New Buffet: Beach Road Kitchen at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach

A buffet with a seafood room, a wood-fired pizza oven, cheese, charcuterie and so much more

There are several drink and dine spots at the buzzy new South Beach Quarter, and the opening of the city’s first JW Marriott Hotel has a lot to do with that. Their all-day dining restaurant is the aptly named Beach Road Kitchen, so naturally we expected a cool, bistro-style eatery and it did not disappoint. They do have an a la carte menu, but it’s the buffet spread that has caught our attention.

Before the mention of the word ‘buffet’ sends you into a food coma, let us tell you why we liked this one.

Sleek, elegant and symmetrical are not words usually used to describe a spread of all-you-can-eat food, but for the design lover in us it was hard to not fall in love with their well placed displays of cured and cold seafood and salads. The restaurant is not expansive, but tables are well spaced out and organised in sections — and so are the buffet and live counters.

The temperature-controlled seafood room is bright and inviting with white lights and marble serveware, there is a floor-to-ceiling charcuterie and cheese display, a wood-fired oven and a vertical salad bar where you can even help yourself to the plump whole tomatoes on display.

A sea of seafood, is what you can find in the alcove that is called the seafood room, and don’t think the quantity is a compromise on quality. There are freshly shucked oysters (but, of course!), smoked salmon done several ways (including chilli and green tea flavours), there was an anchovy carpaccio, sea bass ceviche and snow crab legs. It is so very easy to fill yourself up, but don’t!

Salads, cheese and charcuterie

I go to buffets for the cheese and salads. At a buffet, the sheer variety of produce, dressings and toppings is very tempting and the possibilities are endless. Beach Road Kitchen takes some of the guesswork out by making a few for you, like a salad of marinated artichoke hearts and one of just roasted shallots. The cheese and charcuterie are their pride and joy though—and for good reason. It is a small but succinct selection of European cheeses and a charcuterie display that included an excellent pot of duck rillette, and beautifully fatty, bite-sized pork and beef saucisson in oil, parma ham and salami. Cheese-wise, there are an apt selection of soft and hard cheeses and pickles.

Legit laksa

Most buffets have a noodle bar to cater to guests who need their Asian-style carbo loading; sadly, these are usually watered down versions of the real deal. Not here; the laksa broth is lemak and spicy. It’s a DIY laksa and you can add more than the usual toppings; we added prawns, fish cake, chicken and mung bean noodles, and slurped it all up.

A wood-fired oven and truffle pizza

We love it when a restaurant goes the extra-mile to ensure delicious food, and the pizzas and flatbreads that are served at this spread are finished in an actual wood-fire oven. Their signature is a truffle mushroom pizza, that is heavenly when warm.

Meat, and more meat

If you are steering clear of carbs mama, there is plenty to fill you up from the carved meats section. At dinnertime they serve a whoppingly huge tomahawk, but at lunch time we were treated to the rib eye and a succulent L.A. galbi (Korean-style ribs), among others.

Cookies and ice cream

Saving space for dessert is going to be tough, but you can do it mama. Bootcamp later, ok? Totally worth the calories, are the ginormous chocolate chip cookies which you can top with the self-dispensable vanilla soft serve ice-cream. There is also a selection of Malay kuehs that are delightful, and not too sweet.

All this is just part of their regular weekday lunch spread — on Sundays the buffet has even more deliciousness on offer

Notice how we haven’t mentioned the child-friendly aspects of this buffet? Even though children will find loads to eat here, the space somehow feels more ‘adult’. I would rather grab a few girlfriends and enjoy the spread here than worrying about what my little tot is throwing off the table. Having said that, if you do dine with a little here, there is a candy jar display of gummies, marshmallows, jelly beans and more that will ensure the mother of all sugar rushes — you have been warned!

Opening hours: 6am-10pm; Lunch buffet: Mon-Fri 12pm-2.30pm, Weekends 12pm-3pm. Prices begin at $58 for a lunch buffet (Mon-Sat).

Beach Road Kitchen, The JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, Level 1, South Beach Avenue, 30 Beach Road, Singapore 189763, Tel: (+65) 6818 1913,  jwmarriottsingapore.com/dining