Working in the CBD? These new eateries and bars are worth a visit

Protein bowls, fish soup, after-lunch bubble tea – people working in the Central Business District are back to their lunchtime routines. The skyscraper part of Singapore is back in full swing, as islandwide, more people are back to working from their offices.

The Straits Times reported in November that about 61 per cent of the workforce was working from the office, up 7 per cent year on year. The statistic comes from Blackbox Research’s platform SensingSG, which polls 1,500 Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 18 and up every three months.

Like good soldiers, about 79 per cent of Singapore workers are showing up at the office on days mandated by their employers, more than the global average of 75 per cent, according to a report by workplace strategy and design firm Unispace.

Now that workers are back, new restaurants and bars are popping up in an area that hollowed out during the pandemic, when people retreated to and worked from their homes. Some owners see opportunities to grow their businesses, others want to make a splash in a high-visibility area before expanding elsewhere in Singapore, and yet others want to offer refuge from the corporate jungle.

Here are some new dining and drinking options for the return-to-office crowd.

CBD chill-out spot

Kada
Where: 5 Kadayanallur Street
Open: 7am to 11pm daily (opening hours vary for the outlets)
Info: kada.sg

Right next to bustling Maxwell Food Centre and round the corner from skyscraperland is a 101-year-old building that has been transformed into a lifestyle space with cafes, restaurants, a gym, a co-living space, and wellness businesses.

The building, with three storeys and a rooftop space, was designed by Swan & Maclaren, the architectural firm behind Raffles Hotel. It has been home to St Andrew’s Mission Hospital, a dispensary, a polyclinic and corporate offices for C.K. Tang, according to the Singapore Land Authority. It houses Singapore’s oldest electric lift, used to take kids afflicted with tuberculosis to the rooftop for sunlight and fresh air.

Bethesda Medical, a chain of health screening and primary care clinics, won the tender for it, and appointed Kada Ventures to develop and manage it. Kada Ventures has spent a low seven-figure sum to transform it into a lifestyle destination. 

Ms Tong Shuh Lan, 53, owner-director of Kada Ventures, which runs the place, says it has a five-year lease, with the option for a four-year extension. The name comes from the street it is on.

She says: “We’ve noticed a certain inclination in people aged 20 to 40 for work-life balance. We want to be a home away from home, a convenient place you can come to hang out.”

There are five cafes at Kada: Pacto by Parchmen, Kyuukei Coffee, Kit & Kaboodle, Echo and Origin Tea. Restaurants include winebar Haus, Lavi Tacos Bar, D’Penyetz Heritage, Shou, a dim sum restaurant that serves yakitori at night, and Proud Potato Peeler restaurant and Alani bakery on the rooftop.

Lifestyle and wellness studios include Limitless Performance gym; Satori pilates studio; Shiruki Studio, which offers ice baths and hydrotherapy; Eternami, which offers solutions for longevity; and Closed On Sundays by Lil Palette, which offers art classes. On level 3 is Habyt Kada @ Maxwell, an 18-room co-living space.

Ms Melissa Anne Lim, 25, co-owns Echo with her partner Joel Boo, 25. They spent a low six-figure sum to realise their dream of building a brand.

She says: “I wanted through Echo to echo the desire of people to balance work and leisure.”

Her cafe, which seats 40 people indoors and out, seems to always be packed. Already, her iced Matcha Strawberry drink ($8.50) has gone so viral on social media that she has run out of matcha. Espresso drinks are priced from $2.50 for an espresso shot, white coffees are priced from $5.50. She also offers cakes and cookies, with such offerings as Pisang Loaf ($5.50 a slice).

Mr Dave Lim, 48, owner of Pacto by Parchmen, a tiny cafe on the mezzanine level, also owns cafes in the suburbs – Tampines, Jalan Besar, Ubi and Woodlands – and roasts his beans in Serangoon Garden. Many of his customers at Kada order through a window from the outside of the building. Prices start at $4 for a double espresso and a Kyoto Uji Matcha Latte is priced at $7.

