Teppei Japanese Restaurant

Plenty of omakase counters are worth the money. Teppei is worth the refresh button.

Teppei is the omakase for people who like the idea of omakase but not the bill. A full dinner at this counter in Orchid Hotel on Tras Link sits at the wallet-friendly end of the city’s omakase range, which is why it has been hard to book for more than a decade. The compromise is the booking itself, and a snug, chatty room rather than a hushed one. If that sounds fine, the next step is to follow its Facebook page.

Why it’s worth the effort

Value, mostly, and generosity. The dinner omakase opens with six appetisers – among them a foie gras monaka, a fresh oyster and firefly squid – before it reaches sushi and sashimi, a main and dessert. That is a lot of cooking for the money, and it moves through a lot of methods rather than leaning on raw fish alone. Oyster, scallop, uni and a shabu chutoro have all turned up as high points over the years.

It has worked this way since the early days. In 2012 the chef, Yamashita Teppei, previously of Ten-Jyaku, was handling all the raw fish himself at a 17-stool counter. By 2013 people were calling in May for seats in October, and by 2016 online slots were going within minutes of release. Prices have climbed since; the reputation for value has stuck.

The other thing to know is the mood. This is closer to an izakaya than a formal sushi-ya: a snug counter, a lively room and a chef who says little beyond introducing each dish. Some people will find that a relief. If you want an omakase where every piece comes with a lecture, book elsewhere.

How to do it well

Bookings are the whole game. Teppei releases slots on its Facebook page, along with any last-minute seats, so follow the page, turn on notifications and be quick when they drop. Treat it like concert tickets and you will feel less silly refreshing a restaurant page at your desk.

Go hungry: six appetisers is not a warm-up, it is a meal’s worth of small plates before the main event. Take someone who will enjoy the bargain as much as the fish, because half the pleasure here is knowing what this would cost two streets away. The omakase is dinner only; if no dinner seat comes up, the kaisen don bowls are the other way in.

Orchid Hotel is at 1 Tras Link, a short walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT. Check the current omakase price when you book.

Good to know #01-18, Orchid Hotel, 1 Tras Link, near Tanjong Pagar MRT. The omakase is dinner only. Booking slots were being released on its Facebook page as of March 2026. Check the current omakase price when you book.

Teppei Japanese Restaurant | 1 Tras Link, #01-18, Orchid Hotel Singapore, Singapore 078867 | Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar