Ms Skinnyfat

I could hardly find any proper reviews of Iru Den online and only chanced upon it thanks to the fellow foodies with trusted taste buds on IG. So, here is a proper review for you guys who are considering dining at this hidden omakase-only restaurant on Scotts Road.

Chef Owner Javier serves a Modern Japanese Kappou style cuisine. If you thought he sounds familiar, he used to run a one-man kitchen IL DEN which served Modern Japanese cuisine. Since then, his style has evolved and grown and he now runs a full-fledged kitchen serving 3 choices of omakase meals starting at $198++ (7-courses).

When i said that the restaurant is hidden, i meant it quite literally. Entering the main gate, we naturally went to the first obvious building we saw, only to be given the dirty eye and directed to the left corner of the black and white. Enter the wooden gate and down a little dark garden, you will then arrive at the locked doors of Iru Den. Only after our reservations were checked could we enter the restaurant. 

My gf and I went with the 10-course dinner omakase ($268++) to sample more variety. I was originally worried that i wouldn't be able to stomach the whole course but the portions are really small and i was feeling just right at the end of the meal (i'm a small eater btw). 

Our first dish was the Aka Ebi, dressed with Tosazu vinegar dressing and Nanohana pesto. I enjoyed the light and refreshing citrusy acidity and touch of herbiness with the sweet prawns. 

Next, the sashimi course with a smokey thin aburi crust on the Buri, on top of a Moroheiya and grilled minced Nasu mash. 

For the Shari course, on the menu was the Goma Saba which was really fishy according to my girlfriend. I opted for Aburi Tai, which went really well with the ginergy vinegar flavor of the rice but we both agreed that the rice was too mushy. 

The Tempura course was a tempura spring roll of Japanese Sea Bass with an aromatic and minty Oba. This was the most substantial bite thus far and very satisfying but we were really starving at this point. 

Next the Chawanmushi with Black Winter Truffle, Avruga Caviar, and Tori Dashi. The dish was surprisingly light, in terms of flavor and content- we frowned at how shallow the dish was. 

Then the Signature Somen. The regular version is the Bafun Uni Somen, or you could have the Iranian Beluga Caviar (+68). The cream somen with chives was really refreshing with a sharpness of the herb at the start which gave way to the refreshing sourness. 

From the grill, we had a pulsating charred cabbage wrapped Tsukune which pumped out juices! The mash added some creaminess to the Sansho sauce here. 

For meats, i had the Kumamoto A5 Wagyu Tri-tip with onion jus, parsnip and gobo, while my gf had the Iberico Buta Presa. My meat was perfect but my gf noted that hers was a tad dry. Again, the portion was tiny. 

The Donabe course was a Kegani Crab donabe with Ebi Imo and cooked using the premium Yumepirika rice. This is cooked in claypot and we ended up having way too much scorched rice mixed in, which imo ruined each bite. I ended up removing most of the chunks of scorched rice. There was also a strong lard flavor which kind of overpowered the sweet crab.

The desserts were very enjoyable. On the left, an eggy and buttery brioche with a fragrant Oolong ice cream sweetened with a Shio Kombu Caramel. On the rightm a crunchy Mont Blanc with chocolate cocoa which rounded off the earthiness of the Winter Black Truffle 

Some hits and misses at Iru Den, which was a bit disappointing. Given the price tag, we expected a little more. Is this the case with fine Japanese dining in Singapore? That the tag doesn't commensurate with the experience? I have found myself disappointed in my last few Japanese eats. Not to say that Iru Den was terrible of course, it's just that the things could be more polished. 

Another gripe was that i was given a weird seat that was directly in front of a mirrored pillar, giving me a partial view of the open kitchen. If you're not too bothered by watching yourself eat, this would be acceptable i guess. With the amount of space even with the social distancing, i thought they could have placed the seats in a more comfortable manner. 

27 Scotts Road Singapore 228222

Tue- Sun: 6pm and 7.30pm seatings