He says: “We wanted a first footprint in the CBD. To manage the rent, we opted for a very small space. We did not want to pass rent to our customers so we can keep our prices low.”

Proud Potato Peeler restaurant and Alani bakery are run by Greek-Cypriot chef Alberto Simillides, 34. The name of the restaurant comes from the joy he found peeling “tonnes of potatoes” as a 14-year-old in Cyprus starting on his culinary journey. The three-year-old restaurant relocated from Little India and he has transformed the rooftop into a verdant space with 25 seats outdoors and 35 inside. Proud Perfect Potions, a bar, will soon open.

Meals at the reservations-only restaurant are priced at $178 a person for a seven- or eight-course Mediterranean meal. Diners start with sourdough bread made using his grandmother’s 14-year-old starter. For Chinese New Year, the menu will include Mediterranean lohei, slow-cooked octopus and suckling pig.

He says: “Since relocating, we’ve seen an influx of new guests who had never heard of us before. We have always felt like a hidden gem – think of us as a speakeasy restaurant – so we’re thrilled to welcome fresh faces who are discovering what we have to offer.”

Banking on the CBD

Tomatillo Mexican Food & Bar (opens Feb 7)
Where: 01-11 Esplanade Mall, 8 Raffles Avenue
Tel: 8029-1707
Open: 5 to 10.30pm (Wednesdays to Fridays), noon to 10.30pm (Saturdays and Sundays)
Info: tomatillo.sg

Chefs Daniel and Tamara Chavez are on a roll. The owners of Canchita Peruvian Cuisine and Spanish restaurant Tinto, both in Dempsey, recently opened Vino Tinto, a 40-seat wine bar at One Raffles Quay; and will open 80-seat Tomatillo, a Mexican restaurant, at Esplanade Mall in February.

Peruvian chef Daniel Chavez, 44, who ran Ola Cocina del Mar at Marina Bay Financial Centre for nine years before closing it in 2021, says that experience was valuable from a business point of view.

“We wanted to capitalise on our experience and insights from Ola,” he says. “Understanding a crowd takes years, and we’ve evolved the concept at Vino Tinto into a lighter version in terms of pricing and offerings, better aligned with the times we’re living in now.”

The wine bar serves over 30 kinds of tapas priced from $6 and glasses of wine priced from $14. A three-course business lunch is priced at $46 a person, and dinner paella options are priced from $28.

Tomatillo will showcase chef Tamara Chavez’s Mexican heritage. Its location, with a view of Marina Bay, is close to the Esplanade’s outdoor theatre.

The 35-year-old says: “We envisioned a vibrant Mexican concept that would appeal to both tourists and a younger crowd. We believe the crowd will enjoy bold Mexican flavours at an accessible pricing.”

Offerings include Nachos & Guacamole (from $12), Tacos Al Pastor ($12 for two) and Chicken Enchiladas ($16 for three). Cocktails, including Margarita and Mojito, are priced at $16 each, and there are wines by the glass priced from $14.

She adds: “We believe Marina Bay will continue to establish itself as one of the most visited destinations in Singapore, particularly for tourists. The area offers attractions that are truly unique, and it is set to grow more. With the upcoming Marina Bay Sands Tower 4, and NS Square slated for completion in 2027, we see this as an opportunity for this vibrant location.”

Korean-Japanese vibe

KeonBae
Where: 01-01, 38 Pekin Street
Open: 3pm to 11pm (Mondays to Thursdays), 3pm to 2am (Fridays and Saturdays)
Info: @keonbaesg (Instagram)

Amid a thicket of bars offering beers and casual food, KeonBae, which soft-launched on Dec 27, stands out. It is done up in red and blue, the colours of the South Korean flag, and the interior is a riot of lighted signs showcasing the menu offerings, like an electrified Japanese izakaya.

The name is Korean for “cheers”, and the gastrobar belongs to the Japanese-owned Kanpai Group, which operates three other watering holes. KeonBae, which cost $330,000 to set up, takes over the space vacated by the group’s 10-year-old Cocotto, a Japanese bar.

