Inflation is hitting us locals really hard. Dining at a cafe these days would set me back around $40 to $50 for a meal and that is insane. Therefore when good deals like this come along, it’s hard to miss it. This chocolate specialty cafe, Awfully Chocolate, has an outlet along East Coast Road that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On weekends, they also offer a special brunch menu. In the evenings from 6 to 9 pm, they offer a 2-course set dinner for just $25++ per person.
The 2-course set dinner comprises one appetizer and a main course. You have to top up $3 for a tea-based drink or $9 for a glass of wine. You can find their full dinner menu here. In total, it is around $30++ per pax for a meal here at this cafe. We tried their set dinner and overall, it is not the best but passable.
Drinks
I had this Honey Lime Iced tea for an additional $3. It looks presentable but it isn’t very palatable or refreshing to me. In fact, it is a little watered down.
But if you don’t mind splurging a little, you can try their hot chocolate (if the weather isn’t too hot). It is made using Belgian chocolate and froth up with fresh milk. It’s quite a treat. After all, it is also their signature here.
But do note that hot chocolate is not part of their set dinner menu so you have to order this at their ala carte price.
Appetisers
For appetizers, we chose Singapore Borscht which comes with a soft roll and some butter. I had no idea why they named the dish Singapore Borscht but it is just a rich broth with beef, beetroot, and sour cream, similar to the classic Borscht soup except that it looks less reddish in color and probably less beetroot in it. It was a 7.5/10 for me. It’s like another savoury beef stew served with a bread roll.
We also tried the warm camembert and pear salad. This salad was beautifully plated and looked rather fancy. It comes with roasted candied walnuts and caramelized pear. It was decent and I give it an 8/10. I wish they gave more camembert to bring down the sweetness of the caramelised pears.
Mains
For mains, I chose their grilled seabass that comes with spinach and caper aioli sauce. In all honesty, the ingredients were of great quality but somehow they don’t gel well or complement each other. Each tasted right on its own but together, the flavors did not marry well. It’s a 6.5/10 for me.
The Angus Beef Brisket, on the other hand, was a better option. The beef was quite tender and it sits nicely on a bed of mushroom-infused pearl barley risotto. The risotto was quite flavourful but my husband found the barley to be too ‘fibrous’. It’s a 7.5/10 for us.
If you don’t want to spend too much on a dinner date, this 2-course meal would suffice. But I wouldn’t come back here again for their savory mains except for their chocolate desserts. After all, they still do better with their chocolate desserts and drinks.
Desserts
For desserts, we had this Chocolate-baked lava pie with an additional scoop of chocolate ice cream. They nailed it with their chocolate-baked lava pie which is like a melt-in-your-mouth warm and super dense chocolate pudding. You can eat it with some vanilla whipped cream or chocolate ice cream. I just love the mix of warm pie with the icy cold ice cream. It is quite a treat though some may find it really sinful! This, to me, is a 10/10. By the way, this dessert is found exclusively at their East Coast outlet!
We also got to try this bread board with cocoa and dashi butter. We love both love the freshly-whipped cocoa and dashi butter which we slathered it all over the truffle brioche and toasted focaccia. There are 4 types of bread in total but we did not quite dig into the other two bread which is the baguette and milk buns. Rating? 7/10. If they perhaps toast all the bread, I would have given it a 8.
My Verdict
Overall, the dining experience at Awfully Chocolate was pretty average and food was alright. Food can definitely be better for sure. Having this savoury meal options is a plus for this dessert cafe but maybe narrowing down to a few signature dishes and focusing on perfecting them might work wonders for them.
Awfully Chocolate Cafe & Bakery
Location: 131 East Coast Rd, Singapore 428816
Read about my other food reviews here.
