Artichoke Café + Bar

Craving for something a bit more unusual, we decided to have a girls' night out at Artichoke Café + Bar for a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean experience. Hidden at the back of the Sculpture Square on Middle Road, this restaurant is not quite noticeable unless for those who know its existence. For those who have managed to find it, they will find themselves surrounded by walls decorated with chalk drawings and unpolished wooden furniture and rustic metal lamp shields. With both indoor and alfresco dining areas and upbeat jazz music, the ambience was cosy and homey. 

Another first impression of the place was the rather limited choice of food. In fact its drinks menu was at least twice the length of the food menu. They offered about 6-7 different dips, a few appetizers and main courses and a handful of desserts. They were two specials of the night.

The hummus was a flavourful blend of chickpeas, zesty lemon juice and fragrant tahini. The red paprika and the garlic added a contrasting sweetness and a mild kick.

The baba ganoush is a slightly chunky dip made from roasted and mashed eggplant, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Comparing to the hummus, it was rather bland and had way too much lemon, whose flavour had overpowered the smokiness of the eggplant. The hero of the dish was the pomegranate seeds, which shone like red jewels in the dull-looking spread and released its fruitiness in your mouth.
There was nothing Turkish about the Turkish bread that we ordered. It was slices of white French loaf drizzled with olive oil. Nevertheless we smeared the spread generously on the bread.

Grilled hamoumi cheese turned out to be a winner. Made from a mixture of cow, goat and sheep's milk, the block of cheese stayed firm and springy after cooking. The lightly browned crust was a bit crispy and the interior was gooey and soft. The cherry tomatoes, gem lettuce with sunflower sprouts made up a simple but refreshing salad. 

So far the lamb I have eaten in Singapore has yet to impress me but this slow roast leg of lamb was not bad. The flavours from the herbs were infused into the meat, which was so succulent and tender that it fell of the bone as the fork touched it. 
It was served with some pickled cucumber, carrots and radish and a garlicky sauce. The pickles were very tangy and strangely addictive. The creamy sauce was spicy and failed to complement the rest of the dish.  It was left pretty much untouched.

Recommended by a waiting staff, the pan-fried kingfish was one of the specials. The skin was golden brown and crispy and the fish underneath was tender and delicious and literally melted in my mouth. We only wished the fillet was bigger. 

Attached to the side of the restaurant is a small bakery called Overdough. Sweet treats such as baklava, brownies and tarts can be ordered to be served at Artichoke. This passion fruit meringue had a crunchy and buttery pastry, which was the best part of the dessert. The meringue was not light or fluffy enough and did not have any height. The filling was a bit too thick and sticky and lacked the tangy flavours of the passion fruit.  

Oreo cookie cheesecake block was another mediocre dessert. Kids would have loved it though. 

While most of the food was enjoyable, the portion was quite small. The main courses did not come with any carbohydrate (eg potato) so they were not that filling either. As some bloggers have rightly pointed out, the waiting staff here can improve on their customer service (although there were one or two waitresses who were very friendly and cheerful, including the one who helped us with the group photograph). Although it is claimed to be a Middle-Eastern restaurant, many of the dishes are simply western food with a Middle-Eastern twist such as steak with hibiscus salt and roast lamb with condiments. 
Artichoke is a nice place for an after-work drink or a coffee in a lazy afternoon, less so for a sit-down dinner. 

Artichoke Café + Bar
161 Middle Road