Party with gourmet nosh on the side

50 Raffles Place
Singapore Land Tower, Level 45/46
6221 9555

Welcome to the age of the gastroclub; where the night-crawlers of today want their party... with a side of gourmet delights. To meet that demand comes the new 50 Raffles Place, a multi-concept steakhouse which incorporates an oyster bar, a modern Japanese restaurant and a club in its dining concept.

Its swanky bar lounge, Empire, has been in a soft launch phase since September but held its official opening party on Friday. Two out of the three dining concepts, namely Sear steakhouse and Angie's Oyster and Champagne Bar, are already up and running.

The project is the brainchild of Hidden Door Concept, a hospitality group responsible for eateries such as Pigsfly Kitchen & Bar and Kichenette along Novena as well as modern European restaurant Boathouse on Fullerton Road, together with lifestyle group Massive Collective, who are known for hot nightclubs such as Fenix Room and Dream in Clarke Quay.

Perched on the 45th and 46th storey of the Singapore Land Tower, and with neighbouring tenants such as CIMB, 50 Raffles Place caters to the CBD's ubiquitous "suits". For Christopher Lim, managing director of Hidden Door Concepts, it was "a no-brainer" to launch a steak and seafood restaurant and the main draw for the customers will be its 360-degree panoramic views. On why he decided to open a multi-concept restaurant in the massive 17,000 sq ft place, he explains: "There's never been an F&B outlet in this building. The infrastructure made it hard to create a single, unified concept because when you look at the space, it is like a perimeter around the elevator shaft which creates a lot of blind spots and operations won't run as efficiently, so we've decided to partition it."

Sear is a modern American steakhouse with polished interiors that show off high ceilings, booth seats and a honeycomb wood fixture depicting a bull.

On the menu is a whole range of speciality cuts such as certified Kobe ribeye A4 grade, Canadian Western Countries Cross Angus, and Australian Jacks Creek Wagyu grilled in Pira charcoal ovens from Barcelona. Pair your beef with an exclusive to Sear, Meyer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2004.

Next door, Angie's Oyster and Champagne Bar shows a more French-inspired setting, but the food is just as straightforward with chilled Boston Lobsters, Diver Scallop Ceviches, as well as Tsarskaya oysters - a French bivalve mollusc - engineered to have a more balanced flavour.

"It's less rich than a Belon oyster," says Mr Lim. Guests can also order a surf-and-turf combo that features the best of Sear and Angie's.

The final dining concept, Teikoku (which translates to "empire" in Japanese), slated to open in January 2015 on the 46th floor, marks the Hidden Door Concepts' first foray into creating Asian restaurants. Occupying a 1,800 sq ft space, the 45-seater modern Japanese restaurant will offer contemporary Japanese food paired with sake.

To satiate the hunger of partygoers and revellers at Empire, Mr Lim reveals that Teikoku will also serve late-night supper (in addition to lunch and dinner) until 4am during weekends with comfort food such as noodles on the menu. "It makes sense, as you don't have to make another trip to a second location for supper after a decent night of drinking," he adds.

"We want to be like a one-stop shop where you can get everything from drinks to starters, afternoon tea or coffee," sums up Mr Lim.

This article was first published on Nov 15, 2014.
Get The Business Times for more stories.