André Chiang came back, and Michelin gave him two stars straight away

André Chiang closed Restaurant André at its peak in 2018. His comeback had two stars within months of opening.

Book 1887 by André if you want to see what André Chiang does next and don't mind paying to find out whether the stars were early; if the occasion needs a sure thing, the three-star rooms the guide left alone, Les Amis, Odette and Zén, are the safer money. The tenth Michelin Guide Singapore, announced on 4 August at Raffles Sentosa, kept its top tier unchanged and saved its surprise for one rung down: 1887, open only a few months in the old Raffles Grill space at Raffles Hotel, went straight in at two stars and took the new Opening of the Year award.

The backstory is why people care. Chiang closed Restaurant André on Bukit Pasoh in 2018, at its peak, calling it "a moment of perfection" in a later interview with Wallpaper, and he closed RAW in Taipei at the end of 2024 too. Shutting restaurants while they're flying is a habit by now, which makes a new one an event. 1887 is a 42-seat room named after the year the hotel was founded, with Ben Wang and Roy Kuo running the kitchen day to day.

It is not a quiet comeback. Bill Bensley designed the room, with metal-foiled Traveller's Palms, hand-painted clouds on a trompe-l'oeil ceiling and heart-shaped punkah fans. The menu travels through time rather than courses, from Victorian dishes Chiang dug out of the archives to Singaporean riffs such as a Blanquette de Bak Kut Teh, across three set routes named after Monet, Eiffel and Bernhardt. Chiang's advice is "Mix and match." Two stars this early says the guide was convinced; whether the food lives up to the room is the question only a booking answers.

The rest of the list rewards patience. Kevin Wong's Seroja moves up to two stars after three years on one and keeps its Green Star, and it is the promotion we'd look at first if 1887 is beyond the budget. First stars go to Cherry Garden by Chef Fei, Jin Ting Wan, Sushi Kimura+, Tenshima and Loca Niru, the Japanese-French restaurant in the House of Tan Yeok Nee, whose chef Shusuke Kubota also took the Young Chef Award. Yong Fu climbs from Selected to a star.

And a stat for the ten-year mark: twelve restaurants, among them Candlenut, Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, Odette and Waku Ghin, have held a star in every edition since 2016, while 14 of the 29 restaurants starred in that first guide have since closed, by The Peak's count. Stars are easier to win than to keep, which is worth remembering before you pay to celebrate a new one.

Good to know 1887 by André is at Raffles Singapore, 1 Beach Road (City Hall MRT). Wallpaper reported a raised bar that takes walk-ins; we haven't confirmed it with the restaurant. Options put the Formule Monet at about S$250 per person before drinks in May 2026; check the restaurant's own channels for current prices and booking.

Want more of what’s new? Here’s everything else on the list.

1887 by André, Raffles Singapore | 1 Beach Road, Singapore 189673