Our Raffles City food guide proves this is no ordinary mall – it’s a collection of some of the coolest restaurants, cafes, and brands in Singapore.
Our Raffles City guide proves this mall isn’t like the others. We know – some shopping malls in Singapore can be so boring. They’re almost all carbon copies, with a Starbucks, Watsons, supermarket, and food court predictably in the mix of stores. But if there’s any mall that’s out here to change our minds, it would be Raffles City. It proves itself as the cool kid with an impressive variety of restaurants for the foodie and hot brands for the shopaholic. Don’t believe us? Just check out what it has to offer in this guide.
Raffles City food guide: Eat & drink
1. Casa Vostra
If Raffles City used to be your haunt like it was for us, you’ll vividly remember the McDonald’s that used to take up a chunky bit of space right next to the MRT exit. It’s now been taken over by Casa Vostra, an Italian restaurant that started as a home delivery service. Opened by Antonio Miscellaneo (who owns La Bottega Enoteca), you can get his award-winning pizzas in Singapore at affordable prices alongside classic pasta dishes.
We find the pizzas to be an absolute steal here — get one for as low as $15! We adore the crisp and chewy crusts smothered with flavourful sauces. Toppings range from the classic margherita to the luscious tartufo e funghi with black truffle and truffle oil. Be warned: the queues have been never-ending, and it might take a hot minute before you can get a seat. We’d say come during off-peak hours to dine here. While everything we had was pretty delicious, we wouldn’t wait an hour for it.
Must-tries: Diavola & tartufo e funghi pizzas; agnolotti del plin
Price: Pastas from $15; pizzas from $15; drinks from $4
Opening hours: Daily, 11.30am to 10pm
Address: Casa Vostra, #01-49/50/51, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
2. Movida
If you’re in the mood for tapas and wine, we know a place. Movida Original, Australia’s best-known Spanish restaurant, has opened its first standalone outlet in Singapore. Gather your friends for delectable sharing plates of cult classics with modern twists. We’re big fans of the Singapore-exclusive appetisers like the Abalon, a grilled abalone, which was delightfully smokey and had a firm and slightly chewy texture. The paella de senorito bursts with seafoody goodness and is generously packed with calamari, barramundi, and smoked prawns. During our visit, the paella was a little on the mushy side. But we’d be more than happy to return to try it again.
Must-tries: Abalon; croqueta; paella de senorito
Price: Mains from $17
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm to 10pm
Address: Movida, #03-43, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
3. Mensho Tokyo
This award-winning ramen restaurant boasts several outlets worldwide, including a Michelin-recognised San Francisco outlet! The space in Raffles City marks Mensho Tokyo’s first-ever location in Singapore, and it’s also the first outpost to include desserts. Besides the Singapore-exclusive chilli crab ramen, you can try other top sellers. The duck matcha ramen is for anyone with an adventurous palate, featuring a creamy chicken matcha broth and duck chashu. It leans on the umami flavour in the matcha, unique but not a flavour for everyone. We’d stick to the signature toripaitan with luxurious toppings like wagyu chashu and truffle oil.
Must-tries: Chilli crab ramen; duck matcha ramen; garlic knock-out; vegan tantanmen
Price: Starts from $12
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Address: Mensho Tokyo, #03-43, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
4. PS.Cafe
Whenever we get a hankering for truffle fries and cake, we make a beeline to PS.Cafe. It’s our tried and tested spot, reliable for a post-shopping lunch fix. The space is grand, transporting you into a whole other world with its striped awnings and gorgeous cafe decor. Turn your eyes to the Raffles City exclusive buttermilk fried chicken and red pesto rigatoni when you visit! The pasta is perfectly al dente while the chicken is fried to utter perfection. We also can’t leave without getting the classic sticky date pudding. The cake is uber soft, served with ice cream and a generous pool of toffee sauce that we dream of after every visit.
