10 Best Modern Fine Dining Restaurants in Singapore (2026)
Singapore’s modern fine dining scene is easiest to navigate when you sort it by three factors: area, cuisine, and occasion. Around Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay you’ll find a cluster of Japanese and French restaurants, while Orchard Road and the Marina/City Hall area have a scattering of quieter, more formal venues. This guide organizes 10 restaurants along these three axes, complete with opening hours and links to each restaurant’s page.
How Should You Choose “Modern Fine Dining” in Singapore?
Narrowing your options down by area, cuisine, and occasion makes the decision much easier. Before diving into specific restaurants, it helps to have a sense of the bigger geographic picture. For an overview of Singapore’s neighborhoods, including Marina Bay and Chinatown, see our Complete Area-by-Area Guide to Singapore.
All 10 restaurants featured in this article are real establishments listed in our own restaurant database. The information here is limited strictly to what’s recorded in the database: area, cuisine, typical occasion, address, opening hours, official website, and description. We have no reliable way to verify price ranges, dress codes, or how difficult it is to book a table, so this article does not cover those points. Always check each restaurant’s official website for the latest information before your visit.
The next three sections group the restaurants by area. After that, we look at cuisine and occasion, and close with a comparison table covering all 10 restaurants.
Which Restaurants Are Best Near Clarke Quay / Robertson Quay?
This riverside area is home to four modern restaurants spanning Japanese, French, and Indian cuisine.
- Shunsui (Japanese): An authentic Japanese restaurant where you can experience the “omakase” tradition with all five senses. At the warm, wood-lined counter, you can watch a chef’s knife work and plating up close. Three different courses are available, each running from appetizers through sashimi, sushi, warm dishes, and dessert, all built around carefully selected ingredients. If you’d like to explore more Japanese restaurants in Singapore, see our guide to 20 Japanese Restaurants in Singapore. Hours: Mon-Tue 11:30am-3pm / 5:30pm-11pm, Wed-Fri noon-3pm / 6pm-11pm, Sat-Sun 5:30pm-11pm (as of August 2026; address and hours per database listing).
- Lerouy (French): A modern French restaurant that relocated to a new address in 2024, with a main dining room overlooking an open kitchen. Open Tue-Sat 6pm-11pm, with lunch service Fri-Sat noon-3pm; closed Mon and Sun.
- Jag (French): Dishes built around seasonal French vegetables, paired with a generous cheese trolley. Open Tue 6pm-10:30pm only; Wed-Sat noon-3pm and 6pm-10:30pm; closed Mon and Sun.
- Thevar (Indian): Multi-course menus that blend Indian tradition with European technique, backed by a wine list of over 600 labels. Open Tue-Thu 6pm-11pm, Fri-Sat noon-3pm / 6pm-11pm; closed Mon and Sun.
Which Restaurants Are Best in Orchard & Marina/City Hall?
Orchard and the Marina/City Hall area each have a quieter, more formal restaurant set inside a hotel or theater complex.
- Buona Terra (Italian): Set in a restored colonial-era house, with a signature house-made tagliatelle finished with shaved white truffle, according to its database description. Open Mon-Sat noon-3pm / 6:30pm-10:30pm; closed Sun.
- Alma (Other): Located inside Goodwood Park Hotel, offering European tasting menus with Asian accents at both lunch and dinner. Open Tue-Sat noon-2:30pm / 6pm-10:30pm; closed Mon and Sun.
- Labyrinth (Other): A Michelin-starred restaurant inside Esplanade Mall, known for reconstructing traditional Singaporean flavors into a full tasting menu. Open Mon 7pm-11pm, Wed-Thu 6:30pm-11pm, Fri-Sat noon-2:30pm / 6:30pm-11pm, Sun 7pm-11pm; closed Tue.
Which Restaurants Are Best in Chinatown & Other Areas?
Chinatown and other neighborhoods, including the Dempsey Hill area, offer three restaurants with distinct concepts: a chef’s counter, wood-fired barbecue, and Peranakan cuisine.
- Nouri (Other): A restaurant exploring the crossroads of culture and ingredients, with a marble chef’s counter that lets you watch the cooking up close. Open Wed-Fri noon-2:30pm / 6pm-midnight, Sat 6pm-midnight, Sun noon-2:30pm / 6pm-midnight; closed Mon and Tue.
- Burnt Ends (Other): An Australian-style barbecue restaurant known for meat and fish cooked over a wood-fired brick oven. Its database description also notes that the current space is roughly twice the size of its previous location. Open Tue-Wed 6pm-11pm, Thu-Sat noon-2:30pm / 6pm-11pm; closed Mon and Sun.
- Candlenut (Other): Traditional Peranakan cuisine with Indonesian touches. The tasting menu changes every two months. If you’re looking for family-friendly dining options, our June School Holiday Season feature may also help. Open daily, Mon-Sun noon-3pm / 6pm-10pm, with no closing day.
Which Restaurants Suit Couples, Dates, or Groups of Friends and Family?
