Osteria Romana · South Beach Avenue, Singapore
Reviewed February 2026 · Overall Rating: 4.2 / 5
“Where the Eternal City meets the Lion City — bold, unapologetic, and gloriously Roman.”
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The Concept
Singapore’s dining landscape is no stranger to Italian cuisine, but Medusa — the city-state’s first osteria Romana — announces itself as something categorically different. Conceived and executed by the Fortuna Group, Medusa is not a white-tablecloth fine-dining exercise in Italian classicism, nor a casual pizza counter chasing trend cycles. It is, rather, a deliberate and confident channelling of the Roman osteria tradition: neighbourhood-rooted, ingredient-led, convivial in spirit, and unapologetically indulgent.
Helmed by two Rome natives — Head Chef Federico Scordo and General Manager Federico Burci — the restaurant carries the credibility of genuine cultural custodianship. This is not a pastiche of Roman cooking assembled at a distance; it is, insofar as geography permits, the real thing transplanted into the basement of South Beach Avenue.
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Ambience & Space
Descending into Medusa’s basement setting, the first impression is one of deliberate chromatic drama. The interior is saturated in a deep, arterial red — walls, furnishings, and accents alike — that immediately evokes the warmth and heat of Roman neighbourhood eateries. Far from feeling oppressive, the hue functions as a social lubricant, casting the room in a glow that flatters faces and encourages the kind of lingering conversation that defines the osteria ethos.
The lighting scheme reinforces this mood: warm incandescent tones wash over close-set tables, creating intimate pools of amber light against the crimson backdrop. The aesthetic registers as lived-in vintage rather than designed-to-look-vintage — a distinction that proves difficult to achieve and easy to appreciate. Dark timber, worn textures, and a considered scattering of wine bottles and ceramic pieces complete the tableau.
When the restaurant fills to capacity — which, on a Friday evening, it does with remarkable speed — Medusa becomes genuinely noisy. The acoustics are reverberant by design or by accident, and conversation at full tables requires effort. This is not necessarily a failing; the clamour is part of the Roman dining contract. However, those seeking a quieter register for a business dinner or an intimate conversation would do well to request seating toward the periphery or, better still, one of the alfresco tables on the street-level terrace, where the city’s ambient hum replaces the interior roar.
Service throughout the evening was warm and engaged without being obsequious — another hallmark of the Roman trattoria tradition, where hospitality is personal rather than procedural. Both Federicos were visibly present and invested in the experience of their guests, lending the evening a sense of genuine host-and-guest exchange.
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The Opening Act: Medusa Cocktail
Medusa Cocktail $30 ★ 4.0/5
The evening began with the eponymous Medusa cocktail — a composition built around smoked banana, date-infused rum, and a house-made bitter chocolate element. On paper, this reads as a rich, potentially cloying combination. In execution, it demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of balance.
The smoked banana introduces a vegetal sweetness that is lifted, rather than anchored, by the date-infused rum, whose natural sugar content is tempered by the warm, slightly funky depth of the spirit. The bitter chocolate arrives last on the palate — a dark, resinous note that cleanses the sweetness and leaves a long, complex finish. The texture is medium-bodied, neither thin nor syrupy, and the drink is served cold enough to keep the sweetness in check throughout. In terms of hue, it presents as a deep mahogany-brown with warm amber highlights — a visual correlate of its flavour profile.
At $30, it sits at the premium end of Singapore’s cocktail market, but the complexity of the preparation and the quality of the sourcing justify the price point. A confident opening statement.
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Fritto Misto
Fritto Misto $24 ★ 4.0/5
The Fritto Misto is one of Roman cuisine’s most deceptively demanding preparations. Its genius lies in restraint: the batter must coat without obscuring, the oil must be hot enough to seal without burning, and the mix of ingredients must be varied enough to offer textural and flavour contrast without descending into a disordered jumble. Medusa’s version succeeds on all these counts.
The selection — zucchini, tiger prawns, calamari, and sage — is classically conceived. The batter is notably fine-grained and gossamer-light, forming a delicate shell that shatters on the first bite to reveal the ingredient beneath. The zucchini retains a faint verdant sweetness; the calamari is tender rather than rubbery, a testament to careful timing; the tiger prawns are plump, their flesh clean and ocean-fresh. The sage leaves — battered and fried whole — offer an herbal, slightly bitter counterpoint that cuts through the richness of the fried coating.
In terms of colour, the dish presents in pale gold tones — a warm, even fry that signals oil at the correct temperature. The finishing touch of lemon salt is elegantly judged: it provides acidity and salinity simultaneously, brightening the dish without demanding a separate dipping sauce. The portion is generous for its price and the dish arrives promptly, still crackling.
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Porchetta
Porchetta $42 ★ 4.5/5
If the Fritto Misto demonstrated technical precision, the Porchetta announced culinary mastery. This is Medusa’s standout dish — the one that most powerfully and completely realises the Roman osteria ideal of food that is at once rustic and refined, deeply satisfying without being excessive.
