Roadhouse Restaurant (formerly Cafe Hacienda) at Dempsey Road is a modern American Diner — opened by the Prive Group — that serves hearty food in a rustic yet contemporary setting. It is one of the few restaurants in Singapore that uses Josper Grill to char-grill their meats and burger patties.
While I’d been meaning to try the food for some time now, because of a busy schedule, I only managed to visit it recently. After eating there, I have to say Roadhouse is a place where you can go for weekend brunch with your family; or a nice dinner with a group of friends.
On the menu, it has a variety of burgers: from the signature bacon marinated burger ($23); to the cajun chicken burger ($20); and the miso cod burger ($27) – there is a choice for everyone. They also have quesadillas ($13), tacos ($12), salads ($13), and main courses ($16-48).
During the weekends, roadhouse has a brunch menu (available from 9am to 4pm) with selections like pancakes, eggs benedict ($16), ultimate breakfast ($22), fluffy pancakes ($14), and cheese omelette ($16).
When asked to recommend the best burger on the menu, the staff pointed us to the bacon marinated burger ($23).
It was indeed, a fantastic burger – homemade bun, streaky bacons, caramelised onions, sauteed mushrooms, and 170g Josper-grilled wagyu patty. Utterly delicious.
They also do very good milkshakes ($12) – chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. I probably would not pay so much for a milkshake, but there’s no denying that it is one of the better milkshakes in town.
We also ordered a side of mac & cheese ($18) to share. I think it is good enough to get a spot on my upcoming best mac & cheese post.
Then, we had pancakes. It was rather different from the usual ones. If you are a fan of light and fluffy pancakes, Roadhouse’s version is probably not your type. The pancakes ($14) here are thick, dense, and cake-y.
And what’s brunch without eggs benedict? Fans of Prive Bakery Cafe will be happy to know that Roadhouse has the same good and reliable eggs benedict ($16).
You are probably thinking that we had a big group to share the food, but no, there was only two of us. Even though we had already ordered a lot of food, I couldn’t stop myself when I saw the BBQ U.S spare ribs ($26 for half rack, $40 for whole rack) on the menu.
They turned out to be pretty awesome. Fork-tender, lick-your-fingers good ribs. YUM.
We were very full after finishing all the dishes, but I must have desserts. Out of the eight items on the dessert menu, the S’more ice cream cake ($12) caught my eyes. It was not fantastic, but decent enough to end the brunch on a sweet note.
Overall, a satisfying meal though I think the brunch items could have been a little more wow. That being said, Roadhouse has one of the best burgers in town; you must make a trip down if you love burgers. The meats, cooked using Josper grill, are also very good.
Roadhouse American Diner
13 Dempsey Road #01-07
Tel: +65 6476 2922
Mon to Fri: 10.30am – 2.30pm, 6.30pm – 10pm
Sat & Sun: 9am – 4pm, 6.30pm – 10pm
Note: This was an invited media tasting.
For more recommendations, read my Guide to Restaurants in Dempsey Road
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The desserts there are rich and sinful
Please do not go my sister brought my family there for dinner as my dad (p.s it’s his birthday) was craving for some burgers and ribs , ordered Caesar salad tasteless, the poached egg distorts the flavor, ordered the ribs ,wings , if there was some thing in common the sauces are the same generic , yes factory manufactured BBQ sauce , and for the 5 of us there’re damage came up to $150/-, the whole experience was embarrassing , I felt like slitting my wrist during my time day , please save your money, please be more transparent and have more clarity in your reviews, I’m trying to figure out how did your session ended with a ‘cough cough’ sweet note? Is it because you had dessert or…………
Sorry it was 174/- geez
Burger is far from expectation. Beef pattie is tough with medium well doneness. Portion is nothing Americian.