Drew Nocente cooks from the hearth at Il Toro
The new woodfire grill showcases the Aussie chef’s freestyle cooking approach at its best
NEW RESTAURANT
Il Toro Woodfire Grill 18 Gemmill Lane Singapore 069255 Tel: 8269-1021 Open for lunch and dinner Mon to Fri: 12 pm to 2:30 pm; 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm
DINING at Il Toro makes us want to go out and find our own life-changing epiphany. In just three years, we’ve watched Drew Nocente evolve from a struggling, self-doubting, somewhat chunky chef into a confident, muscle-bound co-owner of four restaurants – including his first casual Italian eatery, Cenzo.
Now, he’s literally on fire at Il Toro – a roaring, wood-burning grill joint where 90 per cent of the menu is put through the flames before it lands on your table. Think He-Man helming the barbie of his own universe, set to the music of an 80s/90s soundtrack that’s unapologetically groovy and happy at the same time.
A lot of people seem to agree. This new spot on Gemmill Lane quickly fills up – a split-level, brick-walled dining room with rough finishes, balanced out with solid-wood dining tables and leather furniture. Taking pride of place is the crackling fire of Australian ironbark wood; taking pride, period, is Nocente himself – master of a cooking style that is emphatically his own.
Think heart meets hearth – casual, Aussie-inspired fare that’s robust, yet restrained, which is a switch for the chef once inclined towards high-salt, more-vinegar flavour profiles. His subtler, mindful approach doesn’t include low-fat options, however.
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After all, Il Toro’s airy, fluffy, toasted focaccia (S$8) is served with a lit candle made of 100 per cent beef fat that slowly melts away as you dip. If you had a sad childhood without birthday parties, you’ll like this – you can clap and make a wish when your bread comes.
Coffin Bay oysters (S$6 a piece) are small but assertive – each a little fleshy briny morsel topped with spicy yuzu kosho and crunchy seaweed that lends just enough contrast without overpowering the fresh mollusc. Or you can ask to have it unadorned, to savour it au naturel.
If you’re indecisive, go for the Chef’s Feast (S$118), but we prefer the lucky dip approach – point and see what you get.
If you’re up for something carpaccio-like, pick sea bream (S$22) in raw, chunky slices – dressed in velvety olive oil and livened up with bits of lemon, tomatoes and a scattering of herbs and caviar.
Reward yourself for the cholesterol-compliant choice with an order of salt & pepper tripe (S$17), where this much-ignored offal is turned into the crunchiest of bar snacks. Sticks of viscera – with no untoward muskiness – are battered and deep-fried beyond recognition, so all you get is a deeply satisfying, addictive crunch. For dipping, there’s a homemade caponata (tomato and eggplant sauce) doing its best ketchup imitation.
Whole tiger prawns (S$10 each) are charbroiled and doused in chilli sambal and a sprinkling of chives, giving it a sambal sting ray effect, but without the banana leaf. And if it’s your habit to order grilled octopus (S$36) everywhere, this one isn’t half bad: the charred tentacle is very tender, but it’s the pairing of corn puree and kernels in a sweet-tangy dressing that wins us over.
By now, you can tell that Il Toro may be a woodfire grill, but it’s not a steakhouse, since Nocente has an equal-opportunity approach over what gets burned.
From the meat picks, get the Blackmore wagyu tri-tip with a marbling score of 9 (S$78). Tri-tip is the unsung hero of off-cuts and here, it’s done to perfect timing – flamed then hung till it reaches the ideal temperature. It’s tender in a rebellious way, yielding with a good chew at the same time. A green garlic sauce on the side is perfectly nice, but not necessary.
Foie gras dirty rice (S$44) – a risotto-fried rice hybrid – combines the fun of both: wok-fried chewy grains with a starchy sheen, packed with chunks of smoky bacon and foie gras. Heavy-going, though.
To sweeten things off, there’s a cheese toastie (S$16) or toasted sourdough with melted Caciocavallo cheese that’s rubbery in a nice way, drizzled with honey and paired with grilled pear chunks on the side.
Or you can go with Nocente’s take on the mint slice (S$16) – semi-frozen mint ice cream on a bed of dark cookie crumbs, topped with a large dollop of meringue that gives off a fragrant whiff of burnt sugar when it’s flattened by a very hot vintage iron right in front of you.
All in, it’s a fitting end to a happy, if heavy, meal. It may be all about the fire, but Il Toro knows how to warm your heart.
Rating: 7
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