Hosted - On The Patio

I was excited when I saw the place and the food on the menu but was quickly turned off by the service.  First dish came after a long wait.  See my [FULL REVIEW].

-The Roving Epicure -

I made reservations at Hosted with high hopes and expectations after reading its more than above-average reviews on HGW. However, it left me more than disappointed and I can't find a reason to ever go back.

We ordered the Grilled Spicy Squid and Crispy Calamari ($16++), which was indicated as a chef's recommendation, for starters. It was a disaster. The crispy calamari was soggy and bland and the serving was small, served in a tiny bowl similar to a sauce plate. The grilled spicy squid was even worse. The moment we put a piece of it into our mouths, my partner and I looked at each other in horror. It tasted sour, like food that had been left in the refrigerator for weeks. When we inquired about the dish, the waitress checked with the chef and informed us that it was supposed to be sour, as it had been marinated with lemon, lime and sambal. We tried putting that in perspective and tried it again but nope, the sauce had definitely gone bad and we left it as that.

Another starter we had was the Nibble Portioned Fish and Chips ($12++). The fish was fried in beer batter, and it tasted as though the oil used to fry it had been used and reused for days on end. The fries were no better - they were soggy and tasteless.

For mains, my partner and I shared the much acclaimed Smoked Duck Linguine ($24++). We were not expecting much by now after the terrible starters we had. We were right, it was nothing special. The rose sauce was boring and bland and the "wood-smoked french duck breast" tasted exactly like what you could get at Cold Storage for less than five dollars. At least the mushrooms and asparagus in the pasta were not overdone.

I was there at about 7pm on a Saturday and the restaurant was barely a quarter full so I would think that there is absolutely no excuse for the poor quality of the food.

However, I would like to highlight that the service was prompt and attentive, they were quick to serve the food and refill our glasses with water. The ambiance is indeed lovely, but I absolutely cannot bring myself to go back and have terrible food just to appreciate that.

For the full review/pics, do visit http://yumyumformytumtum.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/hosted-on-the-patio-another-place-great-for-dates-and-birthdays/

The ambience at HOTP is a mix of Timbre @ Old School and Artichoke Cafe (along Queens Street), and a live band played for the enjoyment of al fresco diners (it was a Saturday if I’m not mistaken). It’s really an ideal place to host birthdays and go on dates. Actually, almost all the customers here that night were couples yearning a relaxed quiet evening out.

Food was generally decent (though not astounding) but service was really sluggish and we waited around half an hour for the food, probably because the kitchen isn’t equipped to handle large orders at one go.

As an appetizer, the Atlantic Crab Salad ($16++) comes highly recommended. Chunks of briny crab meat is tossed with crisp salad, cherry tomatoes and sweet orange citrus segments, all dressed in a tangy tomato syrup. The myriad of light flavours works for the dish and the plethora of colours is appealing. The serving is generous and can be shared between 3 people.

I had high expectations for the Honey Bourbon Ribs ($26++) but was left slightly disappointed as the beef rib was not as succulent as what I remember it to be as when I had it in other places (I fondly recall my first brush with beef ribs at Brewerkz).  On the other hand, the marinate was ok and the thick cut fries were awesome.

My favourite main tonight was definitely the Smoked Duck Linguini ($24++). While the sauce is supposed to be a fragrant rose sauce (I’m thinking rose as in the wine and not the flower), only trace amounts of rose was used and the sauce was more or less a blend between cream and tomato base, which worked out just as well, appealing to people who find the usual tomato base too tangy and the usual cream base too cloying. The Wood Smoked French Duck Breast, Asparagus and Mushrooms is nestled on firm Linguini Pasta (just how I like it), and plays along with the pasta’s gentle symphony.

I have had better Capellini Nero ($28++), better known as Squid Ink Angel Hair Pasta elsewhere. The angel hair pasta tossed with fresh prawns, crab meat and roasted tomatoes come across as a little dry for my liking though I would say the flavours are intact.

