Fico — East Coast Park

A Braci chef built a white farmhouse between the barbecue pits. The park took it well.

Fico is the best argument yet that East Coast Park is somewhere to eat rather than somewhere to cycle past, and there are two ways to do it: a long lunch in the white farmhouse, or a picnic from the kiosk with the park doing the decorating. The restaurant is for a date or a table of friends with time to spare; the kiosk is for a fine afternoon and a lighter bill. The compromise is getting there, which is far easier with a car, so plan the route before you book.

A farmhouse among the barbecue pits

When Mirko Febbrile opened Fico in May 2023, the obvious question was why a chef who had run the kitchen at one-Michelin-starred Braci would set up among the barbecue pits and rollerbladers. His answer was that he wanted it to be "a community, not a restaurant." It holds a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 Michelin Guide, and a second Fico opened at Tanjong Beach Club on Sentosa at the end of September 2026. It is run with The Lo & Behold Group, the people behind Odette.

Febbrile is from Puglia, the heel of Italy's boot, and Fico (Italian for fig) is built around the masseria, the fortified farmhouses of his home region. The cooking leans on cucina povera, the thrifty peasant tradition: dishes of three or four ingredients, meant for sharing and sourced from small suppliers. He has said the place is 80 per cent his past and 20 per cent who he is today.

The house

A white house by the sea with a big lawn and water views. Inside there is a 14-seat communal table and a counter where you can watch pasta being made; outside, tables sit under canopies with blinds that drop when the rain rolls in. Plates come from the Pugliese ceramicist Ceramiche Nicola Fasano and lights from Parisi 1876. The terrace looks Mediterranean, but the weather is still Singapore's, so take an indoor seat if the afternoon is sticky.

What to order

The dish to know is the focaccina, a cross between pizza and focaccia; have the San Marzano tomato version with mozzarella and basil. Beyond that there is house-made pasta, charcoal-grilled meat and seafood, and a dessert trolley that rolls round at the end. The menu is seasonal, so treat any dish you read about as a signpost rather than a promise.

The kiosk

The kiosk is really a second way to do Fico. It sells crisp panzerotti (kiosk only), slices of focaccina and freshly churned gelato, including a burrata gelato splashed with extra virgin olive oil. There is a picnic bundle for two, walk-in only, and mats and baskets to borrow for the day against a deposit, as long as they come back before you leave.

How to do it well

Book an early-evening table so the sunset arrives with the pasta, and if you would rather not share your evening with strangers, ask for a table outside instead of a place at the communal one. Select the East Coast location when you reserve, now that there is a Sentosa branch too. It is not a cheap lunch, so save the restaurant for an occasion and let the kiosk handle an ordinary good weekend.

Good to know Fico is at 1300 East Coast Parkway. The restaurant and kiosk keep separate hours, so check both on the official site, and select the East Coast location when reserving now that there is a Sentosa branch too. Without a car, plan your route in advance.

Want more meals worth the journey? Here are our favourite restaurants worth planning around.

Fico — East Coast Park | 1300 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 468964 | Nearest MRT: Marine Parade