The preparation is classic: a rolled and slow-roasted pork belly and loin, heavily seasoned with wild fennel, rosemary, garlic, and black pepper. The outer skin is rendered to a shattering, amber-lacquered crackle — the textural element that defines a successful porchetta and that so many versions fail to achieve. At Medusa, the skin is genuinely crackling: brittle, blistered, and shattering under the knife with an audible snap. Beneath it, the fat layer has rendered sufficiently to lubricate the meat without pooling as grease, and the loin itself remains moist and evenly seasoned throughout — a considerable technical achievement given the differential cooking requirements of the two cuts.
The herb crust carries a pronounced fennel character that is aromatic rather than aniseed-forward, providing a perfumed warmth that permeates each slice. The colour of the carved meat is a deep rose-to-ivory gradient — the compressed spiral of the roll visible in cross-section, with the herb seasoning distributed as a dark green seam throughout. Visually, it is as compelling as it is appetising.
At $42, the Porchetta represents the meal’s best value proposition. The portion is substantial, the quality of the pork evident in its clean, sweet flavour, and the technical execution places it among Singapore’s best renditions of the dish. This alone warrants a return visit.
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Prosciuttella Pizza
Prosciuttella Pizza $36 ★ 4.0/5
The Prosciuttella Pizza confirms what regular visitors to Fortuna Group restaurants already know: the group’s dough programme is among the most accomplished in Singapore. The base is made with a high-hydration dough that undergoes extended cold fermentation, producing a crust with a pronounced chew, an open crumb structure, and a yeasty, slightly sour fragrance that is immediately evident when the pizza arrives at the table.
The topping combination — prosciutto crudo, sweet cherry tomatoes, and peppery wild rocket — is deliberately uncomplex. The prosciutto is laid cold over the base post-bake, its delicate fat ribbons wilting slightly in the residual heat, softening to an almost creamy texture against the chew of the crust. The cherry tomatoes, halved and roasted, offer concentrated sweetness and a faint acidity, while the rocket introduces a fresh, green bitterness that prevents the dish from reading as indulgent.
Visually, the pizza achieves an attractive contrast of hues: the deep leopard-spotted char of the crust at the cornicione, the crimson of the tomatoes, the translucent blush of the prosciutto, and the bright malachite of the rocket. It is a composition that looks as considered as it tastes. The base has sufficient structural integrity to be eaten by hand without collapse — a point of silent quality assurance that is easy to overlook but important to note.
At $36, it occupies a price tier consistent with Singapore’s premium pizza market and delivers accordingly. It is not a pizza that attempts to reimagine the form; it is one that executes the classic with clarity and skill.
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Overall Assessment
Medusa is a significant addition to Singapore’s Italian dining scene — not because it does something unprecedented, but because it does something familiar with uncommon conviction. The Fortuna Group’s decision to commit to the osteria Romana format, and to staff it with Roman practitioners who understand the tradition from the inside, results in a restaurant that feels authentic in ways that are difficult to manufacture and easy to perceive.
The menu’s strength lies in its disciplined classicism. There is no evident impulse to fuse, to modernise, or to adapt for a perceived local palate. The food is Roman, the hospitality is Roman, and the atmosphere — noisy, warm, convivial — is Roman. That coherence of vision is the restaurant’s most distinctive quality and its most durable appeal.
Minor caveats: the noise level at full capacity is significant and may limit the venue’s suitability for certain occasions; and at current price points — with a full meal comfortably exceeding $100 per person before beverage — Medusa positions itself firmly in the premium segment. But for diners who value quality of ingredient, technical rigour in the kitchen, and the experience of a genuinely Roman table, the value proposition holds.
Recommended for: Special occasions, group dinners, business lunches, solo dining at the bar. Optimal visit: Tuesday to Thursday evening for a quieter table.
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Delivery & Takeaway Options
As of February 2026, Medusa does not operate a dedicated delivery programme. The restaurant’s format — particularly the Fritto Misto and Porchetta, both of which depend on immediate-service textures — is not naturally suited to the degradations of third-party delivery. That said, the following options are worth investigating directly with the restaurant:
Takeaway may be arranged by contacting the restaurant directly at +65 8226 0116 or via their website. Certain dishes — notably the pizzas, which travel more reliably than fried or roasted preparations — may be available for collection. It is advised to call ahead to confirm current availability and packaging options.
For events and private dining, the Fortuna Group has historically accommodated catering and group bookings across their restaurant portfolio. Prospective enquiries for off-site service or private event catering should be directed to the restaurant management team. Given the quality of the Porchetta in particular, it is a dish that would translate well to a sit-down catered format if suitable transport and resting conditions can be arranged.
Third-party delivery platform listings (GrabFood, foodpanda) were not confirmed at the time of review. Visitors are encouraged to check current platform listings or contact the restaurant directly for the most up-to-date information.
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Restaurant Information
Address: 26 Beach Road #B1-22, South Beach Avenue, Singapore 189768
Telephone: +65 8226 0116
Nearest MRT: Esplanade (CC3, Circle Line)
Hours (Mon–Thu): 12:00pm – 3:00pm, 6:00pm – 10:30pm
Hours (Fri–Sun): 12:00pm – 3:00pm, 6:00pm – 11:00pm
Price Range: Approx. SGD $80–$120 per person (food only)
Reservations: Recommended, especially on weekends
