Cosy bistro The Corner Grill offers some fine steaks and burgers

The Corner Grill is an old-school steakhouse cloaked in contemporary garb, offering an array of Western grill items that is certain to please.

What used to be French culinary institution Beaujolais Wine Bar on Ann Siang Hill is now The Corner Grill. Owned and operated by veteran homegrown chef Colin West – formerly of Les Amis, The Market Grill, and Huber’s Butchery – the cosy contemporary bistro offers an array of familiar Western dishes that is likely to impress.

Assuming you can decide on what you want to eat. Chef Colin is a quiet man who prefers to let his food do the talking; based on the eclectic riot of options he’s certainly talkative in the kitchen. The Corner Grill offers seven starters, seven different burgers, four types of steak, three other meat and six seafood options, and more. That’s not including a dazzling spread of sauces and sides to pick from.

The Rillettes Trio of duck rillette, pork rillette, and chicken liver pate was superb – especially the accompanying piquant piccalilli pickles – and is a great way to kickstart your meal. Chef Colin’s Crispy Pig Ears is possibly the best version we’ve tasted in town; crunchy and scrumptious, these morsels are seasoned and deep fried and taste somewhat like Indian murukku crackers. They make a fabulous accompaniment to beer. Then there’s the refreshing Char-grilled Octopus Salad, a riot of textures and fun flavours; the sear on the octopus here is a prelude to Chef Colin’s mastery with the grill.

For steaks, the US Prime Ribeye 120+ Days is for the ultimate beef connoisseur. Chef Colin is old-school – he doesn’t rely on modern techniques like sous vide here, yet manages to put the perfect Maillard sear on the crust while retaining medium-rare juiciness within. It’s the same with the US Bone-In Pork Chop (which is absolutely delicious tender-pink within but may scare those who don’t normally have their pork medium-rare).

As for seafood, the Claypot Mussels Bisque with Fries is a fun twist on the classic Belgian or French moules frites. Instead of the usual wine or beer broth, Chef Colin uses lobster bisque as a base, giving the dish an incredible seafood richness. Then there’s the Claypot Seafood Bisque Sheng Mian, a tasty hybrid combining French lobster bisque, local zichar favourite claypot sheng mian noodles, and even a touch of Korean soondubu (spiced tofu stew). It sounds absolutely bizarre, but this hat tip to The Corner Grill’s Chinatown location somehow works.

Then there are burgers too – on a lark we opted for the Grilled Fish Burger, which turned out to be one of the better fish burgers we’ve had. We’d be keen to come back to try the other six.

Unlike its food menu, the drinks programme at The Corner Grill is more tightly curated. Wines have been cleverly picked to pair well with food. We can imagine the Te Mata Estate Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc from the award-winning New Zealand winery to work fabulously with our fish burger or mussel pot, while the Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre-based E Guigal Cote du Rhone Rouge or the Sangiovese-based Tenuta Di Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG will surely work with red meat.

Despite its contemporary digs the fare at The Corner Grill is more homely and comforting than fancy. We do think Chef Colin is trying to do too much with his menu – hence you’re likely to spend quite some time poring over the options –  but it’s really hard to go wrong here.

The Corner Grill

Address 1 Ann Siang Hill, Singapore 069784 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 11.30am to 2.30pm and 6pm to 10pm Tuesdays to Saturdays; closed on Mondays and Sundays
Tel (65) 6223 3188 / 8756 1388
Web www.thecornergrill.com.sg
Facebook thecornergrill.sg
Instagram @thecornergrill.sg