Black Tongue Bistro & Bar Review: Matcha And Charcoal Burgers At Beach Road

We’re a matcha made in heaven

UPDATE: This place has closed.

With new restaurants and cafes popping up everywhere nowadays, serving delicious, atypical and Insta-worthy food is one way for a joint to stand out. And judging from what Black Tongue Bistro & Bar recently rolled out, you can be sure they subscribe to the theory above. Instead of usual burgers buns, this brightly lit restaurant uses MATCHA and CHARCOAL in their buns. While they get 10 points for creativity, we gotta take a bite first to see how they fare in terms of taste. 

Food at Black Tongue

First up, an Everything Also Salted Egg ($15.90++) burger for salted egg yolk lovers, i.e. everyone in Singapore. Here’s what you get: a generous dollop of glorious salted egg yolk sauce on a crispy fried chicken thigh, sandwiched between lightly-toasted matcha buns.

Tangy with a spicy kick, the creamy sauce here ain’t losing to the salted egg yolk dish from your favourite zi char stall. Apart from the sauce, the succulent chicken thigh was out to impress. It was crispy on the outside and oh-so-tender when you bite into it! I also love how the buns didn’t turn out soggy despite the heavy sauce. If spicy food is not your thing, fret not because you can order it without chilli as well.

One thing though, the matcha buns didn’t live up to its name. I couldn’t taste any green tea flavour at all and the perfect matcha green seems to be a facade.

As its name suggests, you might end up with a black tongue after visiting Black Tongue. The signature Black Tongue Burger ($14.90++) consists of a perfectly grilled chicken thigh in the middle of warm charcoal buns and charcoal cheese sauce.

I thought the crispy-fried chicken thigh from the salted egg yolk burger was pretty tender until I sank my teeth into this luscious and juicy grilled chicken thigh. The only thing that stopped me from swooning over this was the charcoal cheese sauce that was a tad too salty for me. 

Hooked on matcha, I had butterflies in my stomach waiting for my Say Matcha!! Burger ($14.90++) to arrive. I was so excited to devour this unique combination of grilled chicken thigh tucked between matcha cheese sauce and matcha buns.

Unfortunately, instead of “Say Matcha”, I was like, “Say whaaaat?” The matcha cheese sauce tasted like nacho cheese and nothing like green tea – definitely a letdown. Just like the salted egg yolk burger, the matcha buns tasted like normal burger buns too.

Ambience at Black Tongue

Pulling off as a bistro and a bar, the warm and soft lights at Black Tongue creates a laid-back ambience great for a catch-up sesh with your friends yet decent enough for a date. The modest display of alcohol bottles also adds a touch of sophistication. However, this place is quite small so remember to reserve if you’re heading down with a big group of friends.

The Verdict

Nobody likes to have their feelings cheated and you can bet I was really bummed out that the matcha burger tasted nothing like matcha. The only saving grace was their chicken. Be it deep fried or grilled, it’s something I might actually go back for. If you’re thinking of heading down, I recommend you pop by from 11am to 2pm for their lunch promotion that consists of a complimentary starter, beverage and dessert.  

This is an independent review with all expenses borne by Eatbook.sg.