Like clockwork, Singapore Restaurant Week is back again, with the Spring 2024 edition scheduled to run from 5 to 28 April.
Yes, I know, that’s technically three weeks, but it’s been a while since they’ve kept it to just one. Calling it Singapore Restaurant Month would be more appropriate, but I guess the original branding has stuck.
The Wife is on their mailing list, and after receiving the notification email and doing a quick scan of what was on offer, a couple of French restaurants caught her eye.
Our usual selection process is quite rigorous and time consuming, but this time, I suggested a simpler approach.
Why not stick with just one type of cuisine, and choose from there? And since she already had her eye on some French food, it seemed like as good a place to start as any.
Using the SRW website’s filtering functionality, and applying European > French to the Cuisines category, 18 candidates surfaced.
They all served French dishes (bien sûr), but the price points of their menus differed wildly. From S$28++ for a simple three course lunch at Joséphine, to S$168++ for an extravagant seven course dinner at Riviera.
After whittling down the various options, we settled on six restaurants for our shortlist.
1. Loulou – French Cuisine & Wine Bar
I’m a sucker for pretty plates, and the featured image of Loulou’s deconstructed lemon & meringue pie drew my attention immediately. I was mesmerised by the bright colours and deliberately haphazard placement of each component.
They say that we eat with our eyes first, and they would be absolutely right. Of course, it didn’t hurt that their menu included gems like grilled whole rainbow trout and French bouillabaisse.
Making a reservation at the whimsically-named Loulou is pretty much a certainty. The only question left is whether we end up going there for lunch or dinner.
2. APERO
This cosy-looking bistro along Circular Road is offering a value for money three course lunch set featuring classic dishes like sauteed clams in white wine, seared sole fish with caper butter and the ever popular crème brûlée.
It seems to be newly opened and barely six months old, but already has extremely high Google ratings. 63 reviews and counting, averaging 4.9 ⭐/ 5.0, with numerous comments raving about both the food quality and good service.
3. Joséphine – French Cuisine & Wine Bar
We’ve actually walked past Joséphine with a friend before, and I recall him sharing that it was a popular lunch spot with his female colleagues. The S$28++ lunch set offers three solid choices each for both starters and mains, and I can see why it’s managed to draw in the office lady crowd.
A dinner reservation there might be more prudent, given their high lunch traffic and limited seating. Even though it’s double the price at S$58++, the menu includes pan-seared foie gras and confit de canard, two of my favourite French dishes.
4. Atout
My initial instinct was to drop Atout from our shortlist, because it was hard to access the chichi Dempsey Hill enclave without a car. But then The Wife pointed out that it was just a two minute walk from the nearest bus stop.
Only then did I take a serious look at the menu, which was essentially a large steak frites for two people, made with fancy beef (200 day grain-fed Stockyard Angus, by the way).
Hats off to the chef for having the courage to feature such a simple yet classic dish, and the confidence to pull it off well.
5. Gunther’s Modern French Cuisine
Gunther’s is practically an institution in Singapore, having operated out of its original Purvis Street location for almost two decades now. All the meals we’ve had there have been great, but it’s been a long time since we last ate there.
The S$148++ dinner set is a bit too rich for our wallet, though I have no doubt that it would be très délicieux. Especially the cold angel hair pasta with Oscietra caviar, which has been on their menu since day one.
The friendlier S$48++ lunch set, however, looks like it could be a gentle re-introduction to an old favourite of ours.
6. Napoleon Wine Bistro
With a name like Napoleon Wine Bistro, there should be no doubts as to the “Frenchness” of the food served there. Surprisingly though, the eatery chose to use a truffle risotto as its featured image, and even includes burrata and linguine as options.
Thankfully, the rest of the menu is classically French, with staples like duck rillette, foie gras poêlé, steak frites and chocolate fondant cake.
Perhaps the Italian influence is because Emperor Bonaparte was born in Corsica? It was an intriguing thought, interesting enough to add the bistro to our shortlist.
Final Decision
Ah, decisions, decisions.
It’s unlikely that we’ll visit all six places. Based on recent history, we’d probably end up at two, or at most three, of them.
Of the bunch, only Gunther’s is familiar. So this would be a good opportunity for us to try out the newer French restaurants that have popped up in Singapore.
Should be fun. I’ll report back in a month or so.
