Casa Vostra

Building on the success of La Bottega, Chef Antonio Miscellaneo introduces Casa Vostra to Raffles City, offering the warmth of home-cooked Italian meals in a cozy yet vibrant setting. The menu showcases his passion for authentic dishes made with high-quality, natural ingredients, featuring a range of pizzas categorised as ‘Newpolitan Red’ (red sauce base), ‘Newpolitan White’ (cream based) and the airy and crispy ‘DoubleCrunch’. Highlights include the Gamberi pizza with Argentinian prawns and the Mortadella pizza with parmigiano reggiano fondue and pistachio. Guests can enjoy these alongside curated Italian wines and freshly made pastas for a true Italian dining experience.

Venue: 252 North Bridge Rd, #01 - 49 / 50 / 51 Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore 179103

Opening Hours: Mon to Sun, 11.30am to 10pm

Reservations: www.casavostra.sg

(Left) Casa Vostra’s signature Gamberi pizza from the ‘Newpolitan Red’ menu (Credit: Casa Vostra)
(Right) Chef Antonio at Casa Vostra crafts homestyle Italian pizza and pasta with passion (Credit: Casa Vostra)

LUCINE by LUNA

Lucine by LUNA, a sister café to the popular patisserie, LUNA, adds a savoury twist to complement the brand’s exquisite desserts. Signature items include its Grilled Cheese and Tofu Katsu sandwiches. Lucine also continues LUNA’s dessert legacy with items like the Blossom, a strawberry yogurt mousse entremet tinged with elderflower, and the Classic Cheesecake. The café’s name, meaning "light," is reflected in its bright, welcoming atmosphere, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a paper flower installation by local artist Pei Li. Lucine offers a vibrant yet cozy dining experience, perfect for both meals and sweet indulgences in the heart of Singapore.

Venue: 111 Somerset Rd, #01-06, TripleOneSomerset, Singapore 238164

Opening Hours: Mon–Thu, 9.30AM–6.30PM; Fri–Sat, 9.30AM–9PM; Sun, 9.30AM–7.30PM

Waitlist: www.instagram.com/lucine.singapore

(Left) Lucine by LUNA’s new menu features a delectable selection of sweet and savoury items (Credit: Lucine by LUNA)
(Right) The sun-lit interior and floor-to-ceiling windows frames the elegant cake display at Lucine by LUNA (Credit: Lucine by LUNA)

Pastaro

Chef Willin Low, a pioneer of Modern Singaporean (Mod-Sin) cuisine and the talent behind Wild Rocket, showcases his passion for pasta and noodles at Pastaro. Known for its handmade pasta, the bistro features signature dishes like Buah Keluak spaghetti and Carbonara Fettuccine with Sarawak pepper and pancetta, blending Italian and local flavours. Tucked away on the second level of Chancery Court, Pastaro offers a cozy, intimate dining experience that rewards diners with expertly crafted pasta and a welcoming atmosphere.

Venue: Chancery Court, 36H Dunearn Road, #02-45 Singapore 309433

Opening Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11.30AM-3PM, 5.30PM-10PM. Weekends, 10.30AM-3PM, 5.30PM-10PM

Reservations: 88240245, pastaro.resos.com/booking

(Left): Pastaro’s signature Carbonara with crunchy pork lard (Credit: Pastaro)
(Right): Cozy dining area at Pastaro Singapore (Credit: Pastaro)

Ministry of Crab

Co-founded by the celebrated Chef Dharshan Munidasa, Ministry of Crab is one of the only two Sri Lankan restaurants to make its mark on the revered Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Incidentally, the other awarded restaurant, Nihonbashi, is also by Chef Dharshan.

The new Singapore venue offers only fresh seafood, never frozen, and headlining these will be the wild-caught Sri Lankan mud crabs. They are best served chilled as “Pure Crab” (to be pre-ordered at least 6 hours ahead) for its firm texture and fresh sweetness to be enhanced only by warm butter, calamansi ponzu and chilli vinegar. Those looking for a more robust flavour will enjoy the Sri Lankan Curry Crab that is the amalgamation of numerous spices, sprigs of moringa and pandan leaves, among other bombastic flavours.

Venue: 6 Dempsey Road, Singapore 249683

Opening Hours:
Closed on Tues

Wed to Mon
Dinner 5.30pm to 10.30pm

Reservations: www.sevenrooms.com/explore/ministryofcrabsg/reservations/create/search/
Tel: +65 8389 0948

Website: www.ministryofcrab.com

 
estiatorio Milos

Renowned for his pioneering role in elevating Greek cuisine globally, Chef-Owner Costas Spiliadis is set to make the Asian debut of his restaurant at Marina Bay Sands this summer. Blending Greek sophistication with vibrant hospitality, diners will be escorted through an open fish market display to select their freshest catch–around 15 varieties of wild-caught fish are air-flown daily from the Mediterranean, prepared sashimi, grilled or sea-salt-baked, with its raw bar accompanied by seasonal vegetables.

The restaurant’s design mirrors Greek architecture with its monumental marble entrance leading to a light wood interior, creating island-home-inspired ambience.

