Toby’s The Dessert Asylum – Hidden Gem in the East

About Toby’s

If you live in the East, you’ve probably heard of Toby’s before. And if you haven’t, its probably because they are situated on the second floor of Parkway Parade, in a quiet spot away from the cluster of food outlets.

Toby’s has been around since 2009, and most people don’t know that they’re actually much more of a family restaurant than just a place for dessert. I blame it on the “The Dessert Asylum” in their name! In this review, we take a thorough look at their food and dessert menu.

Tucked away at the end of the second floor of Parkway Parade, Toby’s has an inviting open-air concept with purple decor and exposed white brick walls. The interior of the restaurant is lit up by the huge skylight from the windows of Parkway Parade. So you’ll be bathed in natural sunlight in the day time making for gorgeous Instagram-worthy food photos, and you’ll get to dine under the moonlight at night. 

The Food at Toby’s

Things were off to a great start with their adorably illustrated 2 page menu filled with creatively named dishes. We tried out quite a few dishes and here are the highlights of their menu.

For appetizers, we enjoyed their Fried Taco Chicken Wing with Sundried Tomato sauce. We found the chicken to be perfectly crispy and fried and while we didn’t taste much of the taco flavour, the fried chicken and sundried tomato sauce combo was delightful.

Of the mains, a big favourite among all of us was the Toby’s Deluxe Burger ($16.90). We started salivating the moment it arrived at our table and we later learnt that the burger is made with cheese within the patty rather than on top! As you sink your teeth into the patty, all the cheese comes oozing out. Taste wise, it was nicely seasoned and really juicy.

Another highlight was the Mushroom and Spinach Pizza ($14.95). The pizza was generously topped with cheese and we just love pizzas that are generous with their cheese. That’s how all good pizzas should be made.

They used the kind of cheese that you have to stretch your arm and pull in order to eat, which is the type that goes perfectly with pizza. The almond flakes were unexpected and provided a nice crunch.

The BBQ Baby Ribs ($19.95) served with potato salad was another dish that we all thoroughly enjoyed. The ribs were served with a whole lot of sauce that made the meal quite messy but super enjoyable and tasty. The meat was tender and melted right off the bones.

Finally, the Spicy Marinara Spaghetti ($17.95) was thankfully actually spicy and it was topped with a generous amount of prawns and calamari. 

The Dessert at Toby’s

Most people associate Toby’s with dessert because of their name, and they do not disappoint.

First up was the Leaning Tower of Toby ($13.95) which comes piled high with layers of puff pastry, fresh berries and vanilla ice cream. I thoroughly enjoyed this as the pastry was light and flaky and the whole dessert makes for the perfect end to a very rich meal.

The next dessert dish we tried was the Wacky Waffles ($12.50) and I’ll be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting much because just how good can waffles get? Safe to say, I was proven sorely wrong when they arrived.

The waffles themselves were crisp on the outside and warm and soft as a cloud on the inside. But the thing that tied the entire dish together was the caramelized banana on the side which provided a sweetness and warmth to the dish so that taking a bite of the waffles with the ice cream and banana was like a real party in your mouth. 

The last of the desserts we tried was the T-Rex ($10.95) which is a mudpie made of doucle chocolate ice cream, mocha almond ice cream and cookies. Both Si Min and Bryan loved this dish but I’m not a big fan of chocolate ice cream so I didn’t enjoy it that much. For any chocolate-holic though, this dish would be hard to pass up. 

The Verdict

When we do reviews, we normally just feature dishes we enjoy. So we actually tried a few dishes that we’ve not listed here but as you can see, we ended up featuring nearly everything we tried in this review. We did not expect the food to be so good! 

We also always try to say something negative so the review is more balanced, but its hard to find fault at Toby’s. Perhaps the pricing could be expensive for some of their a-la-carte items. But then they have special lunch sets going at just $9.90 till 3pm on weekdays and student meals start at as little as $6.90!

Although people normally associate Toby’s for serving great desserts, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn the food here is just as good. The menu is large and diverse so its a fool-proof family spot because you will find something for everybody here. We can go as far as to say that it’s probably the best family restaurant in Parkway Parade.

While you’re here you definitely want to give the burger and pizza a try. For their desserts, anything you pick is bound to please but if you want something delicate and pleasing, the Leaning Tower of Toby is the way to go.

My suggestion is to come here with a group so you get to share and taste a little of everything!

Toby’s Address and Current Promotions

80 Marine Parade Road,Parkway Parade, #02-68/70, Singapore 449269

New Promotions!

Monday: Chase the Monday blues away, 1 for 1 Pizza
Wednesday: Ladies’ Night, free dessert for ladies only
Friday: TGIF, 2nd main course at 50%

You can check out their homepage for more information.

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This post was brought to you by Toby’s – The Dessert Asylum