Here are some of the hottest new restaurant and café openings in Singapore in 2020 to check out…
New cafés and restaurants are popping up all over town right now! If you are keen to keep your finger on the pulse so you can book that girls’ dinner or a night out with your plus one, read on!
New Restaurants & Cafes in Singapore in December
1. Raw Kitchen Bar: Alfresco casual restaurant
New restaurant Raw Kitchen Bar opens where Camp Kilo Charcoal Club used to be. Managed by the same team as Camp Kilo, this restaurant is an ode to the original Raw Kitchen Bar which opened its doors by Bukit Timah fire station back in 2008. Anyone remember that great spot? Now 12 years on, the Raw Kitchen Bar is back and offers some great eats in this alfresco casual space. We popped in recently and dined on the Black Mamba ($25) of prawns in black squid ink rice with kick-ass fermented chilli sambal, spicy raw Salmon Laab ($14), and bomb Brussel Sprouts with tamarind dressing and chilli (thankfully similar enough to our fave dish from Camp Kilo days). There’s lots of veggies and a few vegan items on the menu (hello Vegan Potstickers $12 and Cauliflower Tacos $16) but for the meat inclined try the Balsamic Duck Leg, or the Wagyu Flatiron. Raw Kitchen Bar is open from Thursday to Sunday.
Raw Kitchen Bar, 66 Kampong Bugis, Ground Floor Patio, Singapore 338987, Whats’App: (+65) 98363234, www.rawkitchenbar.com
2. The Whole Kitchen Café: Gluten-free café
The two Aussie mums behind gluten-free wholefood brand The Whole Kitchen have just launched their first bricks and mortar café! The Whole Kitchen Café is tucked off East Coast Rd with minimal seating indoors and a few tables alfresco. Come here for their delicious gluten-free sandwiches and cakes, fresh smoothies and oat milk lattes made with coffee beans from Allpressespresso. There’s something for everyone here – keto, dairy-free, vegan or low-carb plus it’s halal-certified too! Built on the premise of good food made with organic ingredients, no additives and only natural sweeteners of honey or coconut sugar (no refined white sugars or white flours in sight). Signature dishes include the delicious housemade Peanut Butter, Cacao spread and Banana Toastie served with berries and the Mumbai sandwich made with gluten-free bread, cucumber, tomato, chaat masala and onions and served with a side of salad and a delicious tomato chutney.
The Whole Kitchen Café, 1 Ean Kiam Place entrance off 11 East Coast Rd, #01-16, Singapore 428722, www.thewholekitchen.com.sg
3. Menbaka Fire Ramen from Kyoto
The famed Menbaka Fire Ramen from Kyoto has opened up shop at Cathay Cineleisure. Get your cameras ready for one IG-worthy theatricially made dish! Forget wok-hei these guys (a father and son duo) literally set your ramen bowl on fire when the chef ignites the negi oil and pours it over the broth. The Shoyu Fire Ramen ($17.90), uses the same shoyu as the one in Kyoto, imported from a 220-year-old shoyu factory from Hyogo prefecture. Or go for the healthy Vegetarian Fire Ramen or deep flavoured Tonkotsu Fire Ramen. Just watch your eye brows…
Menbaka Fire Ramen, #05-03, Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, 8 Grange Road, Singapore 239695, www.facebook.com/menbakasg
4. Canopy HortPark
You may know the Canopy brand from their Canopy Bishan Park outlet. This time they are bringing their all-day dining to one of our fave green parks Hort Park. Canopy Hort Park is a beaut (just check out our lead image) with wicker chairs and lots of green hanging plants in their alfresco space (which makes it great for furkids too). They are open from 8am so pop in for that coffee when you are taking the kids to explore the playgrounds or Nature Play Garden. They also do brunch, pastas, burgers, pizzas, and other mains.
Canopy HortPark, #01-01, 33 Hyderabad Road HortPark, Singapore 119578, Tel: (+65) 6556 1533, www.canopygardendining.com
5. Kotuwa: Sri Lankan cuisine by Chef Rishi
Fans of Chef Rishi Naleendra of Cheek Bistro and Cloudstreet can look forward to visiting his latest restaurant, which celebrates Sri Lankan cuisine with influences from South India, Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond. Kotuwa at Wanderlust Hotel serves all the Sri Lankan staples from Hoppers, crispy-edged bowl-shaped pancakes made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk, served plain ($4++) or with egg ($6++) to Kottu Roti, crisp and airy godhamba roti that is chopped and served with a choice of chicken ($22++) or baby jackfruit ($18++). Look out for black pork curry, Chicken Kottu ($22), and the Sri Lankan Crab Curry (market price) made with Sri Lankan mud crab cooked with cumin, fenugreek, coriander, cinnamon using a unique recipe passed down from Chef Rishi’s mother. The cocktail programme is super fun too and showcases creative concoctions that take inspiration from Sri Lanka’s famous railway trains.
Kotuwa, Wanderlust Hotel, 2 Dickson Road, Singapore 209494, www.kotuwa.com.sg
6. Gemma Steakhouse: Steak with views
Gemma by Beppe De Vito is a new Italian steakhouse on top of the National Gallery reopening on 23 December. Wow guests with large-format bistecca Fiorentina to prime meats sourced from around the world. There’s Te Mana Lamb Rack ($78) and A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef Sirloin ($118) from Japan all exclusively sourced and dry-aged for Gemma Steakhouse. The view from this rooftop restaurant features sweeping panoramas of Singapore’s stunning skyline from the flyer across to MBS and the financial centre with the lush green carpet of the Padang at your feet.
