Wakuda

Same chef, same hotel, a smaller bill. Book the counter, not the dining room.

Wakuda is the way to eat Tetsuya Wakuda's cooking without the Waku Ghin bill, and the 12-seat sushi counter is the part to book. It suits a first omakase, or dinner before a show at the Sands. The compromises: the counter serves only Wednesday to Sunday evenings, and it sits in a hotel lobby rather than a Tokyo side street, however hard the room tries.

The room and the counter

Wakuda opened in 2022 in the old Adrift space in the Hotel Tower 2 lobby, with 50 Eggs Hospitality Group, and the main room is modelled on Tokyo's Golden Gai, the warren of tiny bars. Rockwell Group and Jun Inoue did the interiors, with kumiki woodcraft throughout and deliberately provocative artworks by Shohei Otomo, Inoue and Hiroyasu Tsuri. The omakase happens in a private Omakase Room within all that, at a 12-seat counter run by head sushi chef Daniel Tan.

What you eat

Modern, polished sushi with ingredients flown in from Japan – Hokkaido, Fukuoka, Shizuoka and Okinawa, which supplies the sea grapes and mozuku seaweed – on a line-up refreshed every six to eight weeks, so read what follows as the style rather than tonight's menu. Ohmi wagyu is the house signature, bred with the Daikichi farm only for Tetsuya's restaurants. Past runs have included a steamed savoury custard with snow crab, anago grilled in bamboo leaf, an iwashi negitoro hand roll, sawara tempura and aka dashi. Dessert is where it gets odd: Valrhona dark chocolate, porcini gelato and aged balsamic. On paper it should not work, and booking is the only way to settle the argument.

Why the bill is kinder

Wakuda is MICHELIN Guide Selected rather than starred, which partly explains the friendlier price. There are three tiers, from the 13-course Sushi Experience up to a premium menu paired with sake and wine; the figures are in the facts box, with service charge and GST on top. A credit card is needed to guarantee the booking.

How to do it well

Book the Omakase Room specifically. The main dining room is a different meal with its own greatest hits – Sendai A5 wagyu nigiri, wagyu yaki udon and a whole lobster tempura – and a reasonable fallback if the counter is full, but it is not why you came. Take the 13-course menu on a first visit and keep the premium tiers for when you know you like the style. If you are early, a Wakuda Sling at the bar fills the gap. The hotel's smart-casual code applies, and Bayfront is the MRT.

Good to know Wakuda is in the Hotel Tower 2 lobby, Marina Bay Sands; Bayfront MRT is closest. The Omakase Room counter serves Wednesday to Sunday evenings only, and a credit card guarantees the booking. Book the counter specifically rather than the main dining room. Smart-casual dress.

Wakuda | Hotel Tower 2 Lobby, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956 | Nearest MRT: Bayfront