22 Best Restaurants in Orchard, Singapore

The historic Moroccan coffee brand has a beautiful café/dining room on ION Orchard’s first floor. No visit is a quick one though: you may come for a coffee and pastry, but you’ll soon find yourself whiling away the time exploring the vast array of 100% arabica coffee beans housed in large sunset orange tins.

Nestled among the exotic flora of the Botanic Gardens and in a colonial house named after an important 20th-century botanist, Corner House is chef David Thien’s “ode to Asia with French undertones." The setting is exceptionally romantic, matched only by the omakase experience and curated wine list. The menu uses French techniques to present Asian ingredients in innovative ways, and each dish comes with an accompanying note to expand on the chef’s inspiration.

The decor at this chic sumiyaki restaurant celebrating Japanese charcoal-grilling is as authentic as the food. It’s styled after traditional Japanese izakayas, with bar seating where you can watch the chefs delicately fan the meat and vegetables cooked over open coals. Dishes like pork belly with miso and octopus yuzu salad are washed down with an excellent selection of sake drawn from the different prefectures of Japan.

Mingle with Singaporean tycoons and celebrities at the island's finest French restaurant, where you can admire the adjoining bar's grand chandelier and curtain-draped wine cabinets before adjourning to the intimate dining area. The breathtakingly expensive seasonal menu changes regularly, but expect such exquisite French classics as foie gras, roasted whole pigeon, and white asparagus. Their wine list is considered one of the best in Asia, with more than 1,800 Old World wines, 90% of which are from France (in particular Burgundy and Bordeaux).

Experience Edomae-style delicacies at this 22-seater sushi restaurant in Palais Renaissance. All ingredients are delivered directly from Japan, including organic rice from a farm in Yamagata prefecture and spring water from Hokkaido. Chef Tomoo Kimura is driven by attention to detail; personal touches like the ceremonial tea set hand-painted by the chef’s master and centuries-old noren (room dividers) are used to create an elegant feel to the dining experience.

Look for the fabric-covered doorway opposite the HSBC building on Claymore Hill to find this sleek Japanese restaurant. Inside, there are counters made of hinoki wood, a Zen minimalist design, and elegant, kimono-clad servers. The beautifully presented cuisine here includes sukiyaki (skillet-grilled beef and veggies), shabu shabu (hot pot), and sake sherbets. Aoki also presents kaisekis (formal banquets) in which each dish looks prettier than the last, as well as pricey omakase courses, in which the chef chooses the food for you. Fish is flown in from Tokyo's huge Tsukiji fish market several times a week.

Dive into stone-fired pizza at this hip spot in Mandarin Gallery. The long-fermented pizza dough is crisp and generously topped with unique ingredients like sliced steak and French’s mustard bechamel ("I Wish I Was A Baller"), or chorizo ragu with Hokkaido octopus ("Summer in San Sebastian"). There’s a great wine list and a selection of beers, with fries, salads, and wings to round off your order. The team are so confident you’ll love their mood-setting 1970s and '80s rock playlist, you can even listen at home on Spotify.

Celebrating Singaporean heritage dishes across 27 different vendors, this basement food court's stalls sell everything from crispy fried carrot cake to spicy prawn noodles and rich chicken satay. The food court takes its design inspiration from the British colonial decor of the early 1890s, with a light blue, ivory, and copper-gold palette, and lush green plants.

For a serious cup of coffee near Somerset, drop by this pristine-white café that is usually full of coffee aficionados sipping on in-house roasted brews. You can also pick up fresh beans and coffee-making accoutrements to take home.

If you can splurge on just one meal in Singapore, Iggy's is worth considering. Hailed as one of the top restaurants in Asia, this intimate Euro-Japanese fusion spot has mouthwatering dishes like A5 Miyazaki Wagyu beef and Maine lobster, as well as one of the best wine lists on the island. Multi-course tasting menus are available for lunch and dinner, with separate dishes designed for vegetarians.

The enormous bowls of pho at this casual quick-serve noodle bar are excellent. At lunch time, you can get a bowl of chicken or beef pho, a green papaya salad, and a tea or coffee for under S$14. Though designed more as a fast-food concept (you order at the bar and wait for your number to be called before collecting), the quick stop has decor and tableware that feel very authentic, with pretty hanging lights and long wooden benches. Food is always speedy, always fresh, and always delicious.

This lovely bistro transforms from bakery and brunch hotspot by day to chic restaurant and bar by night. It specializes in European-style baked bread, which forms the basis of many of the brunch dishes (served until 3 pm) and then again as a delicious accompaniment to a selection of zesty dips and pasta in the evening. Portion sizes are very generous, with a rustic look and feel to the presentation. The bistro is tucked away behind the post office on Nassim Hill about a 10-minute walk from the top of Orchard Road.

Plenty of meat-eaters also head to this casual Western-style vegan and vegetarian restaurant for its hearty Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. The menu includes sundry salads, pastas, and pizzas, and the three-course prix-fixe lunch menu is a great value. Original Sin shares the award-winning wine list from its sister restaurant, Michelangelo's, a recommended Italian that's also in Chip Bee Gardens.

This popular Thai restaurant, which also has branches in Austria, China, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, serves an extensive menu of classics in a serene, cozy setting. You can order everything from Thai-style soups and salads to curries and noodles. Specialties include nua pad prik Thai (beef spare ribs sautéed in garlic and black pepper sauce) and pla yang penang (sea bass grilled in penang sauce). Vegetarians will find plenty of options.

If tea is your thing, be sure to visit Signature Koi—pioneers of the bubble tea culture in Singapore. Try the Earl Grey milk tea with signature pearls (tapioca balls) for the original experience. You’ll find lots of bubble tea stalls are takeaway-only in Singapore, so this well-designed (if small) sit-in space is a real boon.