
With over 100 restaurants taking part in one of the most exciting food events of the year, our stomachs couldn’t be more ready this March
Undisputedly one of the buzziest times of the year for fine dining foodies, Singapore Restaurant Week 2016 is bound to make a splash once more from 19 March to 26 March – and we aren’t exaggerating! The gastronomy-focused week will be making waves this year with a theme titled “Feasts of the Ocean”, so you can expect Singapore’s top restaurants to whip up set menus laden with seafood treats and other marine marvels. Go fish? Yes please.
Back for its 12th edition, Singapore Restaurant Week has always helped diners decide where to go for fancy nosh…at affordable prices, no less. Long Chim at Marina Bay Sands always been a bit out of your budget? Now’s your chance to savour it. Always wanted to pamper your loved one at Stellar at 1-Altitude? Pamper away. Singapore Restaurant Week is like a goldmine of gold-class food, with over 100 restaurants taking part in this global pursuit for culinary excellence. We pick 10 restaurants – both old and new – that certainly worth every shred of your attentions and appetites.

1) Alati
Close your eyes, and you’ll almost feel a cool Mediterranean sea breeze waft through the rustic blue and white interior of this very Greek taverna. ALATI, helmed by General Manager Leong Khai Git and Athens-born Executive Chef Soutsos Dimitrios, makes use of fresh produce wild-caught by the fishermen of the Aegean Sea. We tried snooping around, but it turns out that Alati’s having a secret three-course menu which you’ll only find out if you reserve a seat there this Restaurant Week – but we can promise you it’ll be a feast even the Greek Gods will approve.
ALATI, 73 Amoy Street, Singapore 069892. p. 6221 6124. Open Mon-Fri 12pm-2pm, 6pm-10pm, Sat 6pm-10pm. Closed on Sun.

2) Osteria Art
Brought to you by restaurateur extraordinaire Beppe De Vito (the man behind familiar names like &SONS, il Lido, and Southbridge), this posh place imports Italian culinary traditions from Milan, Rome and Florence. Its dinner menu is, indeed, a work of art, with a decadent four-course journey of scallop carpaccio, crab ravioli with lobster bisque, Atlantic cod with sea urchin zabaglione, and amalfi lemon and white chocolate lingotto. We told you it’d be one masterpiece of a menu!
Osteria Art, #01-01, 55 Market Street, Singapore 048941, p. 6877 6933. Open Mon-Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-10:30pm, Sat 6pm-10:30pm.

3) UNA
Tucked within one of our fave food enclaves in the city, UNA has become one of the cornerstones of Rochester Park that allures diners with its robust menu filled with flavourful Spanish tapas, paellas and parilla (grill). Naturally, it’s expected to see huge draws again for Singapore Restaurant Week, especially with highlights like its seared scallop with corn puree, Spanish potato soup with bacon and saffron, and ox cheek with pomme puree. It even comes with churros served with bitter chocolate and milk honey ice cream – and y’know we’re absolute suckers for churros.
UNA, 1 Rochester Park, Singapore 139212, p. 6773 0070/6773 0060. Open Mon-Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 12pm-2pm & 6pm-11pm; Sat 6pm-11pm. Closed on Sun.

4) Aura
Located on the fifth floor of the new National Gallery, the 90-seater flaunts an ambience that captures the art of chic Italian cuisine. If you’re lucky enough to snap up a seat here – you usually have to book weeks in advance – you’ll get to relish dishes like casarecci pasta with black cod and asparagus, Adriatic seabass with artichokes and saffron sauce, and mandarin orange and chocolate zuccoto. All of this, while taking in a top-notch view of The Padang and the SG skyline.
Aura, 1 St. Andrews Road, #05-03 and #06-02 National Gallery Singapore, Singapore 178957, p. 6866 1977. Open daily 12pm-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm.