Given the reasonable prices of the Mains here, the Desserts seem relatively overpriced, unjustified by its run of the mill standards. The Molten Dark Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream ($14++) is pleasantly average.

I didn’t like the Green Tea Creme Brulee with Almond Biscotti ($12++) as I found the creme brulee too dense that it feels more oversteamed eggy than creamy. I also felt that the caramel was overseared, resulting in an unpleasant overly charred taste.

Hosted on the Patio does some dishes well but in general, the main draw of this place is simply the laid back ambience not available in the heart of town

We went to have dinner as a considerably big group of 11 of us.  As we have heard about the duck pasta, is well-known. So that was included in our ordering list.  And we have ordered another 2 more dishes, cod fish with slippery lobster and lamb.

The duck pasta is indeed very nicely tasted, however, if it's too much, one can gets easily over-tasted.  I still prefers the cod fish with slippery lobster.  Small portion just nice for a petite lady and fresh seafood, though the fish was bland a bit.

I would like the surroundings with the greenery and away from the city rowdiness.

Finally get to come here after hearing so much from friends and colleagues. Overall, this is a nice chillout place - to see and be seen! Service is good and attentive. Staff were courteous and friendly.

Ordered some drinks and snacks/bar-food. Nice ambience to enjoy the evening with friends, loved ones. The orders were served pretty fast, not much waiting.

We didn't have any mains as we all had dinner before going to Hosted. Once our drinks were gone, server was attentive and asked us whether we need re-fills.

Spent about 2hours there. Will come back for sure.

The outdoor area was lovely. Pity the rain, we sat inside.

It was a quiet as it was a Monday evening.

A girls' outing, we enjoyed the layout and the quiet ambience.

It was a great place to hangout to chat and even play boardgames.

Food wise, we felt only the duck linquine and chocolate fondant were good.

Escargot was average.

 

The Lambshank sauce was sour due to the tomato based sauce and the number of fresh tomatoes tossed into it. It's weird to me caused so far, the lambshank I had were often hearty and savory. Not tomato-ish sour. But the mint risotto that went with it were good.

A Beef Scallion dish was err... "mashy". The beef was tender but tastless, too much tenderizer?

There was a cod and slipper lobster dish. This is decent. Pretty good.

The Duck Linguine was done with a touch of cream and tomato sauce. Interesting mixed and good too.

The chocolate fondant was excellent. Could have serve a bigger scoop of ice-cream or serve the dessert faster when ready... so that it would not look so "melty".

Chocolate Brownie was average.

Hot beverage was overpriced. But if its your habit to have coffee or tea after a meal, then like us, no choice lor.

They served Shandy too but it wasn't listed on the menu. I had to request for it ; )

A nice place to return for desserts. A lovely ambience to catch up. The service provided was good too.

Always wanted to check out place and finally went there, on a Friday night, now that the Circle Line is up and its so much more convenient to get to this place :) 

Decided to use the HGW promo for 1-for-1 pasta!

Trust the mushroom fan, aka me, to have the Spaghetti Mushroom Aglio Olio and bf had Spaghetti with Crispy Korubuta Pork. 

I love how the Mushroom Aglio Olio had such a generous serving of mushrooms *yumz* and the texture of the pasta was just right for me. Though Aglio Olio is typically too oily a dish for me, i savoured every bit of this one mainly cos of the mushrooms. 

Spag with crispy korubuta pork went down well with bf but not so much for me cos i dun typically like pork belly but it was nice and crispy so i had some. The main attraction of this dish, for me at least, was the spag with Hosted's special spicy asian sauce. Tasty! 

We also tried the House Chicken Wings. Initially tot it was so-so and in fact a lil' salty for my liking. But the more i ate, the better i liked it :) And the chilli is a MUST! unless u really dun take spicy food. Nevertheless, i gave up the last wing to leave some space for desserts (well perhaps it was a lil too much for 2 pax but was worth the try.)

