It was a balmy Tuesday night. Two fairly hungry diners had just finished a movie at nearby Marina Square, and headed to Timbre for a late dinner. It was a small hassle getting to the place, as the entrance from inside The Substation was closed, so we had to walk a big round to the establishment’s rear entrance—behind The Substation—to get in.
This open air restaurant and bar is popular among local music fans for its live acoustic music sets, featuring acts such as Soulitude, and Sarah and Daniel—the latter performed when we were there. The setting was nice and casual, but we were surprised to discover only one diner there, while the rest of the patrons were just beer guzzlers.
We were quickly seated by a waiter who seemed too eager to take our orders, and who, perhaps, paid us a little too much attention, lingering around our table almost throughout our meal. The menu itself was lacking—featuring only six main courses—so there was simply not much to choose from. We decided to start with the beans and merguez. The dish turned out to be satisfactory, as the lamb sausages were nicely grilled and went well with the sauteed long beans and pesto sauce.
But our main courses were disappointing. Our cajun chicken fillet was way too salty, and the breast meat was also too chewy—even the side dish of sauteed long beans and carrots couldn’t save the dish. But the biggest disappointment was the soft dough wrap with bacon and avocado, which came with generous servings of French fries. While there were huge chunks of avocado in our wrap, we could barely taste the bacon, as the dough was simply too thick and not well prepared. Even wraps we’ve had at fast food chains have tasted better!
Undeterred, we decided to try the desserts, but sadly, Timbre does not serve any—not even a pathetic slice of brownie or cheese cake. We decided to order a pineapple juice and Pepsi to cleanse our palettes, and call it a night. While Timbre is good for those looking for a relaxing night out for drinks with friends, this is certainly not a commendable dining destination.