5) Portico Prime
At the end of 2015, Portico Prime took over from steakhouse, Prime Society, in Dempsey Hill, taking on both a fresh new look and an impressive new menu. On ambience, the surrounding lush greenery and the low-rise colonial buildings gives Portico Prime a very laid-back feel, compared to the hustle and bustle of downtown Singapore. The building itself is an army barrack conversion, and its high ceiling and exposed brickwork give the restaurant a casual yet sleek vibe. Although its Restaurant Week menu is a guarded secret as well, we’re not doubting the gastronomical quality one, bit having tried specialties like pan-seared barramundi, wagyu beef, and deconstructed black forest pudding.
Portico Prime, #01-20, 10 Dempsey Road, Singapore 247700, p. 6474 7427. Open weekdays 11.30am-3pm and 6pm-10.30pm, weekends 11.30am-3pm and 6pm-11.30pm, closed Mon.

6) Adrift By David Myers
Inspired by the award-winning chef’s travel experiences from all across the globe, Adrift pays homage to the colourful mish-mash of food cultures from both sides of the Pacific. For Singapore Restaurant Week, Chef David teases palates with three-course lunches and dinners. Lunch serves starters like green garlic soup with yakitori chicken and juniper berry, and mains like green peppercorn braised wagyu beef and Bincho grilled spring chicken. While dinner whips up dishes such as raw big eye tuna, California-style seafood stew, and strawberry-rhubarb napoleon. Have a bite and, simply, drift away.
Adrift, Marina Bay Sands, Hotel Lobby Tower 2, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956, p. 6688 5657. Open daily 5:30pm-late. Lunch service will commence March 2015.

7) Mitzo
Forget about traditional Chinese plates; Mitzo – one of our best restos in SG – takes a contemporary approach to crafting Cantonese cuisine. Most of the dishes make great for communal dining, so it’s perfect for both romantic dates and big family feasting. We highly recommend its Feast of the Ocean dinner menu for Restaurant Week: double-boiled abalone soup with morel mushroom and chicken, golden fried soft shell crab with curry floss, black truffle lobster udon, and topped off with a chilled bird’s nest with osmanthus jelly.
Mitzo, 4/F Grand Park Orchard, 270 Orchard Road, Singapore 238857, p. 6603 8855. Open daily 12pm-1am.

8) Bebek Tepi Sawah
If you, like us, consider Bali your second home, then you’re probably familiar with this popular Indonesian restaurant chain that’s famous for its crispy deep-fried duck, amongst other authentic Balinese dishes like ayam betutu tepi sawah (a stuffy spiced chicken), and tahu berontak (stuffed tofu). This is certainly a refreshing change of scenery if you’re looking for a Restaurant Week seating that swaps glitz and ritz for a more homely, kampung ambience.
Bebek Tepi Sawah, #02-01 CHIJMES, p. 6336 1015. Open daily 12pm-10pm.

9) IKYU
Helmed by Executive Chef Takuma Seki (formerly the chef-de Cuisine of Hide Yamamoto at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands), this Tiong Bahru establishment harbours a philosophy that yearns to bring both simplicity and complexity to one’s jaws. Your jaws, however, will drop once you come across the staggering choices of its Restaurant Week menu. Craving for robata charcoal-grilled hamachi kama or butter fish, or wanna settle your sashimi fix with a bara chirashi? Or what about a full-on sushi set that’s absolutely oishii? Told ya you’ll be spoilt for choice.
IKYU, 5 Yong Saik Street, Singapore 168643, p. 6223 9003. Open Tue-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm.

10) The Clifford Pier
Set in an iconic heritage space, The Clifford Pier by Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore provides a nostalgic atmosphere to enjoy local hawker delicacies – but of course, you don’t possibly expect this to be any ordinary grub, do you? For Restaurant Week, be tantalised with uni glass noodles served with sea urchin, salted egg, and salmon roe in lime truffle sauce; or claypot Nonya red snapper curry with crispy beancurd skin and okra served with steamed jasmine rice. It’s also hard to beat the sterling view you’re gonna get here.
The Clifford Pier, 80 Collyer Quay, Singapore 049326, p. 6597 5266. Open daily 12pm-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10pm.
Singapore Restaurant Week 2016, 19-26 March. All participating restaurants will offer exclusive three-course menus for both lunch and dinner priced at $28++ and $38++ respectively. While Dining City Star-Awarded restaurants will offer their set menus at $40++ for lunch and $58++ for dinner. All bookings can be made from 29 February at the official website.