Growing up in a small country, Singaporeans have always been clever about getting maximum utility out of small spaces - be it for dining in, or for feeding other primal pleasures, as a local minister recently encouraged. We scour the city to round up 10 of the most popular restaurants with the least amount of seats or square feet.
Shoukouwa
It’s fastest fingers first when it comes to dialling in a reservation at Shoukouwa - for this two-Michelin-starred establishment only takes in eight diners every lunch and dinner (there’s a private room that sits a very generous six more people). Watch sushi master Masakazu Ishibashi work his exquisite Edomae-style sushi creations up close from the open counter, or hole up in the private room for a more intimate affair. #02-02A One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road.
Read our inspectors’ review here.
It’s fastest fingers first when it comes to dialling in a reservation at Shoukouwa - for this two-Michelin-starred establishment only takes in eight diners every lunch and dinner (there’s a private room that sits a very generous six more people). Watch sushi master Masakazu Ishibashi work his exquisite Edomae-style sushi creations up close from the open counter, or hole up in the private room for a more intimate affair. #02-02A One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road.
Read our inspectors’ review here.
Eight seats by the bar counter at Sushi Mieda
Sushi Mieda
This 8-seater kaiseki restaurant on the top floor of the OUE Tower is the first overseas venture for Japanese chef Nobumasa Mieda, whose eponymous restaurant in Hokkaido was recognised in the 2012 edition of the now-defunct Michelin Guide to Hokkaido. The snug yet elegant dining room sits within Tong Le Private Dining by the Tung Lok Group, where diners can opt to sit if they prefer to have a mix of Japanese and Chinese dishes from both restaurants. Level 10 OUE Tower, 60 Collyer Quay
This 8-seater kaiseki restaurant on the top floor of the OUE Tower is the first overseas venture for Japanese chef Nobumasa Mieda, whose eponymous restaurant in Hokkaido was recognised in the 2012 edition of the now-defunct Michelin Guide to Hokkaido. The snug yet elegant dining room sits within Tong Le Private Dining by the Tung Lok Group, where diners can opt to sit if they prefer to have a mix of Japanese and Chinese dishes from both restaurants. Level 10 OUE Tower, 60 Collyer Quay
Otowa Yakitori
A charming hole-in-the-wall squirreled away among floors of dingy pubs in Orchard Plaza, this yakitori-ya is a popular hangout among the city’s chefs and restaurateurs, including Ignatius Chan of Michelin-recommended Iggy’s. Its 12 counter seats fill up to maximum capacity faster than you can say ‘chicken sashimi’ (Yes, they do serve it - and it’s delightful.) The Japanese couple who run the place aren’t the most talkative people in town, but bring along a Japanese dining companion and they’ll warm up quickly. 150 Orchard Road #03-16 Orchard Plaza
A charming hole-in-the-wall squirreled away among floors of dingy pubs in Orchard Plaza, this yakitori-ya is a popular hangout among the city’s chefs and restaurateurs, including Ignatius Chan of Michelin-recommended Iggy’s. Its 12 counter seats fill up to maximum capacity faster than you can say ‘chicken sashimi’ (Yes, they do serve it - and it’s delightful.) The Japanese couple who run the place aren’t the most talkative people in town, but bring along a Japanese dining companion and they’ll warm up quickly. 150 Orchard Road #03-16 Orchard Plaza
Guests pack in elbow-to-elbow at Bistro Du Le Pin. Photo
Bistro Du Le Pin
No space? No problem for chef Shigeru Shiraishi. The Japanese chef took over the kitchen of this boisterous HDB bedroom-sized eatery of just 14 seats after stints in New York and Singapore’s Takumi restaurant, and turns out extremely value-for-money omakase sets starting from just $60. Good news for night owls: closing time is only when the last customer stumbles out, which can stretch up to 4am on weekends. 150 Orchard Road, #02-25, Orchard Plaza
No space? No problem for chef Shigeru Shiraishi. The Japanese chef took over the kitchen of this boisterous HDB bedroom-sized eatery of just 14 seats after stints in New York and Singapore’s Takumi restaurant, and turns out extremely value-for-money omakase sets starting from just $60. Good news for night owls: closing time is only when the last customer stumbles out, which can stretch up to 4am on weekends. 150 Orchard Road, #02-25, Orchard Plaza
Toku Izakaya Bar
Opened in February 2016 by chef Masamitsu Kadomatsu, formerly of Michelin-recommended Nadaman at Shangri-La Singapore, this blink-and-you’ll-miss it eatery in Midpoint Orchard has just 14 seats, and only four by the counter. The food is cheap and chic here, with alcohol consumption not only encouraged, but obligatory. #B1-06, Midpoint Orchard, 220 Orchard Road
Opened in February 2016 by chef Masamitsu Kadomatsu, formerly of Michelin-recommended Nadaman at Shangri-La Singapore, this blink-and-you’ll-miss it eatery in Midpoint Orchard has just 14 seats, and only four by the counter. The food is cheap and chic here, with alcohol consumption not only encouraged, but obligatory. #B1-06, Midpoint Orchard, 220 Orchard Road
Esquina
Technically not a tiny restaurant if you count in the 22-person private events space upstairs, but there are only 16 sought-after counter seat downstairs where you can (literally) rub shoulders with love interests and beautiful strangers alike. Spice things up with aphrodisiacal plates such as the Tsarskaya oyster dressed with jalapeño ponzu and pickled ginger flower, or get cheeky with the BBC, that is, banana and beer ice cream drizzled with warm caramel sauce. 16 Jiak Chuan Road
Read our inspectors’ review here.
