On the fourth floor of the achingly hip New Bahru, drills are buzzing, stone countertops are being polished, and dusty cardboard slabs protect the freshly laid travertine-and-marble flooring. When this bi-level space is finished, furnished, spruced and cleaned, it will open as Somma, Italian chef Mirko Febbrile’s second restaurant. His first, the casual masseria-style Fico , is still an East Coast Park hot spot.
Somma, which means “sum” in Italian, is a far more ambitious project. It comprises a fine-dining restaurant, a cocktail and pasta bar, and Somma Lab, a space for his research and development team where they also plan to share knowledge through classes on things like wine, pasta, fermentation and pastry. As its name implies, Somma represents the sum of Febbrile’s journey so far.
Nine years ago, the 33-year-old came to Singapore from his hometown of Bitonto, a comune in Puglia, to work for Il Lido Restaurants & Bars. He went on to earn a Michelin star for Italian restaurant Braci in 2017 where he was chef de cuisine. A post shared by Fico (@ficomasseria) Febbrile said Somma will express his creative exploration of modern Italian cuisine inspired by his Italian roots and global experiences.
The latter include a stage at Noma, his wildly popular pasta pop-up at Chinatown Complex, and time spent travelling across Latin America experiencing the region’s cuisines. These will be evident in his dishes, which he hopes will convey simplicity, comfort and quality with a.