New Restaurants in Singapore Opened in 2015.
I’m here to let you in on the hottest New Restaurants in Singapore that sprouted out in 2015 we should be giving thanks for. We’re always looking for something new right?
The team has eaten our way thru quite a few candidates the entire year and here’s our best roundup for the best new Singapore restaurants of 2015.
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16. Japanese Emporium Shohukin
Ootoro sushi.
Premium Chirashi ($26)
Here at the new Japanese Emporium Shohukin, you can find anything Japanese related that you’re dreaming about. Be it groceries, miyazaki beef, sushi joint or even ready-to-go meals, Shohukin is at your service.
Shop for live seafood and groceries, then head over to the ramen joint or Senmi sushi bar if you’re hungry, then stop for some oysters and champagne at Umi+Vino because life is too short to not enjoy it. If you’re feeling a little luxurious, you can take your meal in their fine dining concept, Takujo, but be warned they are still a little rough around the edges.
You can read our full review here.
Emporium Shokuhin: 6 Raffles Boulevard, #01-18 Marina Square, Singapore 039594 | Tel: 6224 3433 | Website
15. Luxe Singapore
Seems like berry ricotta pancakes are here to stay, considering its appearance in many of the new cafes. Luxe Singapore, a new concept hailing all the way from Sydney, is another contender with their version of the berry ricotta pancake. Luxe is complete with white walls that will make your stay oh-so-instagrammable. Unlike the usual industrial-like decor, Luxe’s furniture gives a modern touch, which makes it all the more refreshing.
Luxe is more than just a pretty face really. Apart from its appearance, it serves contemporary Australian cuisine with South East Asian influences, we’re speaking of miso mushrooms, bokchoy, brown rice and smoked egg salad and many more. So head on down with a jolly bunch and indulge.
Luxe Singapore: 1 Keong Saik Road #01-04,Singapore 089109 (The Working Capitol) | Tel: 6221 5615 | Website
14. The Coffee Academics
Panama Estate (Brewing method: Chemex).
Scrambled Eggs with Crayfish on Sourdough ($23).
The newest kid on Scotts Square is famed The Coffee Academics from Hong Kong. Earning a reputation for their artisan coffee and their specially concocted coffee that takes inspiration from different parts of the world for each month of the year. Think ‘Tokyo’, a cup of fresh Fuji apple juice that is topped with iced macchiato and apple slices, resembling a waterfall-like texture to give your very own mini Mount Fuji. While this isn’t available at our coffee joint yet, it is definitely something to look forward to.
Their artisan coffee is certainly outstanding, complete with all the fancy brewing tools like the aeropress, chemex, you name it they’ve got it. The food served isn’t lacking in quality either, the only complain I have is that the serving portion for certain plates are a tad bit too small for their pricing. Other than that, coffee on point.
The Coffee Academics: Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Road, Singapore 228209 | Website
13. The Butchers Club Burger
The Burger ($20).
Another joint hailing from Hong Kong, The Butchers Club Burger is located within The Cannery in Clarke Quay and it serves up pretty damn sick burgers. The Burger, as shown above, is the bad boy of the joint complete with all the cheese burger essentials and a fluffy bun so soft it never gets soggy.
Other burgers included are the Wu Tang Style ($25) with sriracha, kimchi, kewpie mayo and sweet potato tempura, Captain Ahab ($24) with freshly caught Ling fish from New Zealand that puts all fish burgers to shame and a vegeterian What Food Eats ($23) burger. I’m all praise for this burger bar, you can read the full review here.
The Butcher’s Club: The Cannery, Clarke Quay, 3A River Valley Road #01-01B, Singapore 179020 | Tel: +65 6837 0675 | Website
12. Portico Prime
Tochigi Prefecture Wagyu A4 Ribcap ($58/100g).
Think locally sourced and sustainable produce-driven cuisine and you’ve got Portico Prime. Tucked away in the quaint Dempsey Hill, Portico Prime boasts of an industrial yet elegant interior with exceptional cuisine.
Portico Prime is the only restaurant in Singapore to serve lavishly streaked wagyu steaks from the famous Tochigi prefecture in Japan that will promise a melt in your mouth experience. They harvest their own wild flowers for decoration purposes on their dishes and they are sourcing their vegetables from farms in the Lim Chu Kang area. If you’re not moved by this yet, their deconstructed blackforest is reason enough to head on down.
Portico Prime: 10 Dempsey Rd #01-20,Singapore 247700 | Tel: 6474 7427 | Website
11. Dehesa
Cheese selection.
