Casa Cicheti (Joo Chiat)

visited in july 2026. great ambience and service. average food. ordered for a large group under their sharing menu ($88) per pax. here's *my* opinion. antipasti (choose 3) 1) salumi platter : dividing equally, each person had 1pc of mortedella, 2pc of proscuitto/parma, 1 breadstick, 3 olives. 2/5, no standout. 1.5) warm plain bread w evoo+balsamic vinegar : we ordered this as add on and wasnt part of this menu iirc. dip was served in a saucer, we couldnt get the vinegar on the bread cos the saucer was too deep. should be served on a shallow plate instead 2) insalata : absolutely crispy, fresh yet not raw tasting red cabbage and endives with a creamy cheese sauce which i believe is a caesar dressing. 5/5 3) focaccia di recco (v) : something like a roti prata-calzone fusion with truffle and honey drizzle. 2/5. just a coin prata could be better imo pasta 4) rigate alle vodka : this dish was 5/5. absolute banger. we added a few more plates ala carte. 5) tajarin : duck ragu wasnt great. felt like eating italian bak chor mee. the duck was in minced form rather than pulled. for a main and compared to the rigate, this was a 2/5. secondi 6) veal milanese : 0/5. the batter was not fully cooked and had no crisp. ruined the entire dish. the veal tasted like a pork cutlet. 7) gambero alla griglia : tiger prawns were ok. one pc each. culinarily nothing extraordinary. 3.5/5 8) manzo : wagyu was great but i prefer it slightly less fatty and it was a bit too salty. 2.5/5. dolce/desserts: 9) tiramisu : 2/5. couldnt taste the coffee, couldnt taste/see so much as a lady finger layer. if there was sponge, it was overly thin. zero alcohol as far as my tongue was concerned. mascarpone cream was good at least. 10) lemon olive cake : 1/5. simple cake that had a nice savoury, pure taste. but it was dry inside with a crusted outside. you needed the vanilla cream for moisture. strangest item on the menu. a limoncello with vanilla ice cream would have been easier. opened multiple bottles of their house red (i think). good pouring service and good bold red wine. i didn't have to pay as it was a company event but from the prices, i'd only come back for the insalata ($21) and rigate ala carte ($30).

Tried their set lunch that was pretty decent for a 3 course. We had the zucchini frites and dough balls, vongole and bolognese. Highlights were the dough balls - seriously carbs and cheese topped with pesto, hard to resist. Similar for vongole where clams were decent sized and quantity, pasta was perfectly done. What was disappointing was the bolognese pasta - the pasta was bit random cuz some pasta was cooked properly, others were either way over or under (type where it gets stuck between your molars - Bleugh) - anyway that was pretty random. Ended off with a nice choux custard puff - this was delightful - warm crusted choux pastry with warm vanilla custard inside - delectable! But the real dark horse is their chilli oil - idk what sorcery that chilli oil was but it was absolutely divine and went with everything - except choux pastry of course. We arrived at 12 and restaurant was relatively empty (they’d only just opened). Smaller groups of people were streaming in but it wasn’t too pack, surprisingly it was bustling by 2pm. It had a nice buzz to it as the spot does soak in quite a bit of afternoon sun which made it great for enjoying a lazy afternoon.

While the food and taste remain excellent, the service is like your local hdb kopitiam with minimum hospitality and energy. The 3 girls on shift were all young local staff with your - “ I ain’t getting paid enough” energy. I was served an undercooked (clear pink) chicken. Waitress came back and replied, this is sous vide chicken, it’s not meant to be fully cooked. I replied- I know what sous vide is and I am not eating a raw chicken. She removed it , returned it and it was an overcooked SAME piece of meat. Didn’t bother to replace. Just recooked. No apologies, no discount, no desserts on the house, nothing. When did such a high end / excellent Italian restaurant get so local?! Also, when you serve tiramisu, pls scoop it out like the authentic Italian way and not section it. It just loses its fun and messiness to it. Vodka rigatoni was still the bomb regardless but for the sub par service, I will choose Fortuna, Fiamma, or Chip bee bistro.

Casa Chiceti, which recently took over from Forma, delivers equally high-quality and exciting Italian food. Started with the Gamberetto Fritti—deep-fried small river prawns, similar to Japanese kawaebi but slightly larger, done in a light salt and pepper batter. Crisp, addictive, and a great bar snack to share. The Burratina was a standout. A full burrata served over balsamic and chilli oil, giving a nice sweet-spicy balance. The chilli oil worked surprisingly well with the cheese, which had a smooth, almost marshmallow-like texture with a slight bounce. The Umbricelli (gnocchi with crumbled pork and white truffle) had a light, savoury-leaning sauce with a gentle truffle aroma that keeps you going back. Pasta was well-cooked with a nice chew. The Rigatoni alla vodka was similarly well done—firm, nicely coated, and not overly tangy like a typical marinara. Simple on paper, but quite layered in flavour. We also shared the formaggi pizza with an added Greek honey drizzle (served separately). The mix of cheeses was well balanced, and the base was excellent—thin with a good chew. Even the crust was enjoyable, not overly hard or bitter. Ended with the classic tiramisu—soft, creamy, with a light hint of alcohol. Presentation could be improved slightly. Drinks-wise, the gin sour was decent but could be colder for a more refreshing finish, and didn’t stand out as much as the food. It was a rather hot Sunday, but the dining room felt a bit gloomy as the lights were completely off, which made the space less inviting than expected. Overall, food is well-executed across the board. A visual menu with photos might help, as some dishes are a bit hard to picture just from descriptions.

Front of house was a miss; no smiles, no greetings, no explanation of the menu, not much of anything. Same can be said for every other staff member, didn’t seem like there was any chemistry or fun. Vibes are completely absent. Foodwise; alright. Ordered a pasta and pizza first in order to sus the vibes and food standards. Orecchiette was comforting, inoffensive, fine. However-many-cheese pizza was no bueno. One dimensional, bland, added $5 for the Greek honey but it didn’t really help. Look, we’ve had worse food at other places, but they’ve been much more memorable than Casa Cicheti. Forma was under the Cicheti brand too, but showcased greater service and food. Casa Cicheti comes off as highly corporatised and inorganic. We did not hate anything, and perhaps we’ll be back to be proven wrong. I believe CCJC will do fine over the next few years, but at this rate I think that’s what it will just be: mediocre.

Formerly known as Forma and taken over by new owner this place recently reopened. I was a customer once of Forma and didn’t enjoy it too much. However Casa Cicheti has improved a lot. We revisited this place with my wife and liked everything we had this time. The service was a little slow and we felt a little alone enjoying a table outside in fresh air. The food was splendid albeit a little small portions, like the pizza was below average size, the pasta had few clams. This was more than compensated by the small size Salumi (cold cuts) and Veal Milanese which was humongous. All dishes were great in taste and texture. Despite the size I loved the pizza and Veal. Absolutely delightful. My wife truly enjoyed the pasta with clams - the taste was great. So while I think the portion sizes on some dishes and service can improve a little, I will still come back here for more. Truly satisfied and very authentic Italian food. And I love how this place is hidden away a little from the world. 5 Stars for ambience, atmosphere, and taste.

High quality and tasty food with a wider variety than the previous Forma as it has a range of meats and seafood besides pasta and pizza. We had the tomato salad (refreshing), cabbage salad (interesting but average), flatbread with honey and cheese (nice and interesting), and duck rage (duck version of spaghetti bolognese). The main highlights were the special seafood stew for 2 pax with lots of seafood and comes in a metal pot. And the seared ribeye. Both are very good.

Excellent foods