Thevar
Mano Thevar’s two-star modern Indian tasting menu, now in a terracotta-walled shophouse on Mohamed Sultan Road. Book it for the occasion; ask for the chef’s table if you’re two or three.
- Where: River Valley
- Price: S$60 and above
Special-occasion restaurants
For when the dinner has to count: the tables, the prices and how far ahead to book.
Meta
Two-star Korean cooking from a former builder, on Mohamed Sultan Road. Book it for an occasion and ask about the Jeju abalone with rice porridge, on the menu since opening day.
- Where: River Valley
- Price: S$60 and above
Waku Ghin
One prawn dish, on the menu since 2011, is the reason to book Tetsuya Wakuda's Marina Bay Sands counter. Save it for a milestone; Five at Five, from 19 October, is the cheaper way in.
- Where: Marina Bay
- Price: S$60 and above
Summer Pavilion
The Ritz-Carlton’s Cantonese room for the parents, the milestone or the client. Order the sea whelk soup in a whole coconut, a signature since the first Michelin star in 2016.
- Where: Marina Bay
- Price: S$60 and above
JUMBO Seafood Riverside Point
Chilli crab by the river for the relatives who keep asking for it, with five private rooms for the big table. Agree the crab first and ask the price before it is cooked.
- Where: Clarke Quay
- Price: S$60 and above
Kotuwa
Rishi Naleendra's Sri Lankan restaurant, now at New Bahru with a proper cocktail bar. Order across the table, say your spice level early, and ignore the old address.
- Where: River Valley
- Price: S$30–60
Claudine
Julien Royer's French brasserie in a Dempsey chapel, named after his mother, with her stuffed cabbage on the menu. Rich, generous and built for a table that shares.
- Where: Dempsey
- Price: S$60 and above
Odette
Singapore's three-star French room closed for three months at ten and came back warmer and more Asian, chilli crab in a mantou included. Book it for the occasion, and confirm the price first.
- Where: Civic District
- Price: S$60 and above
The best chilli crab in Singapore, from the family that started it
Roland for the founding family's recipe, Long Beach to settle chilli versus black pepper, Alliance at Newton for crab at hawker prices. Ask the weight before it hits the wok.
- Where: Across Singapore
Dinner worth planning around: six tables built on memory
Odette for an anniversary, Claudine for a long lunch, Candlenut for three generations, Kotuwa for a group, Artichoke when nobody wants courses. Read Labyrinth’s dietary rules first.
- Where: Across Singapore
Dempsey: old army barracks, three very good lunches
Candlenut for visitors or a Peranakan-minded family, Claudine for an anniversary, Dempsey Cookhouse for a mixed group. Book the table first; the rest of the hill is optional.
- Where: Across Singapore
Singapore on a plate, from pushcart to tasting menu
Teochew bak kut teh with a 1969 pushcart start, a kitchen built on coconut, a grandmother's Peranakan recipes with a star and a tasting menu of dishes fading from memory. One city, four registers.
- Where: Across Singapore
More restaurants collections
Restaurants worth planning around
Meals worth putting in the calendar, from Peranakan cooking to French dining and Singapore-led tasting menus. Settle the occasion first; the right table follows from it.
- 6 picks
Food centres
The answer when nobody agrees on lunch. Everyone browses, everyone orders their own, everyone meets back at one table; keep a second choice in case your stall is shut.
- 4 picks
Singapore flavours
Singapore food in three registers: a hawker meal, a heritage-led restaurant or a tasting menu. If you only do one, start at the hawker centre; the others are riffing on it.
- 5 picks
Eating in Dempsey
Dempsey is best done as one booked meal with time either side. Peranakan, French or an open kitchen, chosen for the company; don't rush the wander around it.
- 3 picks
Eating at New Bahru
New Bahru works best if you decide what you're eating before you arrive: breakfast, Sri Lankan cooking or pizza. Book the table, then wander afterwards.
- 3 picks
Tiong Bahru cafés and market
The small plan suits Tiong Bahru best: lunch at the market or a bakery stop, then a slow wander. Check which bakery branch you mean before you set off.
- 3 picks