Club Street Social

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Club Street Social is simply Manhattan chic, sleek, elegant and classy. Meet this newly opened hidden gem of a cafe-cocktail bar situated in tiny Gemmill Lane, just opposite Luke Oyster Bar. Stepping in makes one feel very welcome as natural light fills the entire place with its tall glass paneled doors that front the entrance, creating that tranquil and soothing atmosphere.

Even though space is not exactly CSS's strongest point, the owners have cleverly maximised every inch of the place by building the dining area parallel to the bar, which is in turn facing the multilevel display of booze in the wooden shelves that climb all the way to the ceiling. It is obvious that a lot of thought has been put into the planning of the architecture of the place, with the matching bowl pendant lightings and dark brown wooden furniture coming together so beautifully, evoking a very rustic feel from this aesthetically charming establishment.

The menu is not too extensive, with all the cafe's offerings including food and drinks found on a double-sided single A4 sheet black folder, but every item is a unique combination of ingredients that is simply delightful to the palate. Yes, you will soon see ordinary plain toasted sandwiches in a whole new light after stepping out of this place.

CSS offers about five to six items on their all day breakfast menu with the usuals of granola with yogurt, scrambled eggs, bacon and the likes but the Truffled Egg Toast $14 caught our eye! My dining partner was a huge truffle fan so we were definitely ordering it.

Like all good truffle dishes, this Truffled Egg Toast greeted us with its aroma when this plate was served to the table. After dividing the toast into four parts for all of us, we each still had a sizable portion of the thick bread. I had barely finished saying grace when I was interrupted by excited squeals telling me 'I had to try it!'. Excitedly, I cut out a piece from the corner topped with melted cheese, as my mind was filled with expectations...

And every single expectation was met. This was one deceivingly ordinary looking piece of bread that was phenomenal and that was not even the best part yet! Bite into the soft but not mushy yolk center and you will be blown away because the yolk had soaked up all the truffle oil and the flavour simply bursts in your mouth.

With that great start to a meal, it was going to be hard for the other items to match up. Thankfully they did not fall behind.

Our Confit Duck, Roast Portobello and Thyme Panini $19 was already cut up into sharing portions by our considerate servers who knew we were planning to share all the dishes.

An amazing mix of duck meat and portobello made perfect with the drizzle of tangy mustard dressing. The bread was crisp and warm and a great contrast to the succulent duck pieces. We were definitely loving this kickass combination.

The Grilled Ribeye, Caramelized Garlic, Fontina Panini $28 will not look like this if you order it because we added a sunny side up and the rashers of bacon on the side. Yeah we just made it a little more sinful than it already was... The grilled ribeye was surprisingly moist and tender though it was obviously 'well done'. We were joking that the piece of meat must have been pounded for a really long time by the meat mallet before it reached this consistency but nonetheless, this was another champion item.

And... saving the absolute best and our favourite sandwich for the last- the Pan-Seared Lobster, Avocado, Yuzu Mayo Panini $28 was the winner out of the lot. Just when you thought the food could not get any better, this baby arrives and changes the whole game.

I am talking about real lobster chunks in between your toasted panini, smothered by perfectly ripe slices of avocado topped with homemade Yuzu mayo. Though it was a tough fight, the Yuzu mayo definitely stood out. This citrus based creamy dressing was like nothing we had ever tested before and it did a wonderful job at bringing out the sweetness of the lobster meat and the smooth buttery taste of the avocado. An absolute must-try if you do come here!

The Nutella Bread and Butter Pudding served with Nutella and Chocolate Sauce and Vanilla ice-cream is an off the menu but strongly recommended dessert to order by the lady who told us while clearing our plates that 'we had to leave some space in our stomachs for it'.

No need for words to describe this bread and butter pudding which is made on the spot when you order it (hence the long waiting time for it) because I think the following photographs explains it better than anything I can ever write. Plus anything with Nutella is already a winner. True story.

Club Street Social definitely has great potential and I have absolutely fallen in love with this place because of my soft spot for places with a great ambiance. The service was also flawless with enthusiastic and cheery staff. This could possibly become the next 'it' place for after-work drinks or just a laid back chilling hangout on the weekends. But do note that they do not take reservations unless you have a group of more than 8!

Club Street Social, I will be back again soon.

For more photos, please see Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow.

The decor of Club Street Social is pitch-perfect, the fashionable kind of bars these days with an industrial look of cement floor, brick walls and hanging lamps. Very dim lighting,good for casual dates and groups of friends, bad for photos. It has an edgy, underground New York ambience. A perfect place for hipsters–we love it.

Two important factors that enhance the ambience: 1. they play angry jazz songs which makes the joint edgy and anti-establishment. 2. The size of it, sitting about 30 people, gives an intimate and unpretentious atmosphere.

