Tocha (pronounced as toh-shay) is the Portuguese word for ‘torch’. This bistro is aptly named for its goal to ignite change in the bistro/bar scene in Singapore.
Located in Lavender, Tocha offers an array of Western bar grub and a selection of drinks, all at reasonable prices.
With both indoor and outdoor seating, this bistro can accommodate up to 110 people. The low bar counter lets you watch the bartenders at work and Tocha boasts a huge range of alcoholic drinks to choose from.
The best part? The bistro has a Crazy Hour for beers. What’s Crazy Hour? It’s like Happy Hour, but better.
Crazy Hour at Tocha runs from 5pm – 6pm, and you get a bucket (six bottles) of beer for as low as only $25++! Choose from Tiger Beer, Hoegaarden, Kronenbourg 1664, Erdinger and more.
We started off our meal with the Mushroom Soup ($5.80), which is made fresh daily with three different kinds of mushroom.
The soup was thick and creamy with a strong mushroom taste, while the garlic bread that came with it was perfectly crisp and fragrant. I loved the mushroom soup but for its price, the portion size was pretty small.
The Grilled Salmon ($15.80) that we had next came with grilled asparagus, sauteed potatoes and carrots. The skin was crispy while the salmon was tender and the honey mustard sauce complemented the fish well with its tangy, citrusy flavour.
We also tried the Grilled Cod Fish ($19.80) that was served with mashed potatoes, baby carrots and asparagus. The fish was grilled perfectly, and the black pepper sauce gave the dish an extra kick.
It was a slight pity that there were bones in the fish, so eat carefully if you order this dish.
The Tiger Prawn With White Wine Sauce ($13.80) was probably my favourite dish of the night. It came piping hot with al dente pasta noodles served with three big prawns.
The dish was refreshing and perfect for seafood lovers. Although there were only prawns served with the pasta, there was a strong seafood taste in the sauce, which worked very well together with the white wine.
The Iberico Pork ($22.80) was the most expensive main we tried and unfortunately, the dish disappointed us the most. For the steep price, only two thin slices of pork were served.
The pork came with corn, baby potatoes and spinach, but we felt that the spinach did not match the pork well as it was under-seasoned and the pork was quite tough.
If you’re hoping for a more satisfying main, perhaps go for the Tenderloin Steak ($28.80) which was served as a perfect medium rare. The black pepper sauce added another level of umami to the meat which was perfectly charred and tender.
We were left with very happy bellies!
The last main we tried was the Irish Pork Sausage ($13.80). I don’t know about you, but I am not really a fan of sausage lining, and the lining here was very thick.
The pork sausage, however, was fragrant and had the right ratio of fat to lean meat.
We also had a side of the Chicken Wings ($15.80), which were some of the best I have ever had. They were well-fried, crisp on the outside and extremely juicy on the inside.
The sambal chilli that was served with it was very fragrant and definitely very spicy. It’s the kind of chilli that is spicy enough to hurt, yet addictive enough for you to just keep going for seconds.
Friday nights or any night for that matter are made for chilling with friends and enjoying good food and cheap beer. Some of the dishes at Tocha were either a hit or a miss but when you can get six bottles of beer for only $25++, I’d order a bucket, the prawn pasta and chicken wings and be quite content.
Expected damage: $20 – $40 per pax
