Disclosure: We were invited to Racines for a media tasting. As always, the opinions in this review are our own. Buffet menus may change according to availability, and the dishes discussed below reflect what was served on the day of our visit.

Singapore is not short of hotel buffets, which makes a S$108++ Saturday brunch a fairly competitive proposition. At that price, diners are not simply paying to eat as much as they can. There needs to be enough variety, quality and hospitality to make the meal feel worth choosing over the many other hotel buffets around town.

Racines at Sofitel Singapore City Centre is currently running its Ultimate Racines Buffet Brunch: Turf & Tide Edition, with a menu built around grilled meats, seafood, local favourites and French-influenced desserts. On paper, several of the advertised dishes sounded genuinely interesting. In practice, our experience was much more mixed.

A buffet that differed from the advertised highlights

One thing worth noting from the outset is that the buffet menu on the day of our visit differed in several respects from the media information we had received. The Indonesian-style grilled chicken had been replaced by duck (which was delicious, nonetheless), while the advertised Itek Tim was replaced by seafood chowder. We also did not find the Rémy Martin XO fish soup or the burnt butter pandan cake with sea salt and gula melaka — two dishes I had particularly been looking forward to trying.

Buffet menus do change, and substitutions are understandable depending on ingredient availability. However, some of these were distinctive dishes highlighted as part of the Turf & Tide experience rather than minor sides, so their absence was noticeable.

Plenty that was acceptable, but little that made us go back for more

The roast beef was decent. It was cooked reasonably well and I had no major complaints about it, but it was not especially memorable either. By comparison, we have had roast beef at other hotel buffets — notably Andaz Singapore — that was good enough for my husband to return for another helping despite already being extremely full. Racines’ version did not inspire the same reaction.

The lamb was less successful for us. It was very fatty and had a pronounced gamey aroma. My toddler, who is generally adventurous with food and will try almost anything, tried both meats. She found the beef difficult to chew at her age and did not like the strong flavour and fattiness of the lamb.

The seafood was similarly uneven. The oysters were thin-fleshed and very salty. Perhaps we have been spoilt by some of the oysters served at The Line and Andaz, but these did not have the plumpness we have come to associate with a premium hotel buffet.

The otak-otak was one of the bigger disappointments. For something centred on seafood, there was surprisingly little discernible fish flavour.

The soups left us confused

The Nyonya fish maw soup was very starchy, and I struggled to find much fish maw in my bowl. I had expected something closer to the clearer, lighter broth that I associate with Nyonya-style fish maw soup, so this version was not to my taste.

There was also some confusion at the noodle station. A soup described as “creamy tom yum” reminded me much more of mee rebus because of its pronounced peanut flavour. Conversely, the laksa tasted more like tom yum to us.

We mentioned this to our waiter, Sathia, who took the feedback seriously enough to check with the chef rather than guessing. He returned to explain that the laksa was intended to be Penang laksa. If that is the intention, clearer labelling as Penang laksa or assam laksa would help diners understand the flavour profile they are getting.

Desserts had operational misses too

The advertised burnt butter pandan cake was not available during our visit, with a durian tiramisu cake among the desserts instead. I enjoy both durian and tiramisu separately, but the combination did not work particularly well for me; the two distinctive flavour profiles seemed to compete rather than complement each other.

The ice kacang station also needed more attention. The ice had to be replenished repeatedly, and at one point there were no bowls or spoons available for dessert. For something promoted as a live station, it would make more sense either to have someone regularly manning it or to provide an accessible supply of ice nearby so diners are not left waiting for a top-up.

Families are welcomed, but the food choices for young children are limited

There is an important distinction here. We found the staff accommodating towards our toddler, but the buffet itself was not particularly easy to navigate for a young child.

We had mentioned beforehand that we would be bringing a toddler, although our booth was initially set without a high chair. This turned out not to be a problem because my daughter currently considers herself a “big girl” and was perfectly happy sitting beside me in the booth. She simply needed some extra height to reach the table comfortably. The staff found a cushion for her to use as a booster and also brought over a colouring sheet and pencils to keep her occupied while we ate.

