“A Levantine restaurant has been on my mind for many years, ever since Lebanese and Middle Eastern food became my everyday staple when I lived in London,” Miscellaneo, who is executive chef-owner of Petra, told CNA Lifestyle.
“I was simply waiting for the right opportunity. When it came, the idea had grown beyond a Lebanese cafe into something broader: a restaurant drawing on the whole Eastern Mediterranean, with the Levant at its heart.
“Petra is my chance to finally bring that idea to life: food that is clean and delicious, the kind I want to eat every day because I genuinely crave it, and because it happens to be good for me.”
Miscellaneo started his culinary journey in Singapore with cult private-dining concept Casa Nostra, eventually opening his first restaurant, La Bottega Enoteca, in Joo Chiat in 2021.
Although he’s known for Italian cooking in Singapore, this is an opportunity to not play to type. “As an Italian, I know how varied our everyday diet really is. But, outside Italy, people come to an Italian restaurant for pasta and pizza, and that’s what they expect,” he said.
“With Petra, I wanted to cook a different kind of food: the kind you can eat every day, like fresh salads and grilled meats. The Eastern Mediterranean gave me the freedom to do that in a way an Italian restaurant never could.”
Dining and Cooking