Technically not a tiny restaurant if you count in the 22-person private events space upstairs, but there are only 16 sought-after counter seat downstairs where you can (literally) rub shoulders with love interests and beautiful strangers alike. Spice things up with aphrodisiacal plates such as the Tsarskaya oyster dressed with jalapeño ponzu and pickled ginger flower, or get cheeky with the BBC, that is, banana and beer ice cream drizzled with warm caramel sauce. 16 Jiak Chuan Road
Read our inspectors’ review here.
Burnt Ends
Each of the 17 coveted counter seats here are snapped up as quickly as they are available - and for good reason. Through the deft use of elevation grills and wood-fired ovens, Perth-born chef Dave Pynt coaxes unctuous, smoky flavour out of possibly every ingredient you can think of. The restaurant will also play host to a monthly roster of guest chefs starting from next January, making seats even more impossible to snag. 20 Teck Lim Road
Read our inspectors’ review here.
Each of the 17 coveted counter seats here are snapped up as quickly as they are available - and for good reason. Through the deft use of elevation grills and wood-fired ovens, Perth-born chef Dave Pynt coaxes unctuous, smoky flavour out of possibly every ingredient you can think of. The restaurant will also play host to a monthly roster of guest chefs starting from next January, making seats even more impossible to snag. 20 Teck Lim Road
Read our inspectors’ review here.
Like dining in a (very chic) friend's home: Braci's private kitchen-esque interior
Braci
Chefs often wax that their ideal restaurant is a little eatery serving just the freshest daily market haul, but for Beppe de Vito, this is a pipe dream no longer. Seven restaurants (including Michelin-recommended Aura) and 26 years in the industry later, the latest in the Italian chef’s Il Lido Group portfolio is Braci, a private kitchen-esque,16-seater modern Italian eatery perched atop a Boat Quay shophouse. Unlike most of the other restaurants on this list, guests dine on regular tables set around the chic open kitchen counter rather than on the counter itself - making it all the more conducive for cooing sweet nothings in. 52 Boat Quay, #05-01
Chefs often wax that their ideal restaurant is a little eatery serving just the freshest daily market haul, but for Beppe de Vito, this is a pipe dream no longer. Seven restaurants (including Michelin-recommended Aura) and 26 years in the industry later, the latest in the Italian chef’s Il Lido Group portfolio is Braci, a private kitchen-esque,16-seater modern Italian eatery perched atop a Boat Quay shophouse. Unlike most of the other restaurants on this list, guests dine on regular tables set around the chic open kitchen counter rather than on the counter itself - making it all the more conducive for cooing sweet nothings in. 52 Boat Quay, #05-01
Tsuta's signature shoyu ramen
Tsuta
Already tipped to be one of the hottest openings of the year, the Singapore outlet of one-Michelin-starred Tokyo ramen eatery Tsuta will comprise just 18 seats when it opens later this month. Expect snaking queues at this no-reservations spot - but the wait will be well worth it for a slurp of chef Yuki Onishi’s flavourful and umami-rich dashi broth, made with beef, vegetables, clams and three types of shoyu, including one specially brewed for them from a small producer in Wakayama prefecture. 9 Scotts Road, #01-01/02/03, Pacific Plaza (Opens in late Oct)
Read our inspectors’ review here.
(Watch: Why The World's Only Michelin-Starred Ramen Eatery Chose To Open In Singapore)
Nam Seng Wanton Noodles
This Michelin-recommended noodle spot has been operating since 1958, and its octogenarian proprietress Madam Leong still gets up at 6am daily to front the show at their popular Chinatown venue. Behind the takeaway counter is an elbow-room-only kitchen, and there are just five outdoor tables along the back alley if you want to tuck in immediately. Their limited menu of classics such as wanton noodles and venison hor fun are said to be favourites of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong and several ministers, along with the ravenous CBD lunch herd. 25 China Street, #01-01
Read our inspectors’ review here.
This Michelin-recommended noodle spot has been operating since 1958, and its octogenarian proprietress Madam Leong still gets up at 6am daily to front the show at their popular Chinatown venue. Behind the takeaway counter is an elbow-room-only kitchen, and there are just five outdoor tables along the back alley if you want to tuck in immediately. Their limited menu of classics such as wanton noodles and venison hor fun are said to be favourites of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong and several ministers, along with the ravenous CBD lunch herd. 25 China Street, #01-01
Read our inspectors’ review here.
