We found, for the first time, a restaurant in Singapore that combines nice-dining with an epic play area for kids! La Barca Ristorante & Wine Bar is owned by a couple with a young child, so they know exactly how to make little hearts skip a beat.

 

Like when my kids saw…… THIS:

Kind of epic for a restaurant to have, no?

It’s a BIG bouncy-castle-slash-water-slide. You get a full view of it thanks to the glass walls surrounding the restaurant, so you can sit back and relax indoors whilst your kids splash around outdoors. And, get this – they provide clean towels for washing up afterwards!

 

Your kid doesn’t fancy getting wet? There’s also an under cover bouncy castle and slide, which is nicely shaded and with foam floor padding.

 

Your kid doesn’t fancy being outdoors? There’s an indoor play room inside the restaurant – fully air conditioned, and equipped with toys and tv.

 

With so much to keep our kids occupied, GUESS WHAT WE DID? 🙂

Bring on the wine!

 

This is the complimentary bread basket, with warm little buns that are also a nice size for little fingers to hold on to and nibble.

 

I’m quite batty over Prosciutto di parma e melone ($24) these days, so I immediately zero’d in on this on the menu.

It came out looking rather sexy, with the parma ham draped over chilled cateloupe. The mix of sweet vs salty was fantastic!

 

Hunter gives his wink of approval. Which actually kinda looks really creepy.

 

The Kids Menu is $20 and consists of a main, and a drink. It’s good value considering the main is pretty much the same size as a regular dish. This is the Pasta Bolognese which my kids wolfed down.

 

Their base of the Pizza el funghi ($24) was thin, slightly chewy, and delicious. Happily, there was a pretty generous helping of mushrooms – it drives me nuts when Italian restaurants give one mushroom per slice of pizza and consider that a reasonable dish to send out of the kitchen!

 

If you’re after non-heavy pasta dishes (ie. without the cream sauce) and prefer to taste the full flavour of ingredients, you’ll like the Pizza al frutti di mare ($24). It has an aglio olio base and is studded with seafood, tomatoes, garlic and herbs.

 

The piece de resistance, the La Bistecca alla fiorentina ($18 per 100g). This gorgeous piece of premium grain-fed Black Angus beef from Australia has a marbling score of 4 and is grilled, served simply with a crack of black pepper and sea salt.

IT’S DELICIOUS.

The meat is sliced thinly, so you simply pop each sliver into your mouth. The meat is uniquely tender and full of flavour, despite having no sauce.

If I had the choice, I’d eat this once a week, every week.

 

The steak comes with a small side dish of Cannellini Beans with Sage and Chilli (I don’t like beans, so didn’t have it), as well as Roasted Potatoes (wonderful and perfectly cooked). I’d have preferred a side salad as well, just to have a bit of freshness and lightness against the strong flavour of the steak.

 

My little food connoisseur loved the steak too.

 

A glass of chilled limoncello as a digestif. Perfect.

 

I couldn’t resist the La Barca’s Traditional Tiramisu ($16) and it didn’t disappoint. Served chilled, it was so creamy yet light, and the sponge layers perfectly soaked. Not a dish for sharing.

 

If you’re a chocoholic and have a sweet tooth, you’ll want the Dark Chocolate Tart with White Chocolate Sauce ($16) all to yourself. It’s very messy, so slurp away! You may even need to lick your plate clean.

 

The surprising winner was this simple scoop of Pistachio ice cream. It’s hand made and, quite simply, is one of the best ice creams I’ve had. It’s so rich and creamy, different to ‘regular’ ice creams. And the pistachio flavour was strong and robust – so absolutely divine. I just want to buy a big tub of this and keep it in my freezer!

 

A selection of little petit fours, perfect for nibbling on whilst we were in a bit of a food coma, sipping our coffees.

 

La Barca have a very enticing dinner menu if you’re after a romantic candle-lit date.

But if you have kids in tow and want an extremely family-friendly dining experience (you basically get a fully-equipped play area(s) for kids included in your dining experience and price), then check out their weekend brunch menu.

We loved it and will be back!