And no matter how stuffed I am, there's always (some) room for desserts or at least i make the effort to leave some room for it. Obvious choice was... Molten dk choc fondant! Yumyum dk choc oozing out from the soft pastry. Tog with the ice cream and berries, it was worth the wait. Also note that the berries were fresh and a lil' sweet, not the usual sour berries *happy* :)

Not to forget special mention to the staff. The staff, a young gal, who was serving the section where our table was located was very attentive. She would observe from a distance and immediately refill our drinks or attend to us. At a pt in time, i was drinking like a hippo cos of the chx wing chilli. She'd noticed and came to my rescue several times within a short time frame everytime the water level it reached the halfway-mark. And she remained patient and smiley despite that. 

Will be back... to try their new weekend brunch! :D 

This is the 2nd time I visited this premise.  The first time for the Japanese buffet a block away.  Nice and cozy ambience maketh a pleasing hangout.....so much so that my girlfriend and I sat there for a good 4 hours!

We ordered the Duck Linguine, Squid Ink Angel Hair and Crab Salad.  The Salad is the best I've had.  Fresh greens, cherry tomatoes, tangerines, nicely chilled and succulent crabmeat and a light citrusy sauce makes this perfect!  It's something I would definitely be back for.

The mains were just average. Being a huge pasta fan, I do island-hop around for good pastas and sadly, the pastas here didn't quite hit the mark but the overall greatness of this place makes it a shame to totally write it off.  I would be back to try their other stuff for sure.

The pastas were pretty al-denta. The duck one comes with a creamy sauce laden with lots of aspargus and mushrooms.  I have to say that although this is medicore, the smoked duck was heavenly.  If I can just order the duck, I would do so!

The squid ink had generous servings of prawns.  My initial aftertaste was it was a little bland and the angel hair didn't quite go all too well.  But this dish grows on you.  It gets better with each serving.

My girlfriend and I shared the 2 pastas.  Be warned, I feel that it was quite alot for two ladies.  In the end, we were too stuffed to have the Molten Chocolate Cake which we had both been eyeing since reading the menu.  It takes 15mins preparation time if you wish to order.  I guess this makes it a perfect excuse to come back again.

Service is good.  Staff are attentive and quick to respond to our requests.  Sensing I was a little under the weather (I was sniffing)....the service staff came with warm water, instead of iced... how thoughtful!!!

But I guess at some point, we did outstayed our welcome as our service staff decided that she would pass on us whenever she went on her refill rounds.  The place was not crowded and there weren't anyone waiting for tables so we thought it's ok to just stay on.  We ordered Chamomile Tea and continued our conversation. 

There is belly dance performance on Thursdays and live band perforamnce on Fridays.  Great place! 

We recently visited this place after reading the good reviews. Upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised by the nice ambience and easy parking of the restaurant. It is in a low-rise office area ( a little like dempsey village). It used to be a training institute which has been converted to offices and F & B outlets. 

Anyhow, we had a few items (some bar snack items) and main course, dessert, etc 

On the whole the food was ok. I have had better, for cheaper. I reckon its more a 'see and be seen' type of place. Perhaps catering to the after work office crowd. They have a nice bar area, and it is very chic. Perhaps, when you are out with friends or on a date, and are more interested in the conversation than the food, this place will probably work really well. However, based on the food alone, I'd have to give it a miss. We spent over $200 for 4 people (1 ate very little). Service was inconsistent, i.e. some staff were great, some appeared lost, or uninterested. So its a little difficult to comment, which is why I gave them an average grading for service.

Finally got the chance to bring my hubby to Hosted at the Patio for lunch on my day off!! 

I suggested for him to try the Smoked Duck Linguine and he said that even tho he is not one who likes stew, he found the linguine very flavorful and good. 

I wanted to be adventurous and got myself a spicy beef cubes penne. The beef cubes were wonderfully seared on the sides and then tossed in the spicy tomato sauce. Very very MmMmmmMm... 

This place, with their attentive but not in-your-face wait staff, just cannot do wring by my books!!!