Restaurants

Where to go for omakase

Edited by Jamie 15 October 2026

Omakase means "I'll leave it to you". The trick is choosing who to leave it to.

Pick the counter by the occasion, not the star count. For a once-a-year dinner, Shoukouwa or Hamamoto; for a first omakase that won't feel like an exam, lunch at Ginza Sushi-Ichi or the counter at Wakuda; for something you could do every couple of months, Kenji Sushi or Teppei. The format is the same everywhere: you sit at the counter, the chef decides, and course follows course until you are politely full. What changes is the fish, the rice, the setting and how much ceremony comes with it.

Two picks break the rules on purpose. Tentsuru does tempura omakase, for anyone who would rather their seafood arrived hot, and Candlenut does a Peranakan version that is the most Singaporean way to hand over control. We have left prices out of the entries: omakase prices move, and the restaurant's own booking page is the only figure worth trusting, so check there.

A few house rules. "++" means service charge and GST are added. Book ahead, often weeks ahead, and tell the restaurant about allergies when you do, not when the uni arrives. And arrive on time: a counter of eight waits for no one.

Evergreen

The collection

1. Shoukouwa
Marina Bay
The counter for the dinner you will still talk about next year. Shoukouwa holds two Michelin stars in 2026, seats no more than eight and has its fish flown in from Toyosu daily, and with that few seats the Nagoya-born head chef is cooking more or less for you personally. It is the city's big-occasion sushi and is priced that way, so save it for an anniversary or a promotion rather than a Tuesday. Book well ahead, mention allergies when you do, and check the current menu price on the restaurant's booking page before you commit.
2. Hamamoto
Tanjong Pagar
Choose this over the sushi counters if you want a chef's cooking rather than a parade of nigiri. Kyoto-born Kazuhiro Hamamoto runs a 12-seat kappo counter with one lunch and one dinner sitting and a Michelin star, and he learned the ropes at Ki-sho, also on this list, so if you liked one you will understand the other. Allow two to three hours and don't book anything afterwards. With only two sittings a day, arriving late means making a counter of twelve wait, so leave earlier than you think you need to.
3. Ginza Sushi-Ichi
Orchard
The gentlest way into starred sushi. Ginza Sushi-Ichi serves classic Edomae from a Tokyo name at a cypress counter in the Marriott Tang Plaza, which is about as calm as Orchard Road gets. Lunch is the way in: a set at a lower price than dinner, at the same counter. Go if you want to know what the fuss is about before committing to a two-star dinner, or if you'd rather spend a weekday lunch break on sushi than on a salad. Check the current lunch price when you book, and leave the afternoon meeting a little later than usual.

4. Ki-sho
Orchard
Book this one for the setting as much as the food. Ki-sho does kappo cooking at an L-shaped hinoki counter inside a black-and-white bungalow on Scotts Road, so you leave Orchard Road traffic at the gate and sit down in a colonial house. Look for the foie gras monaka on the menu. It is also where Hamamoto's chef learned the ropes, which makes it the original to that counter's sequel; try both and decide which you prefer. Choose it for a celebration that wants a sense of place as well as good fish, and book well ahead.
5. Wakuda
Marina Bay
A polished first omakase with a famous name on it. Tetsuya Wakuda's 12-seat sushi counter at Marina Bay Sands runs a 13-course menu with Ohmi wagyu, and it is the cheaper route into the world of Waku Ghin upstairs. It suits someone curious about omakase who would like a safe pair of hands for the first go, or a visitor who wants the Marina Bay Sands evening without the casino. Pair it with a walk along the bay afterwards, and check the current menu price on the restaurant's booking page before you book.
6. Tentsuru
Orchard
The tempura alternative, and the right call for anyone who finds raw fish a hard sell. Each piece comes straight from the oil to your plate, which is the whole argument for sitting at a tempura counter rather than ordering it at a table. The menu runs to deep-fried sea urchin and Miyazaki A5 wagyu tempura, which tells you this is not the tempura from a food court. Bring someone who has done sushi omakase and wants something different, and eat each piece the moment it lands; that is the deal you're paying for.
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7. Kenji Sushi
Beach Road
The counter to put on rotation. Kenji Sushi is a corner unit at City Gate with no flashy signage and a chef-owner who makes his own soy sauce, which is the kind of detail that matters more than a chandelier. It is priced for a habit rather than an annual treat, so it suits a couple who want good sushi every couple of months without saving up for it. Book the counter, ask what the soy sauce is doing on each piece, and check the current dinner price when you book.
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8. Teppei Japanese Restaurant
Tanjong Pagar
The cheapest omakase on this list, and the one that takes the most effort to book. Teppei is a dinner-only omakase in Tanjong Pagar with foie gras monaka and fresh oyster on the menu, and its booking slots are released on its social channels, so you pay partly in attention. Follow the account, turn on notifications and book the moment slots appear. For a first omakase on a budget it is the sensible way to learn the format before spending more elsewhere. Check the current price when the slots open.
9. Candlenut
Dempsey
Not Japanese at all, which is the point. Malcolm Lee's Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant at Dempsey serves its tasting menu as "Ah-Ma-Kase", grandma's choice, and it is the most Singaporean way to leave it to the chef. Bring the visitor who has already done sushi in Tokyo and thinks omakase is a Japanese idea, or the relative who insists nobody cooks like their grandmother. Come hungry, let the kitchen decide, and book ahead, especially for a weekend evening on Dempsey Hill. Mention allergies when you book, as you would at any counter.