The highlights of our two previous trips to Spain were food, architecture and food. From the amazing tapas bars in San Sebastian to the seafood restaurants in Barcelona. We haven’t found any place in Singapore that matches up, but FOC Sentosa comes pretty close.
The Wife and I were on a staycation at the Sofitel Sentosa and had a disappointing meal the night before. We were browsing the restaurants available on our Chope app, and FOC Sentosa caught our eye. After wandering around on Siloso beach, we took the Beach Shuttle to Palawan Beach and walked over to FOC for an early dinner.
You can’t miss the restaurant because they have this huge pillar with their name on top. Look to your left and you’re greeted by a friendly but skinny lobster popping out of the bushes.
Estrella Damm
It was still bright and early, so we had the pick of either indoor, outdoor or beach seating. We chose a shaded outdoor seat in front of the open kitchen and browsed the drinks menu for beer.
Nothing interesting caught my eye, but since this was a Spanish restaurant I tried my luck and asked if they had Estrella Damm, by any chance. Kingz, our waiter, let out a big smile and said: “Wait, let me check” and promptly came back with a cute coaster and a cold cold bottle.
Score.
Kingz, with a z, said that they had just managed to get a few cartons in and hadn’t had time to update the drinks menu.
I could tell that he was suitably impressed that I had asked for it by name, and we spent five minutes discussing the relative merits of Estrella Damm vs Estrella Galicia, which is totally different despite the similar name, and nowhere as nice.
Spanish Tapas
We found familiar Catalan dishes on the menu and ordered Bacalao Fritters to start.
The vibe at FOC Sentosa is basically lazy Sunday by the beach, complete with beach cabanas and a pool. Yes, you heard right, a pool. In a restaurant. Well, technically not inside inside, but it was next to our table.
The rest of the building was nice and breezy, with a big leafy tree providing cool shade to the outdoor tables. Definitely a nice place to spend a few hours with cold beer and hot tapas.
Our fritters arrived and were quickly consumed. We continued with Pulpo a la Gallega and Grilled Romaine Lettuce, which took much longer to finish. There was space in our stomachs for one more tapas, and I asked Kingz my usual “What do you like best on the menu?” question.
“Definitely the King Crab Cannelloni“, and he was right. It arrived chilled, wrapped in zucchini, topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and beads of what must have been mayo and sriracha.
After the very satisfying meal, we hung around for a while to enjoy the breeze, the view of the slowly approaching sunset and reminisce about our past Spain trips.
FOC Sentosa has a sister restaurant downtown called FOC Restaurant, and we’ll definitely give that a try soon; and then after that, come back here again for more tapas and Estrella Damm.
