COMMUNITY Spirit

After eight years in Singapore, Mirko Febbrile is opening his very own restaurant, Fico, at East Coast Park and it is a promising amalgamation of his past, present and future.

- AMELIA CHIA

Mirko Febbrile is as ambitious and plucky as they come. As a result, he is perched on a chair in a construction site that will soon be his new restaurant, Fico, with a squawking chicken on his back. He turns to peck the chicken next to him with a humourless gaze, before he bursts out laughing at the absurdity of it all. We are at the shoot for this particular story, and just two days prior, he had gamely convinced us that having a chicken on set would add to the conceptual nature of our photos. Febbrile was right—we scrolled through the final photos after we were done, and nodded in agreement that our unconventional decision had paid off.

Perhaps it is this exact boldness that has landed Febbrile at this exact juncture. Hailing from Puglia, Italy, the 31-year-old is just weeks away from opening his first restaurant amid the lush greenery at East Coast Park, in partnership with The Lo & Behold Group. Fico is a combination of Febbrile’s worlds—of his joyful childhood and whom he used to be, and the person he is now.

“It’s 80 percent of my past and 20 percent of who I am today. I grew up surrounded by positive vibes and authenticity, and many people having fun at the table,” he explains. ‘We could talk about anything from money to religion, and it was always around food. It fascinated me.” He adds with a pensive smile: “So, it’s about going back to basics and enjoying the simplicity of savouring the moment. I want it to be a community, not a restaurant. It is a place where people can get together to spend time and feel free to express themselves.”