THE Godown used to be the bastion of all things English. It could be relied on for a decent pint and solid British meals and quickly became a popular watering hole among the expatriate community. The oak-panelled walls were reminiscent of British pubs and the booths gave a 'club-like' feel to the place.
The Godown has gone through several incarnations. The first restaurant opened in 1967 in the basement of the former Sutherland House, where the Ritz-Carlton now stands. In 1989 it moved to Admiralty Centre, from where it moved to the basement of the Furama. Six months ago, it settled in Citibank Plaza.
After more than 30 years, the Godown is still going strong, but has lost many of its colonial trimmings. Where once there hung pictures of the English landscape, horses and hounds, now there are strips of calligraphy.
And the crowd letting their hair down on a Saturday night is very different from the original set. Today's lot are well-heeled 20-somethings and the groups are mixed - ABCs, CBCs, local and Western.
We were ushered to our booth past tables of flushed faces which suggested that almost everyone had snubbed the a la carte menu in favour of the champagne dinner. At $249 (plus 10 per cent) for a three-course dinner with as much champagne as you can drink it is easy to see why. For teetotallers, the same menu is available without the bubbly for $179 (plus 10 per cent) - but that did not hold much allure for us.
The champagne taps open at 7pm and the bubbly flows freely until 10pm. We glanced at our watches - 9pm - and made a snap decision: champagne dinner.