Duck Hearts on Sourdough ($10).
On North Canal Road lies a new extraordinary Spanish joint that defeats all traditions and concocts revolutionary tapas that are bound to excite your palate, and this is none other than Dehesa. Chef Jean-Philippe Patruno has had experiences in St. John Restaurant back in London and is now at Dehesa presenting nose-to-tail butchery that just isn’t like any other.
If you’re looking for paellas, chewy octopus tapas and manchego, exit Dehesa straight away, it isn’t going to satisfy that desire of yours. But if you’re thinking offals, soft, tender octopus tapas and cheese so pungent it puts blue cheese to shame, then Dehesa is exactly what you’re looking.
Dehesa: 12 north canal road, Singapore 048825 | Tel:+65 6221 7790 | Website
10. Uma Uma Restaurant and Bar
Honeymoon ($18).
Chicken Thigh ($2.00/stick
A new izakaya ramenya (ramen and bar) by the Iki Concepts, Uma Uma Restaurant & Bar serves their ever so famous Hakata ramen, The Horse’s Mouth stellar cocktails, kushikatsu and yakitori. An all-in-one, Uma Uma is bound to satisfy any type of hunger or thirst.
Expect to find ramen in savoury and thick broth, crisply fried kushikatsu that complements their in-house tartar sauce and juicy yakitori sticks. Do try their mecabbage (brussels sprouts), it is exceptional. You can opt to perfect your meal with The Horse’s Mouth famed cocktails, which I highly recommend because how else to unwind really.
You can read the full review here.
Uma Uma: 9 Raffles Boulevard, #02-06, Millenia Walk, Singapore 039596 | Tel: 6837 0827 | Website
9. Aloha Poke
At Aloha Poké, you can get your poké (pronounced as ‘poh-kay’, a traditional Hawaiian raw fish salad) on in numerous different ways. Here, you get to choose your own salad size and choose from the traditional yellowfin tuna or salmon to go with it accordingly, giving a salad to call your own.
Salads are no longer boring over here, they are fresh, packed with protein, filling and bursting with flavour. I’m pretty sure you’ll never look at salads the same way again.
You can read the full review here.
Aloha Poké: 92 Amoy Street, Singapore 069911 | Tel: 6221 6165 | Website
8. Open Farm Community
Nori Cured Ocean Trout, Fresh Avocado, Jicama and Lettuce, drizzled with Lime Mayo and Sandwiched Between Squid Ink Brioche.
Open Farm Community is appropriately situtated in the heart of Dempsey, surrounded by lush greenery, providing respite from the bustling urban life. Open Farm Community is a collaboration between Spa Esprit Group and Edible Gardens City, which focuses on maximising the farm-to-table concept.
They aren’t kidding about that, Open Farm Community insists on using herbs grown in their own backyard, bringing only the freshest and most nutritious plates of greens to the table. While they can’t possibly harvest all of their ingredients, they make it a point to locally source the other ingredients as much as possible.
The menu is specially crafted by Tippling Club’s Chef Ryan Clift. Less pretentious, more wholesome, Open Farm Community also has a playground for kids, ant farms, table tennis table and 2 bowling lanes. Sounds like a whole lotta fun.
Open Farm Community: 130 E Minden Road, Singapore 248819 | Tel: +65 6471 0306 | Website
7. Corner House
Kaya Toast Interpretation (part of set menu)
Taking over the spot where Au Jardin used to be, Head Chef Jason Tan showcases his modern French cuisine as the new fine-dining rookie on the block. Enchanting on many fronts in Singapore’s Botanic Gardens, Corner House evokes the romance of a special historical location amongst the green garden.
Corner house is definitely anything but cheap, but you can be sure the food will wow you with French techniques applied with creative Asian touches. And as with usual French fine-dining, small morsels on big plates are to be expected. Inexperience from the service staff shows though, so do be patient. They are afterall, less than a year old.
Corner House: 1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens, E J H Corner House, Singapore 259569 | Website
6. Spago
Sashimi Salad.
We are all familiar with Celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck and his famed CUT by Wolfgang Puck at Marina Bay Sands. Out sprouts Spago, another venture of his and it is residing atop Marina Bay Sands, at Sands SkyPark on level 57.
Spago is split into two sections, one for fine dining and the other being an al fresco bar at the lounge terrace. Spago takes inspiration from Asian cuisine, especially so with our very own local food fare. Spago’s rendition of Kaya Toast ($33) consists of seared foie gras, pandan coconut jam, slow cooked egg yolk atop toasted brioche and Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut Laksa ($42). Mmhm.