Mr Peh Boon Lou, 32, the group’s general manager, says of Cocotto: “It was not doing very well, and had lost its identity along the way. Competition in this area is very strong, and I felt there was a lot of potential around Korean food and drinking culture.”

Highballs, priced from $6.80, are the highlight here, and diners can choose from those made with soju, shochu or whisky. Staff are on hand to help customers pair drinks with the food.

Mr Peh says: “In Singapore, people associate Korean food with kimchi and everything red. There is more to it than meets the eye, and we want to bring that out, along with Japanese culture.”

There is a reason behind beefing up the food offerings. He says that before Covid-19, the group’s venues were known for wallet-friendly drinks. And that, together with bar bites, was enough for its patrons.

“The behaviour post-Covid has changed,” he says. “People now want to eat at bars as well.”

Its signature KeonBae’s Fried Chicken ($13 for three pieces) is brined in buttermilk and triple fried; Bossam ($30) is made with Iberico pork belly and served with housemade white, red and radish kimchi and ssamjang; and Abalone-juk Risotto ($25) is a riff on Korean abalone porridge made with New Zealand abalone, complete with abalone liver sauce.

Mr Peh adds that 90 per cent of the menu is made in-house, and in response to feedback, he is planning to add offerings such as Korean-style sashimi, oden, and more rice and noodle selections.

For the night owls

Yakitori One
Where: 01-514/515 Tower 2 Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard
Tel: 9235-3031
Open: 4.30pm to 2am (Mondays to Saturdays), 4.30 to 11pm (Sundays)
Info: yakitorionesg.com

While many restaurants in the CBD count on hungry hordes at lunchtime, Yakitori One, which soft-launched in December, opens at 4.30pm, when those office workers are thinking about after-work plans. From Mondays to Saturdays, the restaurant, which has 14 seats indoors and 24 seats outdoors, opens till 2am.

The owner, chef Leo Chao, who has five restaurants in China, says: “This is a destination restaurant, one you seek out rather than stumble onto. With the restaurant open till 2am from Mondays to Saturdays, it makes the perfect hangout spot to unwind after a tiring work day.”

At his restaurant, diners can order yakitori, grilled over binchotan, omakase-style or a la carte. The omakase meals are priced at $158 and $228 a person for 15 courses. A la carte offerings include Tsukune ($7.90), served with the chef’s secret dipping sauce and pasteurised egg yolk; salt-grilled chicken Aorta ($5.90); and Neck Meat ($6.90), among other things.

Chef Chao is optimistic about his first foray overseas.

“The pandemic’s impact on F&B businesses is now not as significant, compared with the peak of Covid-19,” he says. “Most white collar workers are now back to work a few days a week, and with Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre having events every week, this area is always bustling now.”

Indie spirit in the CBD

Autobar
Where: 01-03 Republic Plaza, 9 Raffles Place
Tel: 8306-7344
Open: 11.30am to 10pm; kitchen is open from 11.30am to 2.15pm, 5 to 8.30pm (Mondays to Fridays), 5 to 10pm (Saturdays); closed on Sundays
Info: @autobar.restaurant (Instagram)

On trips to Melbourne, Mr Lee Chee Li would come across what he calls hole-in-the-wall cafes and bars in the Australian city’s CBD.

“They felt so free and independent,” the 32-year-old says. “Every little place had a quirk or character to it.”

Together with a business partner, he decided to try injecting that indie spirit into Singapore’s CBD. In 2017, they opened The Autobus in OUE Downtown Gallery, a cycling cafe and retail space that offers protein bowls in the day, and craft beers, pizza and burgers at night. It started with 16 beers on tap and that has grown to 45 – the largest taproom in Singapore.

In September, they opened Autobar at Republic Plaza, with 120 seats, split evenly indoors and out. The restaurant, which cost about $400,000 to set up, has 20 beers on tap, from Singapore, Canada, Sweden, the US and China, among other places. Prices start at $10 for a 330ml glass of Autobar Craft Lager. There is also a wine list with about 100 labels. The food menu draws from Thai, Chinese, Peranakan and Malay cuisines. Offerings include DIY Kueh Pie Tee ($15), White Rojak ($15) and Beef Cheek Rendang ($43). The average spend, with alcohol, is $50 a person.

