Jalan Selaseh hasn’t been seeing much new additions in terms of F&B establishments for the past couple of years; with the moving out of Bing Qi Lin 冰淇淋 from 24 Jalan Selaseh a number of years ago, it is only pretty much recently that a new F&B establishment has moved into the neighbourhood. Named Trovato, the establishment is one that has a focus on Italian fare; occupying a unit that is situated just right beside the now-defunct Bing Qi Ling, Trovato is located at 26 Jalan Selaseh. Bearing a striking exterior that is painted red as well as decorated with red bricks, Trovato is rather easy to spot considering how they just seemingly stand out from their neighbours. The interior of the restaurant follows close to the theme of the exterior; the choice of furnishing and fittings being close to that of a modern-day trattoria — the pizza counter being placed at one of the corners towards the end of the dining hall so patrons are able to have a view on how their signature brick-fired pizzas are being made from scratch all the way to being baked on the brick oven. Serving up a menu that largely features Italian fare, Trovato also does serve up brunch menu that is only available on weekends — their ala-carte menu comprising of sections dedicated to For The Table (i.e. bread baskets), Antipasti (i.e. first course), Zuppa (i.e. soup), Cicchetti (i.e. small plates), Insalate (i.e. salads), Pasta, Brick-Fired Pizza and Pesci E Carne (i.e. fish, seafood and meat dishes). The beverage menu also here features a good variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options — think still and sparkling water, shaken iced teas, soft drinks and juices for the former, while the latter comprises of draft beers and house pour wines; just to name a few.

The Impepata di Cozze is described on the menu as “slow stew mussel in vino bianco (i.e. white wine), coriander, diced onion and focaccia” — a pretty classic dish where the mussels are served in a pot featuring a stew that includes white wine; comes with a strip of focaccia bread on the side. Digging into the stew itself, the inclusion of white wine was pretty evident in this one — the fusion of alcohol did not create a particularly dry mouthfeel for this one; instead, that booziness of the stew runs on the back of the tongue, complimenting the briny notes of the mussels. Whilst there was quite a good portion of mussels that came with the Impepata di Cozze, the mussels could be a little fresher admittedly; not too much of a concern considering how the dish costs $20.90++, though we would have thought that there were mussels of higher quality which we have had at just a slightly higher price point as well too. That being said, the mix of diced onion and coriander provided a textural and flavour contrast to the dish — the former providing a slight crunch factor, while the latter kept things refreshing from the bring flavours of the dish overall. The inclusion of the Focaccia also provides an “instrument” that allows one to mop up all that stew with; whilst we though the Focaccia could have been made a little more fragrant and was a little dry as compared to what we have expected it to be, it still does soak up the stew relatively well for a decent flavour.

Having tried quite a number of dishes that Trovato has to offer, which includes items like the Angel on Horseback (i.e. breaded bacon wrapped oyster served with remoulade sauce) and the Truffle Spinach Cannelloni, we did feel that Trovato could perhaps look into how they could refine their dishes for better quality and execution. One main concern would be the level of freshness of the seafood; whilst the seafood items were all generally fresh for the price point, we did feel that it would have worked out better if they could perhaps source their produce from suppliers whom would be able to provide them with something that is a notch above what they have so as to create a better dining experience for their patrons. Execution-wise, we did feel that the Truffle Spinach Cannelloni could be further refined — perhaps in an effort to not over-bake the elements on the top, the Truffle Spinach Cannelloni does seem to be slightly underdone as result at the bottom; the pasta seemingly still a little doughy and brittle. Perhaps it has also got something to do with us opting for items that are not quite their specialty either — they definitely do seem to be more specialised in their brick-fired pizzas based on their social media accounts. That being said, Trovato does definitely seem like that neighbourhood Italian trattoria that adds on to the limited variety of F&B options in the Seletar Hills estate — a spot that works if one is looking for somewhere to gather outside of the hustle and bustle of town.