Let us be real, if you have scrolled through Instagram or walked past Jewel Changi, chances are you have felt it: a quiet exhale from Singapore’s once-buzzing dining scene. In just the past year alone, we have seen the who’s who of restaurant royalty bow out. La Dame de Pic, that Michelin-starred French fantasy? Tippling Club, a bastion of boundary-pushing cocktails and cuisine? Even big-name crowd-pleasers like Spinelli and Eggslut were not spared. In the past year, Singapore’s F&B scene has weathered a reckoning: Michelin-starred closures, legacy brand exits, and mass-market retreat—all serving hard truths about thriving in a saturated market.
As widely reported, on the ripple effects are surfacing on the balance sheets. Singapore-listed Japan Foods, the group behind Ajisen Ramen and New ManLee Bak Kut Teh, issued a financial notice in May 2025, citing a “substantial net loss” for the fiscal year. Market saturation, rising costs, outlet closures—the hits keep coming. Amid the attrition, something quietly remarkable is happening: some are continuously refining their concepts, investing in craft and reminding us what great dining really feels like. These are the places that make a compelling case for spending better, not just more.
Here are three that still make me want to dress up, book early, and open my purse strings—without a second thought.
Torno Subito: The Return of Alta Marea
Chef Massimo Bottura’s whimsical Italian seaside dream Torno Subito has never been one for quiet reinvention. The return of Alta Marea, its signature quarterly brunch (1 June, 12–3pm), is a confident rebuttal to the idea that brunches are passé. This menu? It sings.
Start with a trio of punchy appetisers: smoked hamachi with marinated peach, a zesty octopus salad, and a stone-baked Marinara pizza that’s deceptively simple. Mains impress with tiger prawns, clams, and paccheri, or a grilled tuna loin topped with verdant salsa verde. Dessert is a charming, sun-drenched wink to a Sicilian breakfast—light but indulgent.
Add the $100++ beverage package, with endless pours of NV Ferrari bubbles, Friulian Pinot Grigio, Matteo Braidot Merlot, and Aperol Spritz, and it’s clear: this isn’t brunch, it’s escapism.
Firebird: A Ritual of Restraint and Smoke
Chef Suetomi’s Firebird is the kind of omakase that doesn’t scream for attention—it smoulders. Set within the new Mondrian Duxton, in partnership with Ebb & Flow group this intimate, wood-fired experience is part love letter to tori (chicken), part meditative masterclass in precision.
Every course is built around Japanese technique but elevated by years of thoughtful restraint. Expect fire-kissed flesh, silent pauses between bites, and an atmosphere charged with purpose. It’s the sort of dining that doesn’t just serve food—it creates memory. This is not your usual yakitori. It’s a slow burn that stays with you.
Syun: Where Shin-Washoku Feels Like Home
In a market filled with slick reinventions, Syun is a rare example of evolution with heart. Here, Shin-Washoku—“New Japanese Cuisine”—bridges the reverence of tradition with the polish of modernity. The result is not just food, but a feeling.
Their Premium Kaiseki Bento, at a great value price point of $118 ++, is the kind of midday indulgence that feels both comforting and luxurious: A5 Ohmi Wagyu with uni and caviar, delicate sashimi and sushi, charcoal-grilled Kagoshima beef, and an ending of seasonal Japanese fruit that reminds you: sometimes, sophisticated simplicity is luxury.
And of course, there’s that warm, precise hospitality known as omotenashi—a gentle, almost invisible form of service that whispers: you’re taken care of, even as you walk through the magnificent halls of Sentosa’s largest integrated resort.
Indeed, there has been an increased trend of high-profile restaurant closures. There’s no denying that the economics are brutal, in the face of a post-pandemic world, as some opt to spend their dollar on travel and wellness. But these three remind us what happens when resilience meets creativity: dining that transcends mere sustenance. If we’re going to spend, let’s spend like it matters. On the chefs who still dare. On the teams who still care. And on the restaurants that, through it all, are still burning bright.
Image credit: Torno Subito (Silverspoon Communications)
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