After making our online reservation exactly a week in advance and having received the restaurant's confirmation, we felt pretty happy coming in.
We like to book every single lunch and dinner in advance whenever we go on a trip. That way, we wouldn't have to scramble for good food in an unfamiliar city. As a fan of Chef Jason Atherton, I was particularly excited about this lunch at Pollen.
Pollen is set in a lush garden at the corner of the Flower Dome inside the Gardens By the Bay. The glass window and ceiling provide a well-lit environment for dining and more importantly, a nice view of the Marina Bay skyline.
When we were greeted at the restaurant entrance by the hostess, we let her have our reservation details but were immediately informed that the Pollen Main Dining Room is closed every Monday (Yes, we were there on a Monday). As a consolation, they have arranged a table for us at their bistro.
The hostess continued explaining that she has already emailed us about the closure of the restaurant on Mondays but why put it there on the online reservation system if it's not open. Why not block out all the Mondays so that diners are well informed of the opening dates?
After we settled down at the bistro, a quick check on my email inbox indicated that, they did email me about the main dining room's closure but it was sent out 6 days after our online reservation, less than 24 hours from our reservation time. Too bad it was our travel day and we were unavailable to check our emails.
Much to my dismay, I told the hostess that this was totally unacceptable . If we were interested in bistro food, we would have other choices. Of course at this point, there's nothing she could do.
I was steaming hot and what a better way to cool myself off with a little cocktail - Lychee and chilli. That was a surprisingly good combination.
Choices were very limited in the bistro menu. We started things off with a dish of crispy calamari rings served with a special aioli which was decent but not great (4/10).
The Caesar salad with pickled anchovies was better. I particularly enjoyed the deep fried Iberico ham, pickled anchovies and quail egg to go with the super crisp lettuce (6/10).
Finally, to add further disappointment to our lunch - beef sandwich with homemade fries. The bread was super hard (3/10)!
We tried to suppress our frustration following our lunch at Pollen. No, I meant the Pollen Bistro. Perhaps a walk in the Flower Dome will do the trick?
After visiting the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, we decided to drop by the Marina Bay Sands for a quick visit.
Marina Bay
On top of the earlier "miscommunication", service was very spotty from start to finish. For example, our ketchup and bill took ages to arrive despite our constant reminders to the server. (The small plate of ketchup actually arrived when we had finished our fries.)
This was not a good dining experience. Period.
Food Rating: 4/10
Price: $$$
Address: 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Bayfront
Tel: +65 6557-2797
Website: www.pollen.com.sg
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