Portico Host - a Hidden Gem in Alexandra

Portico Host (formerly known as Hosted on the Patio) is nestled among the commercial buildings along Alexandra Road.

Be welcomed by its lovely garden and sprawling alfresco space when you stepped into Portico Host.  A lovely venue where one will enjoy chilling out with families and friends over some drinks.  Seemingly, a hidden gem among the commercial buildings.

In fact, the main dining hall area is of such homely feel that one finds it a cozy venue to dine in with families and friends, a great venue for catching up.

The Portico Host has recently revamped its menu.  Starters served include, Duo Crab & Trio of Skin.

The Duo Crab is a delighting dish, filled with elements of surprise. Deep fried baby crabs, so crispy that you can eat it on its own or with the edible soil which is actually of salted egg. Dip your fried mantou into the chili mud crab meat dip but it would have score better if the spicy level of the dip is slight raised.

The Trio of skin includes deep fried eel skin and pork floss, chicken skin with host seasoning and the pork skin crackling. These are great snacks that goes well with the beer or on themselves! My personal favourite got to be the fried chicken skin which is so crispy and flavourful that I couldn't stop helping myself with it.

Next come the main courses.

The freshness of the hottate (scallop) matters most when comes to dishes like Hotatte Tattaki. The fresh scallops, pan seared till golden brown and topped with mentaiko, apple slaw, avrugu caviar and crispy kawa ebi, is a different take from the usual salted pan seared scallop, with a burst of flavours!

The Grilled Octopus is certainly not the dish for me as I have never really fancy eating octopus.  However, undeniably, the plating is beautiful and the Sous-vide potatoes chunks taste awesome!

I was never a fan of Chicken Breast, but the Seared Chicken Breast surprisingly, is my second favourite among the variety of main courses! Tender and succulent, the chicken breast manages to retain the moisture and tasted juicy! The is the dish that I will highly recommend to the health conscious eaters!  Healthy, yet taste is not compromised.

The Snapper Pie is the top choice among all. The dish is simply toothsome!  The snapper fillet is very fresh and of generous serving, the combination with wild mushroom ragout, asparagus, tomato and a hint of truffle oil is simply amazing and I thought I'm having a snapper fillet in mushroom soup pie!

The beef lovers should go for the 72 Hour Braised Angus Beef Cheek. After braised for 72 hours, the beef cheek remains tender and delectable. There is certainly no complains even for someone like me who hardly eat beef.

The BBQ Pork rib, with a tangy BBQ sauce, is tenderly grilled and can be easily cut into pieces. The portion is huge, thus, it is recommended to share if you are a small eater.

The Duck Leg Confit, sitting on top of potato mash, purple cabbage stew, red pepper coulis, is drizzled with Port wine sauce, is also succulent dish. Love its crispy duck skin.

Lastly, we are served the Pineapple dessert, Kaya Cream Brulee and Tiramisu, and ended the meal with a sweet note!

The all pineapple dessert consists of pineapple & rubbed crumber, dehydrated pineapple slices and pineapple sherbet.  The presentation reminds you of a garden, however, it is too sweet for my liking while the sorbet is too sour for me too.

The flower pot of Tiramisu sits on the bed of edible soil, made up of mashed Oreo cookies. It can hardly go wrong by ordering the Tiramisu here.

Love Cream Brulee? Then you should give it a try to the Kaya Cream Brulee. A fusion dessert with local flavour - Kaya. On a side note, it is on the sweeter side, so this may not suit the taste of those who does not have a sweet tooth.

The overall dining experiences at the Portico Host restaurant was great.  The cozy settings and the friendly staff made me feel at home.  I've enjoyed most of the dishes, of which, dishes that I highly recommend are -- the Duo Crab, Hotatte Tattaki, Seared Chicken Breast, Snapper Pie and the Kaya Cream Brulee.

Last but not least, if you have the entertainer app, don't forget to utilise your 1 for 1 main course coupon to save some money!

Portico Host Restaurant

Address: 991B Alexandra Road #01-10, Singapore 119970

(Nearest MRT station: Labrado Park MRT Station)

Tel: 6276 7337

Opening Hours:

Monday – Saturday, Closed on Sundays

11:30am – 3:00pm

5:30pm – 11:30pma