Spago by Wolfgang Puck: Sands SkyPark, Tower 2 Level 57 | Tel: +65 6688 9955 | Website
5. La Ventana
Lobster “Coca” ($19.80) – fresh lobster meat on fine puff pastry with eggplant puree and roasted capsicums.
Another gem tucked away in Dempsey Hill, Michelin starred Chef Carles Gaig promises a gastronomic experience. La Ventana serves catalan tapas, fine dining style and it’s bound to pamper your tastebuds so thoroughly you wouldn’t be able to look at Spanish cuisine the same way again.
Just like Restaurant Gaig in Barcelona that was established in 1869, La Ventana is family run, cosy and quaint. Expect traditional tapas with a refined touch and of course bask in the quintessentially Spanish environment.
You can read our full review here.
La Ventana: 16A Dempsey Road, #01-01 Singapore 247695 | Tel: +65 6479 0100 | Website
4. Ginza Kuroson
Foie Gras and Chicken Don ($28).
Ryoshi Gokai Nagekomi Don – aka Chirashi Don ($22).
A new Ginza Kuroson outlet is now in Takashimaya, taking over what was Kinokuniya’s space and surrounded by the Japan Tourism Board and a Japanese cooking school, it’s almost like mini Japan right there. I dropped by for their lunch menu, which was incredibly affordable considering how fresh their ingredients were.
At only $28, you get a piping hot bowl of foie gras and chicken don that is well marinated and rich in flavour, while with $22 will score you a chirashi don that is bound to excite your tastebuds. The abundance of ikura really pleased me, let alone the addition of negitoro. Though there is only a slice of each fish type, it offers a greater variety and that’s the way I like my chirashi.
Each don set comes with an appetiser, miso soup, pickles and dessert. There are a 100 and 1 things to choose from really, from kobe beef to tempura, to seaweed somen and teppanyaki. The service staff and chefs were exceptionally polite as well, adhering to all my needs and making sure my ocha was always refilled. I think I’ve found my new favourite lunch spot.
Ginza Kuroson: Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Rd #03-10 s238873 (Orchard MRT) |Tel: +65 6235 3785 | Website
3. The East Bureau
Thai Basil Pork Gyozas ($12.00)
The food at East Bureau is described at ‘East-meets-East’ using about 99% Asian ingredients and spices for a most authentic taste. The dishes are impressively detailed and well thought out, taking the time and care to use the ‘best of’ from the far reaches of Asia from Japan, to China, to Thailand and beyond.
Both locals and foreigners alike will enjoy the innovation, flavor and taste of East Bureau’s many menu items. It’s the prefect place to gather your friends, colleagues or out of town visitors to sit and enjoy the best tastes from all around Asia under one (mod) roof.
Read our review of The East Bureau here.
The East Bureau: 6 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square #03-03, Singapore 039594 | Tel: 6837 0148 | Website
2. Cure
Irish Moss, Chocolate, Pistachio, Connemara Whisky Jelly ($14)
Ex-Esquina Chef Andrew Walsh has ventured into a new joint on the ever-so-hip stretch on Keong Saik. No more tapas for Walsh, he is busying himself with serving up affordable set menus for tasting. More than just a novelty, Cure’s menu changes every month as it focuses on using seasonal produce, maximising taste and it is an establishment worth every cent of yours.
Savour every last bite, you might never taste the same creation again. On top of each bill, there will also be an addition of $1 donation to Food Fund Singapore, giving the less fortunate a better chance at filling their stomachs. Cure provides an opportunity to wine and dine, do good and enjoy oneself, what else can you ask for?
Cure: 21 Keong Saik Rd, Singapore 089128 | Tel: +65 91814066 | Website
1. Odette
Challans Guinea Fowl served two ways.
Under the guidance of Chef Julien Royer, JAAN rose to greater heights, ranking 11th in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015. He has since moved from JAAN and collaborated with the Lo & Behold group to head their new little baby, Odette.
With a reputation like his, it is no wonder that Odette is the new ‘it’ fine-dining restaurant to be at. Nestled in the new National Gallery Singapore, Chef Julien Royer will continue to get his produce from all the long time farmers that he has been working with, to present only the best and freshest of ingredients combined with his classical French techniques.
Do remember to make reservations way in advance, I’d recommend doing it one month in advance as Odette is really, really popular.
