Southpaw Bar & Sushi is a Cali styled sushi at Cavan Road (Jalan Besar area) that sits only 12.
Instead of the usual sake, Southpaw offers whisky and bourbon pairings with meals.
As for the name “Southpaw”, it came from the boxing movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a left handed boxer.
The left-hander boxer would be different, employ “unorthodox stance”, and take others by surprise, and this restaurant hopes to have some surprise elements as well.
Owner Roy also felt that there was no need to use a traditional Japanese name since they are not Japanese to begin with. ”There is no point being pretentious that way.”
Chef Kenny Khoo who helms the kitchen, has more than 17 years of experience, previously from Nogawa and Tatsuya.
Most of the condiments, garnishes, right down to the soya sauces have been improved or re-brewed one way or another to “get that perfection”. They even ferment their own pickles and blend the green tea leaves.
The omakase styled sushi bar offers 3 main sets, priced at $68++, 98++ and 138++, with variations depending on what is the seasonal catch.
I didn’t feel I wasn’t ready for a full-on omakasae and opted for the ala carte items, which included Sashimi Mori ($48++), Ukiyo Sushi Moriawase ($48++), Chirashi ($38++), and Wagyu Carpacio ($38++/$68++).
When the “Chirashi” bowl arrived, I was quite puzzled it was clearly a Bara Chirashi with diced up cubes.
A Bara Chirashi would typically cost lower than a Chirashi as well, and very few versions in Singapore would cost more than $35, unless it is offered in a more fine dining establishment.
Therefore, I probably had more-than-the-usual questions asked, but not sure if they were adequately answered.
To be fair, I enjoyed the Bara Chirashi – fresh assorted sashimi cubes over sweetish rice added with pink denbu.
The Wagyu Carpacio ($38++) which was thinly sliced, marinated overnight then seared, had layered citrusy-soy flavours with tender mouth feel.
Generally, I would say that the food presented was not bad, but I wondered about the pricing – two dishes came up to $90 after taxes.
Perhaps it was because the restaurant has only one main seating at night (no lunch service) and can sit only 12, and therefore costing would have been different.
I imagine that Southpaw Bar & Sushi could be an intimate setting for a birthday celebration of sorts with sushi and whiskey.
There had been some positive reviews on the interactivity and conversational style of the restaurant, which I happened not to experience. The entire meal was kind of quiet actually. Perhaps I went on a wrong timing or day.
Southpaw Bar & Sushi
11 Cavan Road, Cavan Suites, #01-04 Singapore 209848
Tel: +65 91011941
Opening Hours: 6:00pm – 12:00am (Mon – Sat), Closed Sun
Other Related Entries
Tamaya Dining (Cuppage Terrace)
Chikuwatei Nishi (Holland Village)
Misato (The Centrepoint)
Bincho (Tiong Bahru)
Kappou Japanese Sushi Tapas Bar (Fortune Centre)
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