Vitello Tonnato, the Piedmontese dish of cold, thinly-sliced veal buried in a heartstopping meld of mayonnaise and capers, does not always spark joy; too often you’ll find graying meat that recalls either an unyielding piece of hide or a spongey, suspiciously soft flap of vaguely-animal origin.

But Vitello Tonnato can be wonderful, as this mayo-averse food writer learned a month ago, at @lamobistrodelmaresg , in the new-ish Mett Hotel, Fort Canning. Here, it’s wide, rosy ribbons of clean, delicately brined veal with the tenacity of roast beef, draped like silk under a hail of capers and a heady, espuma-light sauce. A terrific dish.

You order it, among other staples, expecting a procession of safe, crowd-pleasers in the Estiatorio Milos vein (and price). L’Amo has them all: good whole-roasted fish; formidable pizzas, notably the Tartufo, or truffle; gently brined, steamed, then flash-fried octopus that surrenders under a handsome char. It makes a case for why this concept is infinitely franchisable. And while similarities to the Dubai flagship are clear, it’s rewarding to see @chefdanielesperindio put a few dishes in his own voice.

Yes, gone are the days (for now!) where you could have Sperindio’s 32-yolk taglioni in a stock fish infusion that made your head spin. But in its place, depending on the day: lobster tagliatelle in a sauce that reconciles richly-layered shellfish broth with an Italian-American tomato gravy, brightened with orange; or a braised beef ravioli gilded with butter and sage.

L’Amo arrives at a time when restaurateurs keep reinventing the wheel, often choosing vibe over virtue. For now, and until Sperindio’s flagship opens next door, in March, we have an unmistakably Italian meal that starts with the classics and may end with a house-churned, deliriously pistachio-forward gelato that stands among the best I’ve had in recent memory.

- Dec 23, 2025