Roosevelt's Diner & Bar: Harvest my Heart

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Housed in the lobby of Dorsett Residences just parked outside the maze of entrances to Outram MRT station is Roosevelts diner and bar.  Many would turn a blind eye to its transparent glass window facade and trudge down towards the more rambunctious Keong Saik Street in search of grub.

But who would know that Roosevelt's is home to one of my favourite burgers in town? Sshh.. let's keep that a secret between you and I alright?

Inside, the feeling is almost "ironic suburban" , expansive family tables with odd fashioned light bulbs dangling overhead, a table top of severely outdated magazines is given the death stares by the illustrious bathroom from across the hallway, pimped up by its fashionable array of luxe lotions and hand creams.

Our first visit was strictly a burger run, to mollify those crummy emotional out bursts. I had the Teddy's 100% US Beef Burger ($22) whilst S zoned in on the Mushroom Cheddar Burger ($22). At Roosevelts', the burger is kept simple, with just smears of mayo on the pillowy soft brioche buns that don't crowd your palate with an exuberance of flavor, allowing the story of the beef patty to be told in full glory; with its doneness cooked to order (plus points immediately!), it constituted an explosion of natural sweet beefy juices when you chomp down. It's architecture was slightly compromised by the inclusion of onions in the patty, but the overall flavors received a major boosting with that poignant addition. The Mushroom Cheddar burger made its appearance, fashioned with all manner of good things (especially those tender and delightfully seasoned mushrooms) and naturally went down with no complaints at the other end of the table. The fries are the only debacle in this fairytale, not that they were nasty or cold or anything drastically negative; they were just.. uninspired.


Revisits occurred a few day afters when I started feeling the burger cravings creeping up on me again. That's when the cracks started to appear. 

We fell in love with the Southern Fried Chicken ($18), the gorgeously sun-kissed crispy skinned chicken exposing flavorful and extremely tender plump flesh below. Benefits of day long soaks in buttermilk before taking to the fryers paying off immensely. The multitude of spices used in the coating unravelling gradually with every bite. 


That was done. The rest of the dinner presented a plethora of disappointments. Starting with the burgers.  Point to note is that if you plan to eliminate diners' choice to select the doneness of the patty then you had better ensure consistency all around. That can't be said about my experience that night whereby 3 of the burgers at the table emerged in different shades. An over zealously grilled patty set our friend to work, sadly picking around the dried beef. 


This insipidity extrapolated itself to our dessert, the Churros Waflles ($12) with cinnamon sugar, butter and mocha sauce on side, which was a let down by a tell-tale low grade ice cream threatening to abrade our tongues with the shards of ice crystals within its false creamy innards. 



Roosevelts started on an amazing foot with its inspired rift on the ubiquitous burger and crested in an uneven showing of the same dish a few days after. I find it hard to believe the discrepancies involved and despite having my heart broken the same time around, I promise I"ll be back to indulge in the burgers very soon.


Roosevelt's Diner & Bar
331 New Bridge Road
#01-02 Dorsett Residences
Singapore 088764

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