Located in a small shop house on Kampong Bahru Road, the Old Boys Gallery is just a few minutes walk from the Outram MRT station. Perfect for a cosy and casual dinner, the café welcomes customers with a neat selection of beers on the wall. Although they offer a good and ever-changing assortment of craft beers, the food is definitely the main focus – at least for me.
The menu is well-balanced, ranging from salads and potato fries as starters to signature burgers and pasta dishes.
Old Boys Gallery Bistro | Exciting Starters
Curious about most of their creations, my attention gravitated towards a dish called Cremini in Disguise, which are breaded Portobello mushrooms topped with a Louisiana spice mix. Served on a bed of fresh spinach leaves, the breaded coating was beautifully crisp, while still maintaining the soft and textured inside of the Portobello mushrooms. The spice mix was very gentle, adding a pinch of flavour and not overpowering the rich mushroom taste.
Arriving second at my table was their signature OBG Salad, featuring a heavy bed of fresh garden greens that were topped with olives, bell peppers, rich cherry tomatoes, a little sweet corn as well as Japanese pickled cucumbers and a sliced hard boiled egg. Sprinkled on top of all was a very generous layer of thinly grated Parmesan cheese, giving the salad an even richer texture.
The Japanese dressing wasn’t as strong and citric that it would take away from taste of the olives, but rich enough to give the greens some flavour. The overall taste of the salad was quite exciting and felt very Mediterranean, due to the bell peppers, olives, and the Parmesan. If one was to combine this salad with any other starter, one has well-rounded meal.
Old Boys Gallery Review | The Signature Treat
With the choice of two signature burgers, I decided on the Manster Beef Burger. The other choice was a pineapple and pork burger variation, which I will reserve for my next Old Boys Gallery review. The Manster Burger included crispy grilled ham strips, a fresh and crunchy salad leaf, a juicy beef patty, and was topped with a runny fried egg. All of that was held together in between two slightly toasted but still soft sesame bun halves.
As the buns were slightly bigger in diameter than the heavy ingredient list, they kept everything tightly in its place, which made the burger easy and comforting to eat. Although I generally believe that burgers are allowed to be messy, it is good to have a clean alternative.
Cooked well but still juicy and full of flavour, the beef patty sat on a tomato slice and crisp salad leaf bed.
Served with hand-cut potato fries, a small salad with a dressing as well as a mayo and ketchup dip, the burger is filling and a joy to eat. The fries on side were a nice balance between crispy outside and creamy on the inside. The small salad and its rich balsamic dressing made the entire meal well-rounded. If Outram is slightly too far for your lunch adventure, you can also get a delivery from the Old Boys Gallery via foodpanda.sg.
Old Boys Gallery Singapore
Address: 67 Kampong Bahru Road, 169371 Singapore
Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 11:30am – 10:30pm | Sun: closed