Sorting by the “occasion” field in our database makes it even easier to find the right match for your plans.
Which Restaurants Are Best for Couples and Dates?
Nine restaurants — Shunsui, Lerouy, Jag, Thevar, Buona Terra, Alma, Labyrinth, Nouri, and Burnt Ends — are all listed with “couples/dates” as a suitable occasion. If you’re unsure about area or cuisine, choosing based on proximity from the area sections above is a reliable approach.
Which Restaurants Are Best for Friends or Family Groups?
Candlenut is listed with “family/friends/groups” as a suitable occasion, and it also offers a la carte dishes designed for sharing. Burnt Ends also lists “friends/groups” as an occasion, with an open, airy space that suits group dining.
How Do the 10 Restaurants Compare by Area, Cuisine, and Hours?
Listing all 10 restaurants together makes the distribution of areas and cuisines easy to see at a glance.
| Restaurant | Area | Cuisine | Occasion | Hours (summary) | Restaurant Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shunsui | Clarke Quay / Robertson Quay | Japanese | Couples/Dates | Mon-Tue, Wed-Fri lunch & dinner (varied start times); Sat-Sun dinner only | Restaurant page |
| Lerouy | Clarke Quay / Robertson Quay | French | Couples/Dates | Tue-Sat dinner, Fri-Sat lunch too; closed Mon, Sun | Restaurant page |
| Jag | Clarke Quay / Robertson Quay | French | Couples/Dates | Tue dinner only, Wed-Sat lunch & dinner; closed Mon, Sun | Restaurant page |
| Thevar | Clarke Quay / Robertson Quay | Indian | Couples/Dates | Tue-Thu dinner, Fri-Sat lunch & dinner; closed Mon, Sun | Restaurant page |
| Buona Terra | Orchard | Italian | Couples/Dates | Mon-Sat lunch & dinner; closed Sun | Restaurant page |
| Alma | Orchard | Other | Couples/Dates | Tue-Sat lunch & dinner; closed Mon, Sun | Restaurant page |
| Labyrinth | Marina/City Hall | Other | Couples/Dates | Mon, Sun dinner; Wed-Sat lunch & dinner; closed Tue | Restaurant page |
| Nouri | Chinatown | Other | Couples/Dates | Wed-Sun lunch & dinner (Fri-Sun late night); closed Mon, Tue | Restaurant page |
| Burnt Ends | Other | Other | Couples/Friends/Groups | Tue-Wed dinner, Thu-Sat lunch & dinner; closed Mon, Sun | Restaurant page |
| Candlenut | Other | Other | Family/Friends/Groups | Daily lunch & dinner, no closing day | Restaurant page |
If you’re planning to move between areas, it helps to check how MRT and Grab work before your visit. See our Complete Guide to Public Transport in Singapore for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which restaurants offer lunch service?
Lerouy, Jag, Thevar, Buona Terra, Alma, Labyrinth, and Nouri all offer lunch service on at least some days of the week. Check each restaurant’s official website for the specific days, since lunch hours vary considerably from one restaurant to another and may change seasonally.
Are any restaurants open every day with no closing day?
Yes. Candlenut is open Monday through Sunday with no closing day, according to our database as of August 2026. This makes it a flexible option if you’re planning a spontaneous dinner or traveling on a tight schedule with no fixed date in mind.
Which restaurant is easiest to visit with family?
Candlenut is the only restaurant in this list registered with “family” as a suitable occasion. It also offers a la carte dishes designed for sharing on large plates, which works well for groups with different tastes, including children who may want lighter options.
Which restaurant stays open latest at night?
Nouri is registered with hours running until midnight on Wednesday through Sunday, making it the latest-closing restaurant among the ten featured here. Confirm the exact closing time on the night of your visit, since late-night hours can occasionally shift by season.
Is any restaurant closed on Tuesdays?
Yes. Labyrinth is registered as closed on Tuesdays in our database. Please confirm this directly on the restaurant’s official website before planning your visit, since holiday schedules and seasonal adjustments can occasionally change a restaurant’s regular closing day without notice.
Do all restaurants require reservations?
Our database entries for this article do not include reservation details, so we cannot confirm this. Please check each restaurant’s official website directly, as most fine dining restaurants in Singapore strongly recommend or require advance booking, especially on weekends and during busy travel periods.
Summary
Singapore’s modern fine dining scene becomes much easier to navigate when you sort it by area, cuisine, and occasion. Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay offer four restaurants — Shunsui, Lerouy, Jag, and Thevar. Orchard and the Marina/City Hall area feature Buona Terra, Alma, and Labyrinth. Chinatown and other neighborhoods are home to Nouri, Burnt Ends, and Candlenut. Opening hours and closing days vary by restaurant, so always check each restaurant’s page and official website for the latest information before you visit.
Photo Credits
- Photo: Change C.C / Pexels
- Photo: Gatsby Yang / Pexels
- Photo: Kenny Foo / Pexels
- Photo: Christian Alemu / Pexels
