Kotuwa

Older listings still send you to the old address. The curries are worth getting right.

Kotuwa is the Sri Lankan dinner to book for a group that shares and likes some heat: Rishi Naleendra's restaurant, open since 2020, now at New Bahru with a full cocktail bar attached. It suits four people ordering across the menu far better than two each guarding a plate. The main trap is the address: plenty of older listings and reviews still describe the previous site, so plan from the New Bahru directory, not whatever a search turns up first.

The new address

Kotuwa now sits in the School Block at New Bahru, the restored former school on Kim Yam Road that has filled up with restaurants, shops and studios. Great World is the nearest MRT station. New Bahru presents Kotuwa as a restaurant and a full cocktail bar, and the pairing is worth taking seriously: arrive a little early and start at the bar, which is a gentler introduction than going straight to your table.

How to order

The food is meant for sharing, so read the menu as a whole rather than choosing a plate each. Build the table around contrast: something rich, something sharp, rice or bread to mop up with, something to cool things down. Ask the staff to help balance it for your group, and tell them your spice tolerance and any dietary needs at the start, before anything reaches the table. They can tell you what is in a dish, which is more reliable than guessing from its name. Order more rice than you think you will need (nobody has ever regretted the extra rice at a curry dinner).

Around it

Leave a little time for the building. New Bahru is good for a wander before or after dinner, though each business keeps its own hours, so don't assume everything will be open around your booking. Dearborn gives you a daytime reason to come back. Artichoke, next door in the School Block, is a separate meal for another night, not a second dinner.

From Monday to Thursday it is dinner only; from Friday to Sunday it opens from lunchtime, so a weekend lunch is an option if an evening table for a group is hard to land. Either way it makes a good birthday dinner for someone tired of the usual places, or a date with someone who enjoys a bit of heat.

Good to know New Bahru, School Block #01-03, 46 & 58 Kim Yam Road (nearest MRT: Great World). Dinner nightly, plus lunch from Friday to Sunday; check the restaurant's current menu and booking channel before you go.

Want more reasons to visit Kim Yam Road? Here are our favourite places for eating at New Bahru

Kotuwa | School Block #01-03, New Bahru, 46 & 58 Kim Yam Road, Singapore 239351 | Nearest MRT: Great World