9 Restaurants in Singapore to Visit for Any Occasion
With the ease of heightened alert in Singapore espcially with the allowance of larger groups of five diners after July 12, dining in at restaurants is finally an option. This means it’s time to put away the Domino pizza coupons, delivery food apps, comfy sweats, and step outside to support establishments that have been busy sprucing up their menus and redecorating their interiors during the very dry month.
If you wish to spend a special occasion indoors and are simply at a loss of where to go with this newfound freedom, fret not – because we have taken the liberty of curating a list of several restaurants for every special occasion.
Romantic Date Night
Cé la VI
Reinventing the local palette with Asian flavours in mind, CÉ LA VI group executive Chef Joey Sergentakis reconceptualised the restaurant's menu with playful, sharing-friendly dishes that incorporate flavours and ingredients from across Asia. The new contemporary Asian summer menu includes Peranakan ingredients integrated with CÉ LA VI’s global destinations in Dubai, Taipei, Shanghai, and Tokyo to feed your wanderlust. With a bonus view of the city skyline set above 57 levels, this romantic dinner date will be one to remember.
With a diverse array of small, large, and premium sharing plates to offer, the highlights include Grilled Freemantle Octopus ($32) with Taiwanese glaze and green chilli-coriander coulis, a 300g Cast Iron Roasted Tuwinga Black Angus Beef Ribeye ($78) served with salted Kampot peppercorns, grilled pineapple and topped with a refreshing mint-basil salad and a 1kg Rice Flake Crusted Whole Lobster ($228) accompanied by bell pepper and pineapple fricassee with Chinese Sausage and sour-spicy ginger reduction.
Finish on a sweet note with elegantly composed dessert offerings by Pastry Chef Kelvin Chia, featuring a beautifully assembled Hibiscus Opera ($22) layered with almond joconde, earl grey cremeux, hibiscus jelly, and hibiscus cacao sorbet or a Pandan Gāteau ($22) served with pandan frangipane.
Reservations can be made via their website here, or by phone at +65 6508 2188
Levant
Thinking of a secret rendezvous? Levant is the perfect place to spend a romantic night under the stars. Hidden in plain sight along Tanjong Pagar, this rooftop bar with a panoramic view is sure to set the mood for date night with your beau.
Accompanying your evening is a reinterpretation of the Mediterranean flavours that combine European and middle eastern influences. The collection of Mezza-style dishes inspired by the region’s shared culinary customs highlight dishes such as Kale Borek, Spiced Honey and Sesame ($16), addictive crispy Whitebait Fish Fries, Sumac and Harissa Yogurt ($18) and heartily robust Beef Kofta Sliders, Eggplant Fritter and Green Chilli Shatta ($18).
The cocktail menu is also designed to celebrate the national spirits and representative taste profiles: With the sun-bleached shores of Greece — Greek Forest ($18), the floral-imbued Apricot Clouds ($22) that layer Metaxa with candied apricot and anise, and Athena’s Olive Branch ($24) to transport one to Spain with its delicious mix of Gin Mare, Madeira and olive air accented by the unforgettable aroma of floregano.
Levant offers daily happy hour on select spirits, wines, and beers from 5 pm to 8 pm, with prices starting from $12.
Levant is located at 32 Tras Street Level 4, Singapore 078972. For enquiries visit here or via phone at +65 6304 3298
Burger & Lobster
Fancy savoury lollipops? How about some succulent and freshly steamed Nova Scotian lobster tails to complement your cocktails? Burger & Lobster at Raffles Hotel reopens with the launch of time-limited lobster tails that come in a variety of flavours.
Them being — Mala Butter Lobster Tail Lollipop glazed with mild spicy infused butter, Burger & Lobster's all-time favourite Paprika Butter Lobster Tail Lollipop coated with smoky and mildly-spiced infused butter, the sweet and savoury Honey Soy Mayonnaise, zesty and refreshing Cilantro-Lime Mayonnaise Lobster Tail Lollipop and Seaweed Butter Lobster Tail Lollipop coated with umami-rich infused seaweed butter.
