Nickeldime Drafthouse

Had an awesome night out with Hopers a couple of weeks ago! (: Always love how most of us live around the (geographical) centre of Singapore which makes it so convenient to meet! Except for poor liying and dom who have to travel to meet us sometimes. Oopsie. Was really stoked to finally try Nickeldime after being captivated by its bright signboard every time I take the bus past that area. And it was awesome!! We were spoilt for choice there, wanting to order pretty much everything on the rather extensive menu. It was great that everyone was pretty much starving when we reached, and so we ordered quite a number of items to share :D yummmms! Time to dig in.

We kinda split the table down in half, and for our side, we started with the Garlic Fries ($6) which sounds simple, but was really the bomb with its kickass garlic flavour. I loved how there were chunks of minced garlic in the midst of the rather generous bowl of fries which made it incredibly addictive. 

After seeing a mouth-watering photograph of the 510 Burger ($16) on Nickeldime's website, five of us decided to order it, and it didn't disappoint! True to the representation, a five huge burgers arrived at our table, spilling at the edges. It was a hearty feast comprising a delicious beef patty with beer candied bacon, a sunny side up egg, a medley of melty cheese (IPA cheese, gouda and mozzarella) and oozing beer BBQ sauce and a touch of mustard. Equally loved by both the guys & girls at our table ;)

Sam ordered the Stout Braised Beef Ragout ($16), and although he was a tad let down by its appearance (no idea what he was expecting...hahaha), he concluded the meal as a happy boy. The slow-cooked meat sauce was fabulous, with an abundance of tender beef that had evidently been braised with love. While I felt that the components of the dish - pasta, sauce and meat - did not seem to blend well together (they were each very distinct), the flavours of each complemented one another and made for a tasty dish nonetheless. 

We were so greedy that we ordered another main to share for our side of the table :O The Curried IPA Mussels ($19) were a great choice though! Definitely one of the hugest mussels I've ever seen in Singapore!!! I was astounded because I don't think I've managed to find mussels of this size other than in Europe, and not even in Belgium, where they're so famous. While I found the sauce a tad lacking in terms of flavour (I didn't even realise it was supposed to be curry), the freshness of the mussels made up for it. 

The other side of the table ordered two massive platters of the starters to share, and it looked SO awesome! Honestly, I have no idea which platter is which, but they were The 510 ($38) and Beer Greek ($42). Some of the items included were: Hot Crab Beer Cheese Dip, Stout Meatballs with Beer BBQ Sauce Glaze and Beer and Sriracha Candied Nuts. I was terrible.... :P I kept reaching over to steal their food because I simply couldn't stop. The meatballs were delightfully flavourful, providing a burst of flavour when popped into the mouth. It was a rather small portion, and definitely left me wanting more. The cheese dip was a really interesting combination of IPA beer, crab meat, worcestershire sauce, cream cheese and sour cream. We couldn't pinpoint exactly what it tasted like, really. But it went well with the corn chips on the side. And when it comes to nuts, you know that I'm a sucker for it. I kept munching on them, loving the tinge of spiciness which the cayenne and paprika added to it. I just wish the nuts were crispier though!   

It was an enjoyable night of good company and food. You would have probably figured out by now that the restaurant specialises in beer, so definitely go for that when you visit! They have an extensive list on the board right at the counter, and your server will be glad to recommend something that suits your palate. To top off our experience, the service was excellent - kudos to our really friendly Belgian waiter!

Nickeldime Drafthouse
273 Thomson Road
Tel.: +65 6256 0261
Mon-Sun 11am-late

Filippo came to visit from Germany! Pretty cool having a friend from overseas coming to Singapore to visit. Though I think I need to improve my hosting skills :P It was a fun few days though!!