Da Paolo Dempsey Restaurant & Bar

Da Paolo Dempsey is the flagship of the Da Paolo Group, a family-run business that opened its first Italian restaurant in Singapore decades ago. It occupies a conserved colonial house at Dempsey Hill, with a preserved olive tree inside, and combines a restaurant, a cocktail bar and a retail counter selling Italian cheese, salumi and wine. Group executive chef Andrea Scarpa oversees the menus, following the approach of his father, who founded the group.

The pizzas are hand-stretched, made with dough fermented for more than 72 hours and baked in a wood-fired oven; the eight-cheese is a favourite. Pasta is made fresh at the pasta counter, so try the butternut pumpkin mezzelune or the carbonara calabrese. The gran antipasto platter suits a group, and the pistachio tiramisu and house gelato are worth saving room for.

Good for weekend brunch with a free-flow option, a family breakfast or a long dinner with cocktails. Open from 8am every day until 11.30pm (midnight on Fridays and Saturdays). The group also runs Tutto by Da Paolo at One Holland Village and Jewel Changi Airport, the Pizza Bar delivery brand and several Gastronomia delis.