Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Walk past Il Clay’s riverside pizzeria in Clarke Quay and you’d never guess there’s another restaurant hiding behind its wood-fired oven. Behind Clay has zero external signage and no separate street entrance — you step through Il Clay, past the roaring oven, and suddenly you’re somewhere else entirely.
The room hits you immediately: deep burgundy walls, a mirrored ceiling, zigzag flooring and fringe pendant lamps, lit low enough to feel intimate rather than dim. It’s a sharp tonal shift from the open, waterfront energy of Il Clay just metres away — this is built for slower, unhurried evenings, not walk-in traffic.
The concept itself is the real hook: Chef Ciro Sorrentino, whose Ho Chi Minh City pizzeria Margheri ranks #12 in Asia-Pacific on 50 Top Pizza 2026, teams up with Chef Yip, a Modern Chinese veteran with two decades of experience across Shanghai and Singapore. One brings 48-hour fermented Neapolitan dough; the other brings precise wok hei and regional Asian sauces. Together, they’ve built a sharing menu that leans into genuine flavour contrast rather than gimmicky fusion.
We started with the Spicy Shrimp Carpaccio (S$28) — shrimp with pork lard, sour cream, chilli oil, chives and gremolata oil in a sharp Assam sauce base. A punchy, refreshing opener; my husband, usually not one for “fancy” starters, went back for extra scoops of the sauce with his spoon.
The Mala Shaker Pork Belly (S$20) came next, and this was the dish my family couldn’t stop talking about. Crisp pork belly, charred leeks, pickled vegetables and a proper hit of Sichuan pepper — numbing in the best way, and my son, who usually can’t handle spice, still kept reaching for “just one more piece.” We also tried the Spicy Hae Bee Hiam Calamari (S$22), a distinctly local dried-shrimp-chilli funk paired with tamarind — unexpected next to the Italian influences elsewhere on the menu, but it worked, and the calamari was tender rather than rubbery.
For something heartier, the Fried Quail (S$29) arrived looking almost theatrical — a whole crisp bird as a shareable centrepiece, and I, who always order whatever “looks the most extra,” was thrilled. The Roasted Bone Marrow (S$39), topped with pan-seared foie gras and garlic butter escargot, was equally indulgent — best spread onto warm bread.
The Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs (S$36) were, without question, the standout dish of the night. Ultra-tender, glazed in a deep, sweet char siu sauce, balanced by pickled cabbage and chives — my youngest, who usually picks at his food, cleaned his plate here. If you only order one shared plate all night, make it this one.
On the pizza front, the Butternut Chicken Pizza (S$26/S$39) was an easy family favourite — savoury pumpkin purée and Fior di Latte topped with fragrant chicken curry, parmesan, pork floss and a green peppercorn sauce, a clever way to fold curry into a Neapolitan base without feeling gimmicky. We also tried the Pan-Seared Sea Scallop with Green Olive and Peperonata Purée, which the bar team recommends pairing with two very different cocktails — more on that below — and it held up beautifully to both.
Desserts kept the theatre going. The Flambé Bombe Alaska (S$26) is a proper show dish: layers of meringue and ice-cream cake set alight tableside with flambé rum, and my family made me order it twice just to watch it happen again. The Gelato Cremoso (S$17) — Champagne vanilla gelato, mascarpone and honeycomb candy — was a lighter, refreshing close, while the Burrata Burnt Cheesecake (S$19) delivered a rich, fire-torched finish for anyone still hungry.
The bar programme deserves just as much credit as the kitchen. Breathless (S$24) — gin, mint, citrus and bergamot — is the cleaner, brighter option, while Capo Dei Capi (S$27) leans darker with whisky, amaretto, Mr Black and coffee smoke. Both pair with the scallop dish, and it was interesting tasting the same plate shift character depending on which drink we sipped alongside it. For something playful, order the Giaponne (S$22) which blends Ghost sake, yuzu liqueur and bergamot.
If you’re heading in early, the daily Aperitif Hour (5–6pm) is worth building your evening around — S$10 signature cocktails, house-pour wines, prosecco and mocktails, alongside S$1 oysters, an easy, low-commitment way to sample the bar programme before the full sharing menu.
For a low-key date night, family dinner, or after-work drinks in Clarke Quay, Behind Clay is a genuinely different experience hiding in plain sight — and one we’re already planning to return to.
