A Masterclass In Ambience

Noa Lounge has the best of both worlds: charming, elegant spaces and impeccably delicious Mediterranean food

- SUFFIAN HAKIM 

IT’S ABOUT TIME we rethink the word ambience. It’s telling that the French sometimes use the phrase je ne sais quoi to describe ambience – quite literally, “I don’t know what”. Food writers tend to separate it from the gastronomic experience – restaurants can have great food, but all the aesthetic appeal of a Parisian sewer. Conversely, a restaurant can look at home in the most prestigious arrodissement, but has all the culinary appeal of... a Parisian sewer.

The best restaurants try to balance both: fantastic food and an arresting ambience.

I argue, however, that in modern analyses of restaurants, we cannot treat ambience and food as separate. Yes, I understand that the very etymology of ambience – the French word ambiant, which means “surroundings”, does signify a sense of place excluded from the food a restaurant serves. But we cannot deny the symbiotic relationship between the two – the right food elevates ambience, and a well-defined je ne sais quoi can provide the most optimum platform for the restaurant’s cuisine to truly come alive.

Enter Noa Lounge. The bar and lounge by Barmuteary Spanish F&B Group is housed in the Mondrian Duxton, an address that’s quickly becoming synonymous with lifestyle and fun in downtown Singapore. Since its opening in July this year, the Mondrian has injected a distinct verve into the district – epicures have been especially impressed with the hotel’s lifestyle destinations such as the swanky bar and lounge Jungle Ballroom, Dario Cecchini’s (yes, of Netflix’s Chef’s Table fame) mod Italian eatery Bottega di Carna, the rooftop poolside bar Canyon Club and now, Noa Lounge.