Gemma Steakhouse, 1 St Andrew’s Road, #05-03, National Gallery, Singapore 178957, (+65) 87870977, www.gemmasteakhouse.sg
7. Picanhas’: Halal steakhouse
Picanhas’ on Club Street is a new halal steakhouse offering two signature bowls. The Queen of Steaks ($21) sees 200g of steak with charcoal butter, while The Picanha Don ($16) features picanha steak (a cut of beef from the rump popularised in Brazil) on butterfly pea rice, caramelised onions, pickled red cabbage and an onsen egg.
Picanhas’, 90 Club Street, Singapore 069458, www.picanhassg.com
8. Niigata: New Japanese Donburi
Located at the newly opened Canberra Plaza, Niigata is a brand new Japanese concept bringing you restaurant-quality Donburi cooked up by former fine-dining chef Daniel Lim. Niigata is all about premium produce at rock bottom prices so you can expect a bowl of goodness from as low as $7.80++. You can Build-Your-Donburi from a choice of meat, rice and two nutritious sides or just grab one of their 12 Donburi creations from The Trouble Maker of pork, seasoned rice, stewed pumpkin and broccoli to bowls with Torched Mentaiko Salmon, or Teriyaki Chicken.
Niigata, 133 Canberra View, Canberra Plaza, #01-07, Singapore 750133, www.facebook.com/niigatabento
9. 1-ATICO: Rooftop dining
1-ATICO is the newest rooftop bar and restaurant to open in Singapore! This spot (by the 1-GROUP peeps) is right up there 56 storeys above ION Orchard with unrivalled views across the city. There are three concepts under one roof at 1-Atico (Spanish for “Penthouse”): FIRE, FLNT and 1-Atico Ultra-Lounge (opening in 2021). FIRE is where you’ll find authentic Argentinian wood-fired Asado dining, while at FLNT, look forward to a Japanese-Peruvian sumiyaki bar experience.
1-ATICO, 2 Orchard Turn, Level 56, Singapore 238801 [email protected], www.1-atico.sg
Read more: 21 Rooftop Bars and Restaurants in Singapore with the Best Views
10. Socieaty
Love going out but hate deciding on one restaurant? Les Amis Group has brought all its dining concepts under one roof at the new multi-concept restaurant, Socieaty. So if the kids fancy pizza from Peperoni Pizzeria, while mama wants pho from NamNam and Dad could just murder a tendon bowl from Tenjin, well, there’s no need to argue! Other Les Amis brands here included Lemak Boys for Asian fare, and Sushi Jin for Japanese and Tarte by Cheryl Koh for desserts.
Socieaty, #01-01A, One Farrer Hotel, 1 Farrer Park Station Road, Singapore 217562, www.socieaty.net
11. Masaaki: New Omakase Concept
Masaaki Sakashita, previously of Ishi and Hashida Sushi, is at the helm of new omakase sushi restaurant Masaaki. Chef-owner Masaaki Sakashita infuses traditional cooking techniques with a creative flair for his omakase menus. There’s an open kitchen to watch chef fire up live crabs over the charcoal hearth or sit at the counter to get front row seats on the action. Omakase menus use premium Japanese ingredients – lunch ranges from $120++ for seven courses to $250++ for a nine-course omakase and sushi meal. Dinner menus range from $280++ to $380++.
Masaaki, B1-17, South Beach, 26 Beach Road, Singapore 189768, www.sushimasaaki.com
New Menus at Restaurants & other Foodie News:
- SIRI HOUSE has a new lunch menu and new space. We always love walking into SIRI HOUSE from jungle to sophisticated resto. They’ve changed things up a bit with a new extended dining area (and private room). The new lunch menu features Modern Asian small plates, and mains with highlights being the housemade Bao buns stuffed with 2-hour braised pork belly cha shu, horseradish sriracha, shredded cabbage and green mango (or try their soft shell crab if they are available) or for something light don’t miss the pan-seared snapper with Thunder tea broth ($27) or the out-of-this-world Unagi Risotto ($32). They also do a super set lunch from $25, great cocktails as well as non-alcoholic cold-brewed flavoured iced teas and fruit sodas. Highly recommended!
- Chef Martí Carlos Martínez at Restaurant Gaig is taking Catalan cuisine to new heights with his new menu. Made from traditional Catalan recipes, the new dishes feature the element of ‘mar i muntanya’ (sea and mountain), successfully pairing fresh seafood and produce from the region’s fields and mountains. Highlights include the traditional cannelloni that’s slathered in a rich truffle cream sauce, the duck foie gras terrine with anchovies and hazelnut sable and – our personal favourite – the salmorejo soup with burrata cheese and jamón ice-cream.
- Luke’s Lobster is opening a second outlet soon at Jewel, Changi.
- Summerlong, at Robertson Quay closes business on Sunday, 10 January 2021 after four years at The Quayside.
- Neon Pigeon 2.0 is back with a bigger space – find them at 36 Carpenter Street, #01-01, Singapore 059915.
Read more: Ultimate Guide to Dim Sum in Singapore
More New Restaurants (click on each image for deets):
