Under S$30 pasta and flatbread
First thing’s first: If you’re a pasta elitist, don’t come in expecting some sleekly emulsified classic cacio e pepe or meticulously crafted ravioli.
Nolita is not exactly authentic Italian, and showcases more of modern Japanese-Italian style of cuisine.
Nolita’s style of pasta has a touch of that modern-cafe twist, which would probably resonate more with the younger crowd, who has grown up with trendy pasta spots such as Tipo.
The main focus of Nolita’s menu is pasta, with a pretty diverse assortment of 10 different pasta types — but, as mentioned before, it’s all under S$30!
Pasta is not the only dish served here, however, as it also offers four different kinds of flatbread, and a slew of sides and mains.
To start, we recommend the octopus fritti with white truffle cream (S$12), especially for seafood lovers.
The octopus is nicely crunchy with a good bouncy bite, and is magnificently seasoned and goes all too well with the fragrant truffle. So addictive.
As for pastas, if you’re hoping to get the most bang for your buck, opt for seafood options such as the lobster rose (S$25) and uni tartufo (S$28). Lobster for under S$30? Heck yeah.
For those who love their pasta sweet and creamy, Nolita’s uni tartufo is the perfect dish. The cream sauce is silky and thick, with a kiss of briny contrast against the sweetness.
On top of that, it comes with actual uni, ikura, and chunks of lobster!
If you’re looking for something lighter, Nolita lists the #1 AOP (S$19) as its signature.
This one mixes smoked bacon and prawns into an aglio e olio-style blend of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, pepper, pecorino, and chilli.
A rustic and homely, but also rather standard, dish where none of the added ingredients were particularly memorable.
Then there’s the flatbread. If you’re a pizza lover, Nolita’s flatbread dough isn’t particularly poofy or airy, like what you’d get at the deluge of artisan pizza joints that have opened around town.
Instead, it’s lighter and more chewy, and the limelight is really more on the toppings.
Its flavours are quite diverse, ranging from the simple caprese Milano (S$18) with crushed tomatoes, basil and burrata, to the sweeter Dolci & Noci (S$21) built on maize bianco crema (white corn cream), hot honey, pecan, figs, and dates.
The black truffle (S$25) would be great for mushroom and truffle fans, since Nolita gives you porcini truffle puree, forest mushrooms, and truffles at a pretty reasonable price.
There’s plenty of earthiness and aroma in this one, with a nice bit of creaminess from the puree. You can also add on the hot honey (S$3), if you want a bit of sweetness and spice to liven up things!
For the price, there’s not much to complain about, food-wise.
The ingredients are good, the execution is decent, and it’s got some interesting ideas for those who aren’t particularly strict about their carbonara with no cream (sideyeing the purists in the comments)
That said, we did notice a bit of a persistent housefly issue — probably owing to ongoing construction in the area — which the staff has noted and said they were in the midst of handling it.
Maybe just hold off a bit until then, and so you can avoid the inevitable new opening crowd — Nolita might be in ulu Lentor, but it was packed during lunch when we popped by!
Dining and Cooking