Not an extensive menu, there are only drinks and sandwiches.

For drinks, my date ordered Hendricks ($20), which isn’t on the menu–you can ask the bartender what she can concoct–and I had cocktail #7 ($16). The cocktails are in general very expensive, considering the glass is minuscule.

My date said if he wanted to be picky, a Hendricks comes with a cucumber and not the lemon in the drink. But the drink by itself is alright.

My cocktail #7 consists cognac, bacon, date and walnut. Bacon in a cocktail!!! Can’t really taste the bacon, date or walnut; it tastes more like an alcoholic sour plum with a sweet citrus fragrance. The smoothness of the taste makes it very easy to drink and be inebriated.

Next time, being the adventurous sort, I want to try Cocktail #4 ($20) with rye italian vermouth and vegemite. Vegemite in a cocktail!!!

I also want to bring the RERG team down because I love the place so much and we could order the spiked pitchers ($49). There are two kinds: (1) gin, lemongrass, galangal, pineapple which sounds refreshing or (2) cognac, red wine, nutmeg, ginger ale, which sounds festive and fun.

There are three kinds of sandwiches. (1) Crostini is a very, very thin and crispy slice of baguette, topped with food, like a canape. It’s bite-size, very tiny and comes in 3 or 5 pieces. This is more for snacking. (2) Tramezzini is white bread sandwiches. (3) Panini is pan-toasted ciabatta bread.

Having been eating continuously since 2pm, at 7pm my date ordered the crostini topped with anchovy, ricotta cheese, citrus salt ($10 for 3 pieces/$14 for 5). In his words, “There is just the right amount of lemon to cover the fishiness of the fish but not dilute the taste of fish. A deep connection between the ricotta and anchovy gives the dish an equipoise.” Dunno what he talking lah. So chim. I think he just means it is delicious. But I thought it is shockingly tiny, you can finish in 3 bites, 1.5 bites if you’re Annabelle Chong.

I ordered panini with pan-seared lobster, avocado, yuzu mayo ($28). $28 is a steep price to pay for sandwiches but OMG it is worth every dollar. SOOO GOOD. Better than s**! Still hot from the pan, the top bread is pure crust! The bread is pan-toasted with olive oil so when you bite into it, it is so incredibly crispy with a crunching sound, so aurally s*** and texturally satisfying! And the white part of the bread is very soft. The ocean-sweet lobster flesh is supple and the milky, slippery avocado sets off the lobster magnificiently. Copious amount of yuzu mayo gives the dish a slightest tanginess and sweetness. Imagine all those amazing textures and flavors, each playing off against one another, making such a simple dish so phenomenal, so staggering, so mindblowing. I wish there were more lobster meat. If there is a critique–and this is so minor it may not even be worth mentioning–it is that it may be less oily. I eat with my hands–oily hands–and I feel the oil on my lips. Good for lubricating purposes, not so good for the hips. I never thought I would enthuse over a sandwich!

Service: My date said if he ever opens a restaurant, he would poach the waiter: “The waiter is incredibly charming,” my date gushed. It is very refreshing to find a congenial local waiter; these days, the best service goes to PRCs or Pinoys/Pinas. Not only is the waiter friendly, knowledgable, and articulate, he is also observant and considerate and topped up our glasses very regularly! Another friendly person is the bartender. The bartender and the waiter made us feel like we were right at home, like we are all among old friends here.

We paid $87.10 in total (for sandwiches and two drinks! ouch!). The sandwiches are worth every penny but the cocktails need to be priced cheaper by 15-20%. I tell people that there is no such thing as a perfect review because an eatery, especially a new one, always has flaws and needs improvement. Club Street Social may prove my theory wrong. It is perfect in every way, from the decor down to the food and service. This is the place to spot me.

Love the decor of the place - the high ceilings lend added sophistication to the NY-inspired setting.  Dark wood shelves, Carrera marble bar top counter and beautiful fonts (I have a weakness for establishments who give attention to this detail) give the place a certain charisma and maturity even though it really is a casual joint perfect for a date or for a tête-à-tête with the girlfriends.  Lots of arty beautiful people types were there during lunch hour. 

Italian-inspired sandwiches take centrestage - think panini, crostini and tramezzini.  I had the pan-seared lobster, avocado, yuzu mayo panini ($28) which was very good.  The dressing was bold enough for the generous chunks of lobster and made for the perfect lunch.  Next up I know I'll be trying the grilled ribeye with caramelized garlic and fontina cheese panini, or the duck confit, roast portobello and thyme panini.   And a cocktail.

Overall a great addition to Club Street - I only wish it were closer to my office.

Definitely a new resto worth trying.  Really pleased with this find.