Paddy Hills… Where do I begin?
I’ve long heard about this cafe – well-known for its Berry Ricotta Hotcakes that they copied from Top Paddock, and riding on its “success”, it has been an extremely popular hipster cafe that everyone raves about on social media.
My experience of Berry Ricotta Hotcake was bad at Curious Palette and I was reluctant to visit PH until I came across their seasonal Truffle fries with REAL TRUFFLE imported from elsewhere in the world.
So, I came along with my friend with lots of excitement, as we are both fans of truffle fries! Nonetheless, our visit turned out to be the worst meal I’ve had at a cafe and accessing here wasn’t easy at all.
The cafe is located in a row of shophouses in the middle of a private residential area. There were only 1 to 2 buses available, which weren’t even buses that led to the MRT. We spent 40 minutes trying to navigate from Haw Par Villa MRT station (nearest station to Paddy Hills).
When we finally made it, and the ambience undeniably looks good. But, no one bothered to welcome us and we had to look for seats ourselves.
Never mind that as we found a two-seater table one corner against the wall. Since it was small, I began to get up from the seat to explore the space for a more comfortable dining experience. Despite having a couch seat available on the right of the cafe, a male waiter glared at me (as if I was wrong to look at other tables) and told us to remain at our seats because we only had 2 people (Point 1).
When we had the menu and make a quick decision on the dishes, none of the waiters bothered take our orders within 15 minutes of seating. We also took another 15 minutes to get the waiters’ attention as they were always lurking at the back (Point 2).
When I told the waitress that it took 15 minutes to catch her eye, she told me she’s busy with something. Ok sure.
The food came and I missed the shaving of the truffle on our fries, unfortunately. Nonetheless, it looks quite glorious like in photos.
But it’s a lie.
Truffle Fries with 5g fresh Italian Summer Truffle with smoked salt, pecorino & homemade truffle mayo [$26+]
Taste: 2/5
Fries are thicker cut than Mc Donald’s and its crispiness was maintained throughout (maybe that’s why I have a sore throat now).
We were told that the Summer Truffles are from Umbria, Italy. However, in reality, the truffle flavour was lacking by A LOT. There was no distinct hint of truffle most of it was just cheese. The truffle merely covered one quarter of the fries, which caused us to just fish for the top ones.
The most infuriating thing is the Truffle Mayo Dip, which was given in an extremely small saucer; it was barely enough to dip one quarter of our fries! The waitress told us it would cost another $2 to top up the dip – WHAT???(Point 3).
There wasn’t any hint of truffle oil even through they claimed they added it. I think we are better off with PS Cafe’s truffle shoestring fries, which is almost half of the price.
If you need to have one dish from Paddy Hills, everyone would recommend the Hei Rice – Squid ink rice, garlic, mentaiko mayo, flank steak & sous vide egg [$24+]
Taste: 3/5
My first taste of the Squid ink rice is quite pleasant. It had a nutty texture with a wok hei burnt flavour, but the egg didn’t really add much value to the dish, as it the rice is too buttery to absorb the yolk.
Worst part of the dish is the STEAK. I have had soooo many steaks in my life and this was as tough as rubber. I ordered “medium well”, and while it seemed rare in the middle, it was extremely dry and tough. My friend couldn’t even down the slices that I offered her! I can cook better steak than this.
Also had a sore throat after that after finding out that the rice was fried.
My friend had the Roasted Chicken with purple sweet potato, yuzu & wham bam sauce [$24+]
Taste: 2.8/5
For this price, we would expect a bigger portion as we mistook it for a side dish. The plate is a lot smaller than mine as well.
I could get a whole chicken at Coles supermarket in Australia for $10 and this was… half of it. While the sauce was interesting as it contained yuzu. However, the chicken was overcooked at certain parts like the breast.
No wonder other customers couldn’t finish theirs portion.. Furthermore, for $24+, you’d expect a Western meal to have sides, but this lacked vegetables and carbs for a well-balanced meal. Lots of points taken away.
We’re much better off with Astons.
Since the cafe closes at 10pm, we thought we could stay longer. By 9.15pm, the “Rise and Grind” neon sign outside was switched off and we were upset that we couldn’t take photo before we left.
And one final point, while we were still having dinner, the staff whipped out their brooms and mops to clean the cafe. My friend and I agreed that other restaurants would NEVER do this while customers are dining and before closing time. What if more customers come over for dessert?
There was a strong smell of detergent throughout from 9.15pm, and I can imagine all the germs going inside my food (Point 5).
Overall, Paddy Hills has left a bad taste in my mouth even though our total bill came close to $100 – the most I’ve spent on a cafe! Wanted to come here for brunch, but this experience (5 points listed) has made me call off that decision. It is apparent that their staff lacks training.
Paddy Hills, you’re just a beautiful mess.
This was my real dinner after visiting your cafe:
McDonald’s > Paddy Hills anytime.
BUNNY’S VERDICT:
This is the most honest review I can ever get, and would warn all diners to stray away from this cafe. Its ambience and food are just a gimmick.
BUNNY RECOMMENDS: Don’t bother.
RATING
Ambience: 3.5/5 Nice decor, cork walls and eclectic tiles. Nonetheless, Paddy Hill’s ambience is not be a reason for visiting – especially when it’s located in such a secluded area. I can find similar cafes elsewhere.
Service: -1000/5 Staff the worst I’ve encountered so far in all the cafes I’ve been to in Singapore. Rude, aloof, and pretend as if we are invisible and non-existent. Is it because there’s no service charge? Customers shouldn’t be treated like that and I would pay extra just to have better service.
Had high hopes, but it all went down the drain due to the crew.
Paddy Hills
38 South Buona Vista Road
Singapore 118164
Tel: +65 6479 0800
Opening Hours:
Daily: 8:30am – 10pm
Nearest MRT: Har Par Villa
Facebook
Directions:
- 15-minute walk from Haw Par Villa MRT or take Bus 10
BUNNY MUNCHIES 