02 Zén

41 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089855

WE OFTEN hear how some of the world’s most progressive and particularly lavish restaurants want diners to “feel at home”. But when was the last time you had to ring the doorbell to get in?

It may seem like an odd necessity, but the fact that it helps set the mood is not lost on diners at Restaurant Zén, the Singapore outpost of Stockholm’s Restaurant Frantzén and the only international location under the Frantzén Group that exclusively serves a tasting menu.

Just a few steps in and you’ll quickly find yourself in what would be dubbed the parlour, decked out in a variety of comfortable recliners and accent tables. It’s a patently cosy setting in which guests are served their welcome bubbly. The plain view of the open kitchen is a constant reminder that this is still a restaurant, but what’s most evident about this intimate pit stop to dinner proper is that you feel almost immediately relaxed.

The lights are also purposely dim, but bright enough to admire your partner’s varied expressions of elation as you both enjoy the five snacks that precede dinner. The bite-sized serving of roe from a vendace (a northern European freshwater fish) from Kalix, Sweden, encased in a delicate interpretation of the råraka (hash brown), was particularly enjoyable on our visit. So, too, was the deceptively simple serving of an updated onion velouté, flavoured with a diplomatic touch of liquorice—just enough to brighten up the dish and lend greater complexity, but not so much that an unaccustomed palate might find uneasy.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME To enter Zén, diners must first ring the doorbell before being granted entry—a small detail that sets up the unique dining experience from the start