If you are in the mood for love, order The Proposal – a charming cocktail made with Singapore distillery rose, Hendricks gin, raspberry syrup, coconut syrup, lemon juice, and egg white. If that’s too serious, choose a classic cocktail like the Reflection of Love – an elegant martini-style cocktail made with Hendricks gin, Tempus fugit violettes, Alain Milliat cabernet rose grape juice, citric acid and garnished with green grapes.
For reservations and inquiries, please visit Burger and Lobster at Raffles Hotel.
Girl's Night Out
Lady M
Make the most of your afternoon with your girlfriends at Lady M’s first and only Champagne Bar for Afternoon Tea. Experience a boutique exclusive affair of tiered savouries and sweets, paired with flutes of bubbly at the Lady M Champagne Bar, the first of its kind internationally, elevating your experience with them beyond a single cake.
Get in the mood for the Champagne Mille Crêpes – now reinvented with littering rosé gelee, a pot of tea, light bites, signature sweets and bubbles for a midday perk-me-up.
Lady M Champagne Bar is located at ION Orchard, #03-32/33, Singapore 238801
Southbridge
Southbridge’s alfresco restaurant provides a chic yet unpretentious atmosphere that extracts the best of the European Savoir-Vivre lifestyle — perfect for a girls’ night out.
Tucked away at 80 Boat Quay on the rooftop of a shophouse with a view of Singapore’s skyline, you can expect fresh, plump live oysters from the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand that is served four ways: the Umami with ponzu and yuzu, the classic Mignonette with banana shallot and sherry vinegar, the Nikkei with bulldog sauce and togarashi, and finally the Natural with fresh lemon and tabasco.
If you are feeling hungry, dig into scrumptious grilled sandwiches like the Triple Cheese Truffle Bikini ($18), addictive tacos such as the Octopus Taco ($18) with mentaiko and jalapeno, or the Smoked Pork Taco ($18) with sweet pickles and lemongrass.
Southbridge is located at 80 Boat Quay, Level 5 Rooftop, Singapore 049868. For enquiries, visit here or via phone at +65 6877 6965.
Boy's Night Out
Carne
Nothing makes a boy’s night out quite like a couple of hearty hamburgers in hand. What better than CARNE’s new and improved menu, now packed with Mother Earth’s finest natural umami flavours combined with Chef Mauro Colagreco’s R&D team of Mirazur – the current #1 restaurant on World’s 50 Best Restaurant list.
After three months of “beefed-up” research focusing on intensifying taste and lowering carbon footprint, CARNE’s juicy burger patty is made of only the best grass-fed, hormone-free beef from free-range cattle pasture-fed on some of the most pristine, untouched lands in Australia.
Queue CARNE’s perfectly embodied Singapore-exclusive Grilled Beef and double mushrooms burger ($23), comprising of succulent shiitake mushroom cooked a la plancha in garlic-parsley oil, a fine duxelles of oyster and shiitake mushrooms mixed with sweet roasted onions, and an antibiotic- and hormone-free grass-fed beef patty, accented by natural cheddar, a smear of confit garlic mayo, and pops of tanginess from pickled pearl onions.
Their Beef & Chimichurri Burger ($22.50) now boasts even more nuanced flavours, with mouth-watering flavours of the chimichurri sauce made of herbs, aromatics, and a tinge of the South American aji molido chili meeting the bright-tasting notes of classic Argentinian criolla salsa.
The purist stack of CARNE’s Classic Burger ($18.80) is loaded with even more flavours of nature. In between the fluffy brioche buns with grass-fed beef, local oak lettuce, and red onion are fresh slices of glutamic acid-rich Heirloom Black Russian tomatoes grown in organic and chemical-free farms, with a housemade tomato tapenade added for tangy punch after.
CARNE is located at 88 Amoy Street, Singapore 069907. For enquiries, visit here or via phone at +65 8868 4388.
Zafferano
Feeling meaty? Indulge in Zafferano’s expanded selection of premium beef and lamb cooked to perfection on a charcoal grill. Enjoy an Australian bone-in ribeye ($248++ for 900g; serves 3 to 4) and striploin ($108++ for 600g; serves 2) from 31-day dry-aged Vintage Galiciana beef, with offerings of a bold and rich flavour and well-distributed marbling.
