Food Review: La Bottega Enoteca – Stellar Pizzas and More

La Bottega Enoteca, the Italian restaurant in Joo Chiat Road, recently celebrated its 2nd anniversary and secured the 19th spot on the prestigious 50 Top Pizza Asia Pacific 2023 ranking by 50 Top Pizza, making it the only pizzeria in Singapore to earn this recognition.

As a background to La Bottega Enoteca, it was founded by Antonio Miscellaneo who used to run the private dining “Casa Nostra” in his home in Tembeling Road. I had the fortune to have tried the private dining experience back in 2019 – and I loved it. While Antonio does not personally cook all the dishes at La Bottega Enoteca, he supervises closely and can be often found in the restaurant checking on the operations. The recipes of the dishes also come from him. 

With the restaurant marking its 2nd year of operations, it has rolled out a couple of new items. Among the new additions to the menu, the Calamaretti Alla Griglia (S$25) is notable for its impeccably tender grilled baby calamari as well as the addictive pea, mint, and lemon zest.

La Bottega Enoteca offers 2 types of pizzas in its menu. The Newpolitan® is their flaky and chewy pizza which has been fermented for 72 hours. The Doublecrunch® on the other hand, is more on the crunchier side, having been fermented for 48 hours. We tried the Gran Biscotto e Cipolla (S$38 for half) which is from their Newpolitan® category of pizzas. This was quite a rich pizza with generous portions of cooked Gran Biscotto ham sitting on a bed of silky cheese. La Bottega Enotica did not disappoint and this was indeed, one of the better pizzas I’ve had of late.

One of the things which separate good Italian restaurants from ordinary ones is the way they cook their pasta. I’m happy to see that the texture of the noodles here are very much al dente, retaining a deliberate undercooked quality for that bouncy and chewy mouthfeel. The Fettucine Pesto e Mare (S$36) is one of their newer pasta creations. Here, house-made fettucine is sweetened with mixed seafood and fragranced with basil pesto and Sicilian tomatoes. It was interesting to see that the seafood, save for the mussels, were minced finely in a way that was not dissimilar to minced pork. 

The Pluma Alla Griglia (S$58) is one of Antonio’s staples. He served a slightly simpler version of it during my private dining experience at Casa Nostra 4 years ago (I have Instagram’s archives to thank for this memory), Here, grilled Spanish Pluma of Iberico pork placed is over a bed of crunchy broccolini. We were told that the pork itself was not seasoned, relying on the fragrance of Sicilian capers and red capsicum for flavor.

Dessert lovers will be delighted with the new desserts on the menu, including the Sfogliatella Riccia e Gelato al Parmigiano Reggiano (S$16), a rich parmesan cheese ice cream in a delicate Neapolitan “Sfogliatella Riccia” shell. I appreciated the flaky shell and the contrast between that and the soft and slightly savory flavor profile of the gelato.

The Seadas (S$14) is a warm dessert, a Sardinian delicacy consisting of a pastry stuffed with cow’s cheese and drizzled with honey. It made for a rather savory sweet ending. 

My dining experience at Casa Nostra all those years ago was so memorable that I remember it to this day. I am glad there’s now a venue where I can seek out those recipes whenever I have cravings for Italian food. 2 years on and it’s good to see new dishes being crafted at La Bottega Enoteca alongside the mainstays. If you are ever on the lookout for great pizza or pasta, you won’t go wrong here. 

La Bottega Enoteca

346 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427596

Lunch: 12 to 230pm, Friday to Sunday (11:30 to 3PM on Sundays)

Dinner: 5:30 to 10:30PM, Daily (until 11pm on Friday and Saturday, until 9PM on Sunday)

+65 90718400