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With so many Italian restaurants in Singapore, it can be hard to discern the wheat from the chaff. Thankfully, we’ve found a new Italian restaurant that if I dare say so, has arguably the best pizza in Singapore!
Setting up shop a five-minute walk from Clarke Quay MRT, Amo is our latest go-to Italian haunt.
With a chic yet casual interior to match, it’s easy to see why Amo draws a full lunch crowd. You can even knock back a relaxing drink at the swanky bar before heading back to work.
I hate to throw around the word authentic, but authentic is probably the best word to describe Amo — two chefs here have even trained in Puglia in Italy for two years (THE place to master anything remotely related to pizza), while the ingredients are also flown in from Italy.
Before we delved into pizzas, we started off with an antipasti of Zucchini Flowers ($22) stuffed with mortadella (Italian sausage). A creative play on a native Italian ingredient, the stuffed zucchini flowers were more savoury than expected, thanks to the gamier pate-textured mortadella.
Paired together, the drizzle of lemon honey was zesty and did alleviate any cloyingness, while the pistachios added crunch. It’s more filling than it appears, so I’d recommend sharing with your table.
On to the star of the meal, the almighty pizzas! Amo prides itself on using their own aged mother dough starter cultivated in-house. The pizzas are made fresh on the day itself, to ensure maximum quality.
All of the pizzas are finished rustically in a wood-fired oven, which gives the crust an appetising smoky touch. While they serve classics like Margherita ($22++) (no Hawaiian, thank God!), we went for the more adventurous Signature Pizza flavours instead.
The hot favourite is the Mushrooms & Truffle ($35++) pizza, which came already sliced up. My nose quickly picked up the strong truffle aroma that had me salivating before I even dug in.
Each slice was topped with loads of fleshy mushrooms, while the watercress undercut the richer cheese base made of mascarpone and tuscan pecorino.
But what really sold me was the dough. The dough was really light and fluffy with lots of air pockets, while the crust had a lovely crackle. The crust was so delicious, I even finished up the crust ends!
I was craving something more unusual so I chose the eye-catching Bone Marrow ($32++) pizza. Our waiter did warn us that it had a more acquired taste, which only made me want to try it even more.
In case you’re wondering, the bone marrow is the white scallop-shaped piece that comes atop every slice. I’ve never tried bone marrow before, so I was pleasantly surprised by its tasty, buttery and slightly tart flavour (although my colleague said this tasted different from what she’s tried before).
While the crust was the same lip-smacking goodness, we weren’t fans of the topping. The wild garlic pesto was rather aromatic, but the anchovy salsa verde was a little sour for me.
I must admit that my favourite part was actually the peculiar bone marrow that added the right amount of richness to each bite. Lesson learnt: Listen to your waiter next time.
I’m actually allergic to lobster, but I love it so much that I oddly managed to eat my way out of the allergy. My lobster love led me to Amo’s Spaghetti Chitarra with Boston Lobster and Tarragon ($96++, serves two).
You won’t regret this, as for one, you can pull out the flesh yourself like how you would eat chilli crab!
It may seem pricey with a hefty $96 price tag, but seriously this dish brought the value for money. There were ginormous pincers and every nook and cranny unearthed so much lobster meat! The meat was also really tender and brimming with sweetness.
In terms of the pasta, it succeeded in soaking up the flavour of the lobster. I simply adored the perfect al dente texture, which is a little firmer than the pasta we are used to in Singapore.
It may be recommended for two, but the hulking portion with a whole lobster easily filled our party of three. This dish was my favourite, and even if I was still allergic, I’d gladly take on the rashes to finish it!
(FYI, I don’t usually recommend pasta dishes with such fervour, because they’re simply never worth the price, but I’m definitely coming back for this).
You can also try the Grilled Octopus ($35++), another popular choice. Amo managed the hard task of nailing the texture of the octopus that can so easily become rubbery, but the calabrian chili vinaigrette left us divided. My colleague didn’t like the touch of spice, while I found it needed more citrus.
Of course, our meal wouldn’t be complete without something for the sweet tooth. Being my favourite dessert, the Tiramisu ($15++) was an obvious choice and I almost inhaled Amo’s rendition.
The sweet mascarpone cream was really airy, which Amo doled out in generous amounts. It was also well-balanced with the espresso-soaked lady fingers that were pleasantly not too bitter.
We finished off with the Ricotta Cheese Castagnole ($12++); 10 sweet, soft and spongy dough balls lightly dusted with icing sugar.
Jam-packed with yummy cream cheese filling, each ball had a mild tartness to contrast the sweet.
Dip the dough balls into the light, velvety moscato sabayon in the middle. The sabayon gave each ball a custardy sweetness, while the moscato added a bit of kick. Trust me, this sets the standards for dessert and I even preferred this over the Tiramisu!
We had a sweet cocktail to complement the desserts. Fans of Diplomatico rum can try The Diplomatic ($22++), a mix of Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, homemade cinnamon syrup and chocolate bitters.
The rum went down smoothly while the chocolate bitters added a smoky quality. I also loved the touch of cocoa powder on the rim that rounded each sip with a stronger chocolatey flavour.
The dishes may seem a little pricey, but to be fair, most of the portions are huge and would be more comfortable on both stomach and wallet through sharing. If not, go for the Set Lunch that is more affordably priced ($28++ for two courses, $35++ for three courses).
As far as pizzas go, the dough here is truly exceptional and it’s the main reason we’re raving about them. Trust me, your table will be fighting over the last paiseh piece!
One of the most impressive meals I’ve had this year, and I’ll definitely be back to demolish the rest of the pizza and pasta on the menu.
Expected Damage: $30 – $70 per pax
Amo: 33 Hong Kong Street, Singapore 059672 | Tel: +65 6723 7733 | Opening Hours: (Daily) 12pm – 2.30pm, 6.30pm – 10.30pm | Website | Facebook
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