Must-tries: Buttermilk fried chicken; red pesto rigatoni
Price: Dishes from $12; weekend brunch menu from $12; drinks from $6
Opening hours: Daily, 10am to 10pm
Address: PS.Cafe, #03-37, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
5. Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu
We’ll never turn down a good steak, so when it comes to this gyukatsu specialty restaurant, we’re running, not walking, to this spot in Raffles City. Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu (Singapore’s first outlet) offers authentic Japanese beef cutlets fried to crispy and medium rare perfection. You can pick from cuts like wagyu, sirloin, and even tongue! For our non-beef-eating friends, have no fear; you can still enjoy a meal with seafood katsu or yasai tempura zen.
We love that our meat stays warm on the little hot stone provided. And the refillable tea was perfect to soothe our palates from the oily feeling afterwards. We love the intense marbling and rich flavours of the beef. Perfect for steak lovers!
Must-tries: Chuck tail flap, tenderloin
Price: Enquire for price
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
Address: Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu, B1-63/64, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
6. Milkfish
Despite its name, this fish soup spot doesn’t add any milk to its broth. Milkfish is named after the milk fish, known for its tender and sweet flesh. The broth here combines milk fish and Ao Broth, a homegrown collagen soup brand, and is free from MSG, preservatives, and milk. After stewing down the fish’s belly fat, pork bones, and chicken, the resulting soup is creamy, delicate, and sweet. We admit, the price is a little high for fish soup in Singapore. But there’s just something about that melt-in-your-mouth fattiness of the fish that has us coming back for more every time. We’d say it’s worth a try at least once.
Must-tries: Signature broth bowl
Price: From $27.90 for signature broth set
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11am to 9pm; Friday to Saturday, 11am to 9.30pm
Address: Milkfish, B1-44F, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
7. Surrey Hills Grocer
Spirit yourself away to Australia when you wine and dine at our beloved Australian-inspired cafe, Surrey Hills Grocer. For us, it’s our pick for intimate family gatherings or a dinner with friends to catch up on the latest happenings in your lives. The outlet-exclusive Big Breakfast is available all day, and we love soaking up the creamy mushroom ragout with the toasted croissant.
For dinner, we’d go for the pistachio pesto udon. It’s one of the most heartily seasoned pesto sauces we’ve had, and a welcome variation from all the carbonara udons we’ve tried at other cafes. The portion is huge, so we’d recommend sharing this along with a side dish if you’re here on a date.
Must try: Pistachio pesto udon; steak frites
Price: Mains range from $20 to $30
Opening hours: Daily, 10am to 10pm
Address: Surrey Hills Grocer, #03-42, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
8. Vivino
If you’re like us and need help figuring out what wines to buy, you would’ve heard of Vivino. We love the app because one scan of a wine label gives you all the information you need about a bottle of vino, from the taste to the rating. And we’re very proud to say Singapore is now home to Vivino’s first-ever flagship store! Besides offering over 100 wine labels with excellent ratings, you can also shop for global best sellers and try wines by the glass at the Vivino Wine Bar.
Must try: Tapas with suggested wine pairing
Price: Food from $12; wine prices vary
Opening hours: Daily, 10am to 10pm
Address: Vivino, #01-44B, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
9. Tenjin
Perfectly fried and crispy tempura is a true guilty pleasure of ours. So if we’re ever going to break our diet, we figure we might as well go to the best. Opened by the Les Amis Group (the same people behind Michelin-starred Les Amis), the restaurant offers delightful tendons topped with a variety of ingredients. The classic tendons with rice are a hot favourite in our group, but we can never resist the soba and udon sets. Both come with expertly fried tempura veggies and seafood, which are crisp while still retaining their natural flavours.
Must-tries: Inaniwa set
Price: Tendon sets from $13.80; drinks from $3.50
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm & 5.30pm to 8.30pm; Saturday to Sunday, 11am to 8.30pm
Address: Tenjin, B1-46, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
10. Tiong Bahru Bakery Diner
If you devour the bakes from Tiong Bahru Bakery, then we bet you’ll love its hot food menu! Its Raffles City outlet is one of the few locations that serve up hot brunch options in Singapore, alongside its regular rotation of croissants and sandwiches. You can’t go wrong with the big breakfast, which comes with all the fixings. But we’d recommend the pulled pork risoni if you’re looking to try something different. It’s orzo with pulled pork, boasting a creamy risotto-like texture which we enjoyed. We also liked the soldier stack, which is an elevated version of a Singapore breakfast, toast and soft boiled eggs. It’s warm, hearty, and not too filling so it makes a great tea-time snack.
