Little Island Brewing Company: Best BBQ Food in Singapore 2023?

Little Island Brewing Company – Changi Village, a cracking BBQ feast

Here came a recommendation from our good friends Lindi and Darran Boyd. And what a belter of a recommendation it was too.

Do you like meat? Do you like BBQ meat? Do you like smokehouse meat? Do you like BBQ’d smokehouse meat? Do you like beef? Do you like brisket? Do you like real ales? Do you like eating near the beach? Do you like eating with all your family and friends?

If you answer yes to ONE of these questions you simply have to come.

Now there are a couple of short-term down-sides, and I am certain Little Island Brewing Company management will not mind me mentioning these – as all they are are opening teething problems, soon to be fixed – in fact, item one already has been I find out tonight – man oh man that was fast!!!

• The soft drinks are a tad over-priced, but are really delicious (note to management – families with kids need cheap drinks at volume, haha);
• We also can’t wait for the homebrews to come – apparently, some technical glitches there stopped that at the time we were there, despite the beautiful copper vats all being lined up. That’s ok though as it gives me a reason to come back for another review – I heard tonight that could be in as little as 4 weeks; and
• The self-serve is a great idea – BUT, not the overcharging for frothing. Yes, you pour yourself, but some of the beers were extremely frothy (maybe due to the heat of Singapore) so you had a lot of wastage – and yes with the system here you do indeed pay for that wastage (note to management – that really needs fixing guys) – and again an update tonight is the Turbo system is being put in to stop this happening again – nice work guys!.

BUT – you can’t knock Little Island Brewing Company at all – even with the three points above I’d still give this an easy 4.5 out of 5. It’s fantastic for families, it’s inside and outside, it’s such a cool design – like an urban London warehouse in Singapore HDB, it has beaches, it has playgrounds, it has great beer, it oozes BBQ and smoked wood aromas, it has amazing food. It gets a HIGH recommendation from The Semi-Naked Chef and Islifearecipe. You simply MUST try. So let me tell you more as to why.

It’s like Oktoberfest meets the coolest London converted warehouse, and surprisingly it’s smack-bang in the middle of Changi Village Heartlands. The concept is also very different. You go to the cashier and top-up a card with money, and then off you go. See the guy in the blue t-shirt above? Well, that is where the beer is. Numbered pumps relate to the chalkboard above, get your chilled glass, tap the card, and start pouring your pint. Same for the kid’s drinks too. Run out of money, just simply pop back to the cashier. Hey presto self-serve, no bar-tenders, no money exchange, and no queues.

And that my friends is where the concept came from originally. Started in Manchester, UK – the creator was working sports stadiums and noticed huge queues not allowing people to get what they wanted, they were getting pissed off, they could be spending more. So this was created – serve yourself with no need to hand over cash and await change. Genius.

You do need a few goes though to get the perfect beer head and to stop that expensive froth wastage. So tilt that glass to 45 degrees and when about 3/4 full turn the glass straight to give you that half-inch head that I think is the perfect pint. A great array of beers on tap, mostly ales from the UK, which was bloody nice. A few boomers at 11% beers too. I had a couple of these and when it came to the third it wasn’t just the glass that was tilting to 45 degrees – believe me. Few more of them and I reckon I could have ended up The Fully-Naked Chef. Phew.

It was such a beautiful afternoon and evening, sunny but not too hot – you know the ones in Singapore. So outside we sat. On the inside, there are huge long benches and tables, so gangs of family and friends can all sit nicely together. A bit like Darling Buds of May for those who remember that show. Overlooking the boats, the beaches and the sea – I like it a lot.

Looking back now from the drinks (photo surprisingly stable after 2-3 11%’ers) – what is that you can spy? Yep, this is where the action happens. Every foodie’s wet dream is on steroids here. Yes behind the chef on the right is a BBQ Smoker, so your meats are thrown in here to smoke initially. Then out they come to get thrown on the BBQ for charring further. Not just any BBQ. This is multi-leveled and uses the wood you can see stacked beneath. Double smoky flavour. Simply the best. You can not love this, it’s just amazing – if ever I get a house with a garden – these will be my first few purchases.

OK let’s get to the food now – About time I can hear you saying…

BBQ burger. Just look at this. Oozing with meaty juices, and smoky char from the wooded BBQ. Toasted buns, and of course obligatory fries and salad garnish. Was I being flippant, no it was just all so sodding good. Ollie had this, but I did get a nice wedge of it in my mouth. Smoky, beefy, meaty, juicy – just the perfect burger to be honest.

Oh my – angels were singing when this came out. Look at this. Look at the smoked char. That is all flavour. You can see from the picture the moistness, the juiciness, the tenderness, and the flavour. They say a picture paints a thousand words. Thank goodness for that, because when this was served there was no way I was saying anything. I was eating. Simply one word = delicious. A belter of a meat dish that I will be having every time I come back here (plus some other dishes as well of course). I just loved this.

This one thing should be the top agenda item if you do indeed come here – it is a die-die must-try in my reckoning!

Great work from the chefs – bloody amazing!!!

Did I say this was good…

Maybe a little over the top on the ordering front, as usual, haha.

But come on pig is on the menu and it is BBQ’d. So I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll bloody well order it.

Again smoked and BBQ’d but this time pork belly with all the additions. A lovely refreshing sauce with this one. It sort of cut through the smoke and BBQ, without destroying it. The crackling crunch. The juicy meat. And again that wood-smoked BBQ intenseness was truly mind-blowing.

Get out of town.

Up on the chalkboard sits this side dish. Japanese pumpkin with chili and I think Chinese sausage. See, too many 11%’ers making the grey matter struggle a full week later. This was sublime. We all tucked into this. I think for all it was surprising. Literally just spooning out the super soft pumpkin flesh. Plop in your gob and then get the taste hit of the flesh, mixed with the sausage. Then a slow burn of the chili saying hello to the inside of your mouth. Boy oh boy this was a good one. I reckon I’ll nick this recipe one day for myself!!!

I quite fancied a try at the bruschetta too. Hey, it was on the menu, why not.

Now normally I am used to some sliced baguette. Some chopped tomato. Maybe some basil. A drizzle of this and that. A sprinkle of salt and pepper. Now I do indeed still love that. BUT. Seriously have a look at this puppy. Sliced bread toasted on the BBQ. Tomato slices roasted on the BBQ. Melted mozzarella. Parma ham and herbs. Come on guys what are you doing to us? I will never eat normal bruschetta again, as I need to come to yours all the time for this fix. A belter.

Poor little Jude had to settle for the fish and chips.

Cough cough.

Some of the most perfect beer-battered fish fillets and fries? Oh, heartbreak for you Baby Jude.

Again bloody awesome – up there with the best I have eaten. Fantastic tartare sauce too.

And as we start to leave, the night is drawing in, the little lights come out, and yet more people are arriving to enjoy.

I assume it is all word of mouth, as we had also experienced personally having not heard of  Little Island Brewing Company

 before.

So words from this mouth of mine – get your self down here!!!

Little Island Brewing Company, Changi Village – as reviewed by The Semi-Naked Chef – ENJOY!