream for sharing (as we already had our dinner somewhere else). Then we we wanted another order (cheesecake), my bf signal for the waitress to come over BUT, the waitress just stood behind the bar (which is a few feet away from us) and signal ‘what?’ with her head. My bf even have to shout across to place our second order! How could a waitress take order from so far away in a restaurant?! I was wondering if I am at some hawker centre at that moment. The restaurant ambience is really nice and romantic and I really didn’t expect the waitress to serve us like that. I have been to many restaurants in Singapore but this is really my first time being treated with shockingly awful service!
As for the desserts, the molten chocolate cake is normal (not wonderfully nice), the strawberry ice-cream is sour, sweet and cooling (not bad), but the cheesecake is really not worth for the price. The cheesecake tastes like cheese sponge that i can buy at a much cheaper price at normal bakery shops!
Seriously this place is not recommended! Food not value for money and the service sucks.
Best recommendation! Loved it!
Frank and Joscelin, I full agree with you both. I had an xmas eve dinner with 5 other friends in this restarant back then. The restaurant appeared to be good. However, the indoor tables were full and we had to do al fresco dining. Fine. The chairs and small tables we had were foldable kind. Talk about ambience? That’s not all… After ordering our food (set dinner that cost more than SGD120 each), I’ve asked for ice water to be served. The manager who took our orders, yes the manager specifically told us that the restaurant does not serve ice water and recommended Italian Mineral water which cost about SGD20.00 each bot. As my friends and I are not alcohol drinkers, we ordered 5-6 bottles of water in the end. It’s fine for high end restuarant not to serve ice water… however, after the dinner (which was definitely not as fantastic as what ladyironchef has commented…), one of the waitresses was happily holding a jug of chilled clear liquid and topping up our glasses. I stopped her asking what was that and she mentioned… “Ice water, Sir” I said, please can i ask for your manager? I questioned the manager and he went, Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know we have ice water, with a smile. How convenient… I’m not a cheapskate but i felt extremely cheated and to worsen it, the manager didn’t even feel bad lying through his teeth. I did not ask for any discount and paid without further comments. That was my first visit (8 years ago) to that restaurant and the last… i just happen to see this comment page while searching for a restaurant and feeling ‘nostalgic’ about this experience of mine…