The harder part was finding enough suitable food. My daughter is not a fussy eater, but when we looked specifically for milder, non-spicy dishes that were practical for a toddler to eat, the options narrowed considerably. She could have the noodles, crabmeat fried rice and prawns, with some chicken or duck and mushrooms depending on the preparation. She tried the roast beef but found it difficult to chew, and the fatty, strongly flavoured lamb was not something she wanted more of.

Parents of younger children may therefore want to look through the day’s spread before assuming there will be the usual range of simple buffet staples for them.

The lack of an included non-caffeinated drink stood out

This was one of my biggest issues with the experience. The included beverages we were offered were hot coffee, tea and teh tarik. Other drinks were chargeable, and there was no obvious beverage menu at our table.

That meant there appeared to be no included juice, soft drink or other non-caffeinated beverage for children — or, for that matter, adults who do not want caffeine — apart from water.

At S$108++ per adult, that feels unnecessarily restrictive. Many hotel buffets we have visited include at least one non-caffeinated option, and it is an especially conspicuous omission at a brunch that welcomes families. Even a simple juice option would have made the drinks offering feel considerably more complete.

Where Racines really shone: The service

If the food was inconsistent, the service was the strongest part of our meal.

Sathia deserves particular mention. After peeling prawns, my hands were dirty and I was about to head to the restroom to wash them when I noticed two sinks at the bar beside our table. I asked Sathia whether I could wash my hands there instead. Not only did he say yes, he helped turn on the tap so I would not have to touch it with dirty hands.

What impressed me more was what happened afterwards: he returned with a finger bowl without being asked. It was a small gesture, but exactly the sort of attentive service that makes a meal feel looked after.

His response to our comments about the noodle soups was similarly good. Rather than dismissing the feedback or giving us an answer he was unsure about, he went to the kitchen, asked the chef and came back to explain what the dish was intended to be.

The other staff we interacted with were also helpful, particularly in finding the cushion and colouring materials for our daughter. So while the initial table setup overlooked the fact that we had mentioned bringing a toddler, the way the team responded once we were seated was warm and accommodating.

So, is Racines’ Turf & Tide brunch worth S$108++?

For us, the difficulty was not that every dish needed to be excellent. Very few buffets manage that. What we look for instead are a handful of dishes that are good enough to make us return to the buffet line specifically for them.

That has happened at buffets across different price points. At The Line, which we have found consistently busy, the sheer breadth of the spread gives diners considerably more choice. Its scale is different from Racines, of course, and a smaller restaurant cannot reasonably be expected to put out the same number of dishes. At Hotel Jen Orchardgateway, we have encountered hits and misses at a lower price point, but still found one or two dishes we enjoyed enough to return for repeatedly. And at Andaz, dishes such as the roast beef have been memorable enough to warrant another serving even when we were already full.

That was what was missing for us at Racines. There were dishes that were perfectly acceptable, but on the day we visited, we struggled to find the one or two things that made us think, “I need another serving of that before we leave.” Combined with the limited included drinks and several advertised highlights being unavailable or substituted, the full S$108++ price felt difficult to justify based on our experience.

The value calculation changes substantially if you can use one of the available promotions. Racines is offering 40% off adult prices with selected DBS, OCBC, Citi, JCB and Maybank cards for up to eight persons, while ALL Accor+ Explorer members can enjoy a 1-for-1 offer on adult prices, subject to the stated terms. At a sizeable discount, the buffet becomes a different proposition.

What we would praise without hesitation is the front-of-house service. Sathia in particular delivered the kind of thoughtful, observant hospitality we would happily give five stars. We just wish more of the food had left as strong an impression as the people serving it.

Ultimate Racines Buffet Brunch: Turf & Tide Edition
Every Saturday, 5 September to 31 October 2026
12.30pm–3pm
Racines, Level 5, Sofitel Singapore City Centre
9 Wallich Street, Singapore 078885
S$108++ per adult; S$54++ per child
Reservations: +65 6428 5000 | HA152@sofitel.com | Book online

Promotions and buffet dishes are subject to the restaurant’s prevailing terms and availability. Check directly with Racines when making your reservation.

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Images: Melissa Fann and Sofitel Singapore City Centre (header)