Singapore Restaurant Week
The bold flavours and generous portions of Loulou French Cuisine
If you could transform a Bollywood dance scene into a dish, this gaspacho be how it would taste — exciting, dynamic and entertaining.
Classical French with a touch of the Mediterranean at Joséphine
My generous portion of duck confit arrived with an equally impressive amount of red wine sauce. It looked a bit scary, almost like a pool of blood, but it was very tasty.
Apéro is a French bistro that serves exceptional Spanish smoked sardines
Processed immediately using Japanese methods after being brought into the port of Santoña, the sardines are then smoked with natural beech wood before undergoing a classic salting process.
Cherki is not afraid to experiment with bold Peranakan flavours
We eagerly scanned through all 38 items on the menu. They all sounded really enticing, and the thought of ordering everything briefly crossed our minds.
13% Wine Bistro is more than just a place for drinks
The Seafood Bisque tasted like something that could have been served at a fancier restaurant, and not in a wine bar with a tiny kitchen and minimal staff.
Here is our shortlist for Singapore Restaurant Week Autumn 2023
In the immortal words of Kenji Fukui, the OG Iron Chef announcer: “Who takes it? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?”
Basilico has restored our faith in all-you-can-eat buffets
Its specialisation in Italian cuisine, focus on quality not quantity and the pièce de résistance, an amazing cheese room, truly sets it apart.
Our first foray into Portuguese cuisine, courtesy of Lusitano Restaurant
I know we’re definitely coming back for a return visit. We do, however, need to make sure we bring in sufficient reinforcements next time.
Akanoya Robatayaki was nice, but not as fun as expected
Sometimes, dining out is not just about enjoying good food, it’s also about experiencing unique entertainment.
It’s homework time again: Singapore Restaurant Week Spring 2023
It took me quite a while to review each of the individual menus, weigh their relative pros and cons and identify any unique must-try dishes. Here is our shortlist, ranked in descending order of preference.
Curating a seven course dinner using memorable dishes from 2022
On this last day of 2022, I wanted to spend some time revisiting the memorable dishes that we had over the course of the year.
Elotes, Sisig and other Mexican x Filipino dishes at Alegria
Uniquely Mexican items were featured prominently in the interior décor, including colourful sombreros and vivid Día de los Muertos masks.
Lunch at Beirut Grill has made us fans of Lebanese cuisine
The blobs of chickpea Hummus and mashed eggplant Baba Ghanoush were familiar sights, but there was also the cheese yoghurt Labneh, red pepper Muhamarra, Cucumber Yoghurt and eggplant Moutabal.
Poisson should have let their seafood take centre stage
Overall, it was a decent meal. But compared with those that we’ve had at other Restaurant Week places, it was somewhat disappointing.
The intriguing and inventive Bengali flavours of Aapon
I know nothing about Bengali cuisine. But half the fun of dining out is trying out brand new flavours and expanding taste boundaries.
So much food, so little time: Singapore Restaurant Week Autumn 2022 edition
This time round, there’s a bumper crop of 83 restaurants to choose from, spanning across a wide range of cuisines. Which ones will make it to our shortlist?
We walked past the 15 Stamford Bar and fell down the rum rabbit hole
When we stopped at the bar that afternoon, all we wanted to know was where to get the pretty golden pineapples on display. But we ended up accidently spending an enjoyable and boozy two hours, courtesy of Tim the awesome bartender.
If you like Spanish food and wine, you’re going to love FOC Restaurant
It’s safe to say that FOC is now our favourite restaurant in Singapore. The food is great, the wines are interesting, and most of all, the service is amazing.
Boeuf is totally worth the beef overdose
Part Two of our beef expedition during Restaurant Week brought us to Boeuf. Compared to the laid-back nature of our first outing at Gemma Steakhouse, Boeuf was a hardcore meat joint that screamed: “BEEF!”
A relaxing weekday lunch at Gemma Steakhouse
The artichoke-filled fresh pasta, with cute but savoury baby crayfish and lightly-spiced sauce offered a combination of flavours that were a welcome departure from typical tomato or cream-based pastas.
Singapore boasts a vibrant culinary scene, featuring a myriad of restaurants that cater to diverse tastes and preferences. Among the plethora of dining options, several establishments stand out as exemplars of excellence.