10 best date night restaurants in Singapore: From back lanes to garden domes

This petit back-lane gem possesses an ambience that romantic food lovers crave but rarely encounter. The dimly lit dining room is charmingly flanked by exposed brick walls, an industrial-chic open kitchen, and vintage-inspired furnishings that meld old and new with effortless style. 

With newly minted Group Executive Chef Seumas Smith at the helm, the food is elegant yet hearty, and beautifully presented. Order a la carte to share, or opt for the S$88 chef’s tasting menu.

110 Amoy Street, #01-01. www.maggiejoans.com

ESORA

The resplendent brushed-wood dining room is enough to make guests gasp in delight when they enter this Japanese restaurant for the first time. 

Here, Chef Shigeru Koizumi serves up a kappo experience unlike any other, with food that incorporates just the right measure of Southeast Asian ingredients and bold seasoning to surprise and delight. The menu changes often and always ends with a playful tray of Japanese sweets. Guests are also sent off with a slice of Koizumi’s luscious castella cake – a lovely morning-after treat.

15 Mohammed Sultan Road. restaurant-esora.com

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NOX – DINE IN THE DARK

Here’s your excuse for a bit of a grope in the dark. As you make your way up the stairs to the second-floor dining room, aided by your blind server, the light level lowers to pitch darkness. 

Your three-course dinner must then be enjoyed using all your other senses. It’s a fun way to communicate with your partner, even (or especially) if you’ve been together so long that you’ve run out of things to say to one another. There’ll be plenty of banter as you try to guess what you’re eating. 

At the end of the experience, when you’re back in the comfort of the lit lounge downstairs, service staff reveal what was on the menu. Let’s just say you’ll be surprised by how chicken can be so easily be mistaken for vegetables in the dark.   

269 Beach Road. www.noxdineinthedark.com

CAFFE FERNET

This romantic waterside eatery is a fine way to live la dolce vita as you watch the world go by the picturesque Marina Bay. While it could skate by on its gorgeous location alone, the establishment has made it a point to pay equal attention to both dining and drinking. 

That means you can nosh on silky ribbons of cacio e pepe pasta and the likes of succulent chicken piccata, and wash it all down with a cocktail or three (the aperol spritz is a fine way to start the evening). When you’re done with your meal, walk it off, hand-in-hand, around the beautiful bay.

70 Collyer Quay, #01-05, Customs House. www.caffeefernet.sg

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JAAN

This feted restaurant serves breathtaking skyline views from its 70-storey perch, along with exceptional nouvelle cuisine by Chef De Cuisine Kirk Westaway and his team. An eight-course dinner menu will set you back S$268++ per person, so it’s a special date night kind of place, where the finest ingredients from small producers across the world are parsed into exquisite creations that look almost too beautiful to eat. 

The current menu features plenty of British inspiration, with dishes like an indulgent Devon cheddar buckwheat pancake, Chef Westaway’s artful rendition of an English garden on a plate, and twee little fish and chip tartlets.      

Level 70, Swissotel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road. www.jaan.com.sg

THE SUMMERHOUSE

To get away from it all – or as far away from the city as is possible in Singapore – head for the verdant charms of The Summerhouse in the far reaches of Seletar. Take a stroll among the gardens before heading up to the restaurant where the farm-to-table menu brings together ingredients from a local collective of growers, producers and kelongs. 

Expect wood-fired, free-range French poulet served with organic green peppercorns and caper berries, and pickled and slow-cooked lamb shoulder with kumquat chutney. For a truly special date, dine in one of the air-conditioned domes in the garden for S$350++ per couple, which covers a nine-course meal and a bottle of wine.

3 Park Lane. www.thesummerhouse.sg

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CORNER HOUSE

This fine restaurant set in a grand colonial bungalow offers the chance to fall in love with the deliciousness of all things botanical as well. Tucked away in the Unesco Heritage-endorsed Singapore Botanic Gardens, Corner House serves what chef and co-owner Jason Tan calls “gastro botanica”. 

That means gorgeously plated dishes anchored by plant-based ingredients, including his signature Interpretation Of My Favourite Vegetable, an ode to the humble cevennes onion served four exquisite ways.

1 Cluny Road, EJH Corner House, Singapore Botanic Gardens. www.cornerhouse.com.sg

ODETTE

The cuisine created by chef and co-owner Julien Royer is as beguiling as the pastel-hued dining room reminiscent of a modern French salon. Royer pays homage to his pastoral heritage by sourcing the best ingredients from small producers around the world, and turning them into deliciously complex and artful dishes. The service is friendly yet unobtrusive and the dining experience truly world-class.

1 Saint Andrew’s Road, #01-04, National Gallery. www.odetterestaurant.com

SAINT PIERRE

Chef-owner Emmanuel Stroobant’s fine diner on the second floor of One Fullerton offers show-stopping service and a view of Marina Bay Sands looming outside its windows. 

Mannered service staff roll up a trolley of champagne and apertifs with which to begin your meal, and round off the experience with another trolley heaving with all manner of sweets. In between, Saint Pierre’s modern European tasting menus see the best seasonal produce from Japan and the Asian region rendered in exquisite creations like Hokkaido scallops with almonds and curry oil, and milk-fed veal loin served with black truffle and barbecued chestnuts.

1 Fullerton Road, #02-02, One Fullerton. www.saintpierre.com.sg

POLLEN

Tucked away in a tranquil corner of the Flower Dome, Pollen is fashioned like a plush conservatory, with wood-panelled floors and a rockery garden lining one side of the dining room. 

Within this bucolic setting, Executive Chef Steve Allen serves French cuisine inspired by the Mediterranean coast. Take in the views of the Marina Bay skyline as you dine on the likes of Fremantle octopus with eggplant and white bean puree, and beef Wellington with truffled potato puree. A meal here comes with complimentary access to the Flower Dome, so make time before your meal to wander around the indoor garden that’s always set at a happily cool 20 degrees Celsius.

18 Marina Gardens Drive, #01-09. www.pollen.com.sg

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