Start with the Milos Special – a tower of lightly fried zucchini and eggplant layered into a tower of tzatziki dip and surrounded by Saganaki Kefalograviera cheese, as you imbibe estiatorio Milos’ wide variety of Greek wines. One of the largest lists in SIngapore, its indigenous grape varieties include the Assyrtiko, Xinomavro and Agiorgitiko, sourced from the volcanic terroir of Santorini to the mountainous slopes of the Peloponnese.

Venue: The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 8 Bayfront Avenue, #B1-48, Singapore 018955 (Nearest carpark: North, Green zone)

Opening Hours:
Lunch
Mon to Fri, 11.30am to 2.30pm
Saturday and Sunday, 11.30am to 3pm

Dinner
Sun to Thurs, 5pm to 10.30pm
Fri to Sat, 5pm to 11pm

Reservations: www.marinabaysands.com/restaurants/estiatorio-milos/search.html
Tel: +65 6688 9977

 Website: www.marinabaysands.com/Milos

Raffles Courtyard - Regional Hawker Showcase

Curated in collaboration with local food company Makansutra and its founder, KF Seetoh, Raffles Courtyard presents the final two instalments of its first-ever Regional Hawker Showcase - each regional hawker serves their specialty dishes exclusively for one week only.

From 4 to 10 September, Raaghavendra Arivalagan from Penang, Malaysia will serve the famous dish by his dad, a Putu Mayong master. His father’s stall has stood beside Times Square along Dato Keramat Road in Penang for over 30 years. His Putu Mayong, with its soft, vermicelli-like rice flour noodle dish steamed with pandan-infused water, is accompanied by freshly grated coconut and brown sugar.

From 2 to 8 October 2024, the last instalment will see Jeffry Sie from the Gudeg Yu Nap stall of Bandung, Indonesia serving up his Gudeg, a Javanese slow-cooked stew prepared with young unripe jackfruit. His Gudeg is simmered for hours with over 20 spices and a slew of aromatics including blue ginger, lemongrass, shallots, candlenut, coriander seeds, Indonesian bay leaves, and coconut milk. Served with twice-cooked chicken (braised and fried), hard-boiled egg, beef skin puffs that have been cooked in soto, a traditional Indonesian soup, tofu and rice, an authentic experience awaits.

Venue: Raffles Courtyard, 328 North Bridge Road, Singapore 189673

Opening Hours:

Mon to Sun, 2pm to 10.30pm (available 3pm to 9pm only)

Reservations: [email protected]
Tel: +65 6412 1816  

Website: www.rafflessingapore.com/restaurant/raffles-courtyard/

Locanda

Fans of the Michelin-starred Buona Terra will be happy to discover its new cosy Italian trattoria, Locanda, in the colourful heritage district of Little India at the city fringe. Set up to feel like a homely Italian inn, the menu is crafted by none other than Buona Terra’s Italian Resident Chef Denis Lucchi, and the men taking care of your meals, Head Chef William Bai and Sous Chef Anthony Chang, who have stepped up from their posts at Locanda. House-baked bread, bruschetta and Gnocco Fritto with cold cuts will kickstart your meal, while signature classic pastas that established Buona Terra will come in their own iterations here. Families and large groups should go for the large communal platters: Meat lovers can go for the Beef OP Ribs while seafood aficionados will savour the Spaghetti ai Frutti di Mare. Imbibe from an interesting selection of 150 premium wines coming from small-scale and lesser-known producers around the world, including natural, biodynamic wines.

Venue: 109 Rowell Road, Singapore 208033

Opening Hours:
Mon and Tues: Closed

Wed to Fri:
Dinner 6pm to 12am (last order at 11pm)

Sat and Sun:
Lunch 12pm to 3pm (last order: 2.30pm)
Dinner 6pm to 12am (last order: 11pm)

Reservations: [email protected]
Tel:  +65 9619 2691

Website: www.locanda.sg

Hideaway by Nae:um

One-Michelin-starred Nae:um was born out of Chef Louis Han’s deep connection to his Korean roots and his global culinary journey. For its third anniversary in 2024, it unveiled Hideaway, its private experience space nestled on the second level of the shophouse where Nae:um sits.

Decked out to feel just like home with a living area to lounge in pre- or post-meal, Hideaway serves Nae:um’s latest episodic menu, the first of which is Episode 7: Jeju Blossoms. This space caters to a single party of up to 14 seated guests, or up to 25 guests for standing canapes-style receptions.

A dish to note in this 7th episode is the ‘oi naengguk’, where Chef Han elevates the originally humble chilled cucumber soup that offers cool refreshment in Summer with generous helpings of seafood, lending it a flavourful depth. Look out also for the luscious Uni & Crab Bibimbap with multigrain rice in a Korean cast iron ‘sot’ pot, topped with fresh lobes of uni and King Crab meat.

Venue: 161 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068615

Opening Hours:

Tuesday to Friday:
Dinner 6pm to 10:30pm

Saturday:
Lunch 12pm to 3pm
Dinner 6pm to 10.30pm

Reservations: [email protected]
Tel: +65 8830 5016

Website: www.naeum.sg