I first went to 1-TwentySix restaurant at Playground @ Big Splash, East Coast Park a year ago. It was a romantic restaurant to dine in, but I thought that the food was unremarkable for the price point, so I didn’t blog about it. Two months back, I went back again for dinner as a group of friends wanted to go there.

1 Twenty Six is a large sea-fronting beach restaurant & bar. While they have a nice indoor dining room, most of the customers prefer to eat at the al fresco area where you can enjoy the sea breeze and chill out with a group of friends over dinner and drinks.

We had a lot of food, but I only took a few shots as I didn’t want to scare off some of the new friends. 1 Twenty Six’s Coast menu is divided into two parts: the ala carte menu where you can get the usual appetiser ($6.5-22), salad ($12-20), platters ($22-32), main course ($28-48) and dessert ($14); and the Communal menu where you pay $70++/pax (min of 2 pax) for a nibble platter, choice of 1 main course/pax with sides, and a dessert platter.

With the exception of a few new additions, the menu has remained largely unchanged since my last visit. The nibble platter (pictured above) comes with the familiar Potato Skin with sour cream, Steamed Vongole Clams, and Crispy Soft Shell Crab with chilli mayo.

For the main course selections from the Communal menu, gone were the Seared King Scallops, Penne with Zucchini, and Fish Pie. In place were the Butternut Pumpkin Risotto, Shellfish Carbonara and Fish & Chips.

During my first visit to One Twenty Six, we had the 150 day grain fed tenderloin ($48), and braised short rib of beef ($38). The tenderloin was not bad, but I could have gotten a better steak elsewhere.

This time round, we also had the Communal menu. For the main courses, we shared the Fish & Chips, Roasted Baby Chicken, Seared Tuna Loin, and Grilled Cod Fillet.

Our British friend wasn’t impressed with the Baby Snapper Fillet in crispy beer batter, but the French Fries that came along with the ‘Fish & Chips’ were excellent – all of us couldn’t stop eating it.

Some of my friends thought that the Grilled Cod fillet with blood orange salad was good, but I felt that it was just decent, so was the Seared Tuna Loin (pictured below) with bell pepper marmalade. For me, the standout dish for the night was the Baby Chicken served with rosemary potatoes.

If you choose to have the Communal menu ($70++/pax), you get to pick either the Grande Assiette – a selection of five petite sized desserts consisting of Creme Brulee, Panna Cotta, Chocolate Cake, Pavlova, and Souffle; or a selection of artisan cheese.

1 Twenty Six by One Rochester Group is a hip and trendy place to see and be seen. Being one of the few fine dining restaurants in the East, it is a good option for people if they do not want to travel all the way to town. As for me, I would probably just come back for drinks.

Singapore Food Blog Review
1 TwentySix Restaurant
902 East Coast Parkway
Blk E #01-26 Playground @ Big Splash
Tel: +65 6348 2126

Sun to Thu: 6.30pm – 1am
Fri & PH Eve: 6.30pm – 3am
Sat: 3pm – 3am
Sun Brunch: 11am – 3pm