If you want to opt for a more decadent option, explore the three different wagyu choices with rich and defined marbling Zafferano has to offer. From the full blood, A4 Kagoshima wagyu striploin ($148++ for 160g) said to be the grand champion of the Wagyu Olympics to the succulent Australian MBS4-5 Sher wagyu tenderloin ($78++ for 200g). Or even the MBS 6/7 Jac Wagyu striploin ($78++) offered as a main course with white corn cream, rapini, and finished with green pepper jus.
For a non-beef option, opt for the roasted Te Mana lamb loin ($55++) that is coated in a crumb of Sicilian pistachios and paired with pickled heirloom beetroots and sambuca jus. Hailing from New Zealand’s hill and high country, Te Mana’s hormone-free and non-GMO free-range lamb graze on lush chicory herb pastures.
Zafferano is located at Ocean Financial Centre, Singapore 049315. Reservations can be placed here or by phone at +65 6509 1488.
Travel to a Country
Canchita Peruvian Cuisine
Transport yourself to the rugged, biodiverse landscape of the Amazon rainforest at Canchita’s nature-forward space. Found along the edge of the forest in Dempsey Hill while feasting on the vibrant gastronomy of Venezuala, Argentina, Columbia, Peru and the beautiful Carribbean island of Puerto Rico, this Great Latin American Takeover invites you to a month-long food fiesta to commemorate the independence days of several Latin American nations without needing to leave Singapore.
Look forward to tasting Venezuela's national dish – La Reina Pepiada ($16++); griddled maize cakes stuffed with zesty chicken and avocado mayonnaise, Argentinian Rib Eye ($48++) served with salsa criolla, thick potato fries, and salad, Bandeja Paisa ($38++); a traditional Colombian platter overflowing with pork belly, chorizo, beans, sunny side up egg, plantain (banana), avocado, arepa, and rice as well as the Pernil Asado ($38++) featuring crispy pork marinated with Puerto Rican Adobo that is served with rice and beans.
To conclude the month-long festivities celebrating the 200 years of Peru’s Independence, you can look forward to an array of dishes inspired by the melting pot of cultures found in Peru such as Inca, Spanish, African, Chinese, Andean and Japanese.
Highlights include a Peruvian representation of our familiar Chinese stir-fried noodles in the form of the Tallarines Saltados "Chifa" ($38++) – a classic that was first introduced by Chinese immigrants to Peru, or the Salmon Tiradito "Nikkei" ($32++) featuring marinated salmon served with mirin tiger's milk, wasabi mayo, and crispy sweet potato.
CANCHITA Peruvian Cuisine is located at Block 9A & 9B Dempsey Road, Singapore 247698. Reservations can be made here.
The Butcher's Wife
Thinking of going on a trip to Brazil? Look no further because The Butcher’s Wife has expanded its menu to an all-day dining experience that will take you to Brazil and back. With ingredients sourced close to home and enlivened with fervent fermentation, the menu consists of influences from the Amazon, Brazil, and Asia.
Highlights include the Pão de Queijo ($12), a cross between a classic Brazilian snack of cheese bread that is updated with punchier flavours from folding in fermented tapioca pulp and a special blend of cheese, and refreshing tomato and chilli sambal inspired by a local's love for ketchup and chilli.
Moqueca ($37) is a traditional Brazilian seafood stew brimming with an assortment of seafood and packed with punchy yet pleasing flavours that are delicious as it is. Typically served in Brazil with farofa — a toasted cassava mixture — they switch it up with a toasted banana oats farofa inspired by Singapore's cereal prawns.
No meal is complete without a glass of natural wine curated by Drunken Farmer. With over a selection of 35 labels and Asian-inspired “Kampong Cocktail’, unique concoctions such as the Spiced Pineapple Calamansi (S$20) — a tropical dark rum punch that packs its heat from a house-fermented red chilli and local honey concoction, Pandan Coconut Milk Punch (S$20) — a smooth, rounded clarified cocktail that brings together household fragrances of pandan and coconut with leftover steamed milk from frothing cappuccinos and a pandan kueh for garnish; and The Butcher's Bloody Mary (S$20) that brings vodka back to "the beginning of sambal" with a flavourful house-made salsa that has been repurposed and strained from a tomato and chilli sambal from the kitchen.
The Butcher’s Wife is located at 19 Yong Siak Street, Singapore 168650. For enquiries visit here.
