DB Bistro Moderne

C says:

It was apparently Daniel Boulud’s DB Burger, available at his casual outpost DB Bistro, that started the trend for high-end gourmet burgers. We didn’t make it to DB Bistro in some of his overseas outlets, so when they opened here at the Sands, we dragged our fellow burger connoisseurs W and M to check it out.

All four of us are in agreement that the best burger (in Singapore, anyway) is the one at Morton’s Bar. The patty is beefy and juicy yet doesn’t fall apart, and for M and A, one of their criteria is the option to add blue cheese. While I love blue cheese, I personally prefer my burgers more old school, with Cheddar or Swiss and bacon.


Anyway, the famous DB burger ($35) consists of a sirloin patty, with a centre of braised shortrib and a chunk of foie gras, on a soft parmesan bun. The burger arrives considerately cut in half, with a side of French fries. We ordered it medium rare, and while the burger definitely packs a serious beefy flavour punch, it was a bit dense and therefore a tad dry. I didn’t get that oomph that I get whenever I first sink my teeth into the Morton’s burger. Still a very good burger and the flavour is undeniable, but I think I just expected a bit more kick.


The other items were pretty good. To start with, they gave us gougeres, which are choux pastry flavoured with cheese and topped with more cheese when it’s baked. These were unbelievably light and fluffy, and very addictive.



We shared the spicy salmon tartare, and the assiette lyonnaise – a platter of charcuterie. The salmon tartare was pretty good, but again I personally prefer the tuna tartare at Spruce. The assiette lyonnaise had a good selection of different cured meats and terrines, some of which I think are made in-house, and they were all quite good.


We also ordered an appetiser portion of the gnocchi to try; or rather, we all tried a piece and A had the rest. The gnocchi was nice and light, but I’ve decided that I'm really not a fan of gnocchi generally.


For variety, A ordered the Piggy burger – a sirloin patty topped with pulled pork and pickled jalapeno. The DB burger was definitely better; the Piggy one was definitely more novel in terms of flavours, but what can I say, I’m a burger purist.


W decided to order one of their main courses instead – the seared tuna, after ascertaining that their seared tuna could be done rare. There’s nothing worse than overcooked tuna. They cooked the tuna very well, just lightly seared and a lovely rosy red in the centre. This was quite a light dish, so I think in future, one DB burger and one seared tuna would be a good combination for two people.



I’d heard that their warm madeleines were a must-try, so we had an order of those, and a profiteroles to share. I must say the madeleines were really light, and subtly fragranced with orange. I would’ve appreciated them more if I hadn’t been super stuffed by then. Likewise with the profiteroles, which were filled with a coffee ice cream.

Dinner was good, and I think we’ll be back since the Sands is an easy walk from work on a Friday night after work.

A says:

Excellent, but is it worth the price? Maybe not. I say give it a try once and decide for yourself.

Oh, and the tables are a tad small if you’re thinking of sharing dishes. It was a struggle to fit all the dishes for our table of four.

Maybe that’s why the service was over-attentive. They kept trying to clear our dishes before we were even done. Not exactly ideal.

DB Bistro Moderne
B1, Marina Bay Sands
Tel: 6688-8525
Monday to Friday:
Lunch: 12pm - 2.30pm
Dinner : 5:30pm - 10.30pm
Saturday and Sunday:
Brunch : 11am - 3pm
Dinner : 5:30pm - 10.30pm