Must-tries: Pulled pork risoni; soldier stack
Price: Hot food menu from $8; bakes from $4.20
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 10pm; Saturday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm
Address: Tiong Bahru Bakery Diner, B1-11, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
11. Tai Cheong Bakery
Famous egg tarts, here we come! Inspired by old Hong Kong classics, this bakery has years of history behind it. As the pioneer of the cookie crust for egg tarts, Tai Cheong Bakery is one we flock to for Hong Kong favourites like bolo buns, creamy egg tarts, and chiffon cakes. After you try the treats at its to-go store in Raffles City, we suggest paying a visit to its cha chaan tang in Holland Village in Singapore for a unique dine-in menu experience.
Must-tries: Bolo buns; egg tarts; Hong Kong-style chiffon cake
Price: From $3
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, 10am to 9pm; Friday to Saturday, 10am to 9.30pm; Sunday, 10.30am to 9pm
Address: Tai Cheong Bakery, B1-58, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
12. Chagee
Bubble tea lovers know that when it comes to the beverage, no one does it like Chagee. This brand originates from China and brings with it innovative and healthy teas made with high quality ingredients. If it’s your first time getting Chagee, we recommend the osmanthus oolong milk tea and the da hong pao snow cap milk tea topped with white peach fresh cream and freeze-dried fig bits. We order it every time we pass by a Chagee outlet.
Must-tries: Da hong pao snow cap milk tea; osmanthus oolong milk tea
Price: From $4.90
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 10pm; Saturday, 9am to 10pm; Sunday, 10am to 10pm
Address: Chagee, #01-15, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
Raffles City guide: Cool stores to shop
13. Blue Bottle Coffee
Coffee fans will be thrilled to find out that Blue Bottle Coffee has finally entered Singapore! While you’re out and about shopping for new clothes, pop by the brand’s gift shop to pick up coffee accessories, craft matcha, or craft instant espresso. The line can get a little long for a cup of coffee, so we recommend coming extra early. The espresso has a clean flavour, and gives us that much-needed jolt of caffeine. There are some seats available and pastries you can get with your coffee, too, but we enjoy the quick takeaway option before we head to the office.
Must-tries: Blue Bottle latte
Price: Drinks from $6.50
Opening hours: Daily, 8am to 8pm
Address: Blue Bottle Coffee, #01-01, located within Lumine, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
14. Ginlee
Founded by two designers with vastly different disciplines (a fashion design wife and an industrial design husband), homegrown brand Ginlee is known for creating wearable pieces of art. Drawing inspiration from nature, dresses here are created to flatter the everyday woman. We adore its collection of uniquely pleated apparel – you can spot a Ginlee piece from a mile away!
Price: Fashion pieces from $58
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 9.30pm
Address: Ginlee, #02-08, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
15. & Other Stories
With ateliers in Paris, Stockholm, and Los Angeles, the fashionable pieces in & Other Stories are a dream. Meticulously crafted with high quality materials, the cult Swedish brand is known for its modern apparel. From dresses to shoes and jewellery, each collection comes with its very own story and intention. To quote & Other Stories, it’s for the “fashion-loving women who don’t go unnoticed”. We find the silhouettes in the store incredibly unique, clean-cut and for the sophisticated woman out there.
Price: From $69
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Address: & Other Stories, #01-02/02A, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
16. Lumine
Beloved Japanese lifestyle brand Lumine has moved from its original Clarke Quay location and brings some of the hottest collections with it to Raffles City. The global flagship store boasts a number of renowned brands including Beams, United Arrows, Tomorrowland and more. We spent a good hour just browsing the options available. Who says you need to go to Japan to snag yourself fashionable Japanese outfits?
Price: Varies with each brand
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Address: Lumine, #01-01, Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
If this doesn’t prove Raffles City is cool, we don’t know what will.
