The Cicheti name is not new. The first restaurant holding this moniker is still going strong at Kandahar Street (Arab St / Kampong Glam area).
The newer Bar Cicheti at Jiak Chuan Road was the one that helped me realise they meant serious business. I mean, a sommelier who has perfected the art of funky wine pairing, and a homeboy who has fearlessly dived into the treacherous waters of Italian cuisine (a cuisine fiercely protected by natives and wannabe natives alike) – what’s not to admire?
And now, this team is showing off more of their chops at newly-opened Caffe Cicheti at South Beach Tower.

Sadly (or maybe not so sadly), the opening of Caffe Cicheti meant the hasta la vista of the much-loved Aussie café Fynn’s (same owner as Cicheti, hence the not-so-sadly) but that’s ok – we can always fly over to Australia for an aussie-style brekkie, but it sure takes a lot more to hop over to Italy, huh?
So, how does Caffe Cicheti compare with Bar Cicheti and is there even a comparison?
Not unless you’re a nit-picking Italian fiend, no. Caffe Cicheti positions itself as coasting up and down Italy, so perhaps I’d say there’s just a tad more of a seafood spin here. But otherwise, both Bar Cicheti and Caffe Cicheti serve up fresh, delicious Italian fare to suit tummies of all kinds.
*I heard they are looking to launch an all-vegetarian menu early next year, good, because now I can bring all my planet-warrior veggie friends along the next time.
Ok, so here’s what went down at Caffe Cicheti’s media tasting.


A Soup to warm all hearts.

On to my fave, PASTA!


Veggie Delights at Caffe Cicheti:


The porky pièce de resistance:

For dessert, we had the Gianduja Semifreddo ($12.50) and the Olive Oil cake ($11). Yes, the olive oil cake was suitably dense and lemony, but come on… put a chocolate dessert in front of me, and nothing else stands a chance.
The semifreddo upped the intensity with 75% cacao dark chocolate and together with its perfect match, hazelnut, was a luscious dream to me. Too bad I had to share with 5 other people.
I’m ordering one to myself next time!


And finally, what of the vino?
No disappointment here, if you like adventure, you will like Peruvian-Japanese sommelier, Ronald Kamiyama’s curation. With my seafood, I sipped on a Sauv Blanc with a strong saline slant – this was from a Marlborough-based sustainable Japanese winery.



Then an unfiltered, floral-ish Gruner Veltliner from Austria which went well with my pastas and a gamay from Fleurie with my mains – gamay is not my favourite but it went fine with pork and the seafood soup.
A Moscato d’Asti from Piemonte rounded off desserts – it sure seemed a hit round the table. Many a pour was surreptitiously dispensed into the vessels when Ronald had his back turned. 😊
There you have it. Another success from the Cicheti group. I look forward to whatever new shenanigans they get up to!
Caffe Cicheti:
Address: 26 Beach Road, South Beach Tower #B1-21, Singapore 189768
Telephone: +65 6384 1878
Email: eat@caffecicheti.com
Website: http://www.cicheti.com/
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 11.30am – 2.30pm (lunch); 5.30pm –10.00pm (dinner)
Saturday: 11.30am–3.00pm (weekend brunch); 5.30pm–10.00pm (dinner)
Sunday: 10.30am – 4.30pm (Weekend brunch)