7 new restaurants and bars in Singapore to check out, from Nobu to Osteria Mozza
- The lifting of most of Singapore’s Covid-related restrictions makes travel to the Lion City appealing – not least to check out the new food and drink additions
- From a world-class French restaurant to Japanese fine dining to the city’s first gin distillery, here are seven of the very best new openings for you to try
Whether for business or pleasure, there’s an inevitable question that everyone asks when travelling to Singapore: where are we going to eat first?
A hawker centre is the answer for most. Coming straight off the plane you immerse yourself in a steamy, fragrant maze of stalls and jostle for space as you enjoy great food such as char kway teow or nasi lemak.
While that rightly still rings true, it pays to draw up a schedule for some fine dining and drinking. In post-pandemic Singapore, people who aren’t spending on travel are dining out in style, and international travellers are back in significant numbers – which means top tables are more sought after than ever. Here are seven new places to try, in no particular order.
1. Claudine
At this neighbourhood French restaurant in a 1930s chapel in the verdant restaurant enclave of Dempsey Hill, executive chef Julien Mercier and chef de cuisine Loïc Portalier craft flawless renditions of classics from their homeland.
The restaurant is known for its signature dishes, notably bouillabaisse – the famed fish stew from Marseilles. Carabinero prawns are served alongside John Dory, mussels, scallops, razor clams and more. Croutons are soaked in a saffron-infused rouille to finish the dish.
We started with a simple salad of herring, potato and frisée (a chicory-like leaf) dressed in a punchy shallot and mustard vinaigrette. Then we enjoyed another classic, steak tartare – prepared tableside for culinary theatre – accompanied by possibly the best frites in Singapore.
