Freshened Up

Expect bold and artfully composed dishes at Braci, the latest dining outfit by the ilLido Group. Kenny Leong dines in.

Enter through an inconspicuous door via a side entrance, take the lift up to the fifth floor, and you emerge into Braci (tel: [phone]), the newest Italian restaurant this side of the Singapore River.  

The brainchild of veteran chef and restaurateur Beppe De Vito, who also owns other dining hotspots such as ilLido at the Cliff, &Sons, Aura and Southbridge, Braci is named for the Italian word for ember. Housed in a newly restored heritage shophouse, the intimate 16-seat open-kitchen space sets itself apart from its peers with its modernist decor—warm wooden tables and chairs juxtapose atmospheric dark panelled walls illumined by designer lamps, lending the space a discreet air of casual elegance.

The kitchen takes centre stage, where the dramatic performance of the culinary artists revolves around the charcoal-fired Josper oven and shichirin grill; cooking over charcoal is the order of the day at Braci, which is what gives the restaurant its name.

The concise menu, like the outfit, proffers a measured mix of elements that bucks the trend with classic Italian ingredients reinterpreted with fresh invigorating insights. Dishes are served without pomp, boasting bold and precise construction of flavours and textures built on De Vito’s instinctive familiarity with local dining trends.