Dehesa: On Offals & Things Whole

Chef-Owner Jean Phillpe Patruno(affectionately known as JP), previously of Head Chef of UNA exciting venture opened in Mid-December 2015. We had a preview and had waited until now before posting this review. (We took the chance to go back for lunch, but that's for another time.) 

We feature some of our favourite dishes here.

We loved the barrel aged cocktaisls which served as a great starter to an daring palate adventure. Since the closure of Wolf, Dehesa is now the forerunner of nose to tail dining in Singapore. 

 The cold platter is definitely not for the faint hearted. Cold meat platter that consists of: potted pig's head, liver-kidney-belly terrine, lardo, saucisson and scratchings. Stick to the meats that you can identify, and the lardo... imagine slimey parma ham. In a good way. And... definitely the scratchings which is basically dried, fried and seasoned rind (skin) of the pig. 

 Duck hearts on toast was a surprising delightful dish for us. We would had imagined it to be gamey, but the sweet jam and slightly acidic sous were the perfect combination. This dish is a real test for the chef as it is so easy to overcook the duck hearts. Cooked perfectly with the bursts of flavours, we couldn't stop at this one.

Octopus lado ratte is a simple dish. Treat the octopus well, cook it perfectly and melt lardo over it. Simple, perfectly managed, tasty. We love the tender morsels, seafood and animal fats couldn't go any better than this.

Iberico Jowl slow cooked to tenderness. Tender, fatty but not oily and the apple slices provides a good cut to the taste. If the jowl were just pan fried or grilled to give that extra push, it would had completed the picture. 

Dehesa is definitely worth a visit, especially with the lunch menu. A good place to visit, if you are looking for a different dining experience. Just be ready for the "unsual" parts that you don't usually see on regular menus.

Dehesa
12 North Canal Road
Singapore 048825