Mr Lee says: “CBD places tend to be copy and paste in terms of drink selections. Commercial beers, regular cocktails, wines you can find in supermarkets. But in running The Autobus for seven years, I’ve found there is a more discerning crowd. Craft beer tastes better and doesn’t necessarily cost more.”

He adds that business was slow when the place opened, but has improved by about 20 per cent since the start of the year, when people returned from year-end holidays. The restaurant is busy at lunch, and he is working to draw in the after-work crowd. Post Covid-19, he says, Tuesdays to Thursdays are the busiest days of the week. Business on Fridays has dropped 50 per cent from pre-pandemic times.

In the price and vibe rankings for restaurants, with high end, mid-priced and casual, he sees Autobar wedged in between high end and mid-priced.

“Casual fine, that’s the sweet spot right now,” he says.

Live entertainment

Madame Claude
Where: 8 Ann Siang Hill
Tel: 6038-0262
Open: 5.30pm to midnight (Tuesdays to Saturdays)
Info: @madame_claude_singapore (Instagram)

You would think that with people reluctantly returning to the office, they would flee the CBD the moment work ends. But Louis Pacquelin, chef-partner of Madame Claude, a bar above his 40-seat restaurant Les Ducs, sees things differently.

“Of course, we are aware some people don’t come to the office every day, and others might go home right after work,” he says. “But we also see opportunities. For example, when people do come to the office, they want to make it count – they might stay out for drinks or arrange to have dinner at a restaurant to enjoy their time fully before heading home.”

To give them reason to stay, the 40-seat bar offers live entertainment, with performers that include DJs, dancers and illusionists. It also puts on themed parties every quarter, with guests encouraged to dress to fit the vibe. The next one, on Feb 14, is Rio Carnaval.

Madame Claude is what the late Frenchwoman Fernande Grudet, who in the 1960s ran a high-end brothel with a wealthy clientele, was known by. The bar, which opened in September 2024, launched 12 new cocktails on Jan 17, and they sport French women’s names.

Bar manager Farhan Azmin, 30, says: “We’ve taken inspiration from the real-life Madame Claude and wanted to celebrate the allure of French women.”

All priced at $25, they include Camille, made with peppermint tea and Fernet-Branca; and Charlotte, made with berry yogurt-infused Roku gin, raspberry and apricot eau de vie, and citrus foam. Bites include smoked sardines with gribiche sauce ($10) and octopus carpaccio ($24).

Not just numbing

ChefLam’s Sichuan Cuisine
Where: 01-13 Guoco Tower, 5 Wallich Street
Tel: 8901-6266
Open: 11am to 10pm daily
Info: @cheflams_sg (Instagram)

Restaurants offering the numbing food of Sichuan abound in Singapore, but a new brand is looking to make inroads by offering a wider range of the cuisine.

To be sure, ChefLam’s Sichuan Cuisine, named after chef Lam Shan, 55, serves spicy Sichuan dishes such as Geleshan Laziji ($23.80), but there are also less fiery offerings such as Gold Medal Kung Pao Chicken ($16.80), sweet and tangy and with smokiness from dried chillies; Chowhound Beef (from $14.80), beef slow-cooked 24 hours in a medicinal broth; and Lam’s Signature Dongpo Pork ($18.90), simmered, deep-fried, then braised for 12 hours.

The restaurant, with 70 seats indoors and 36 outdoors, soft-launched in December and is the brand’s first foray overseas. In China, it has two restaurants in Chengdu, with a third under construction. Bringing it to Singapore is Mr Gao Chiju, 35, a self-described entrepreneur whose investment portfolio includes restaurants.

He says the CBD location is a strategic one, adding that the weekday crowd is an opportunity to create buzz and build awareness for the brand. This restaurant is also a launching pad for expansion here, he adds.

“The CBD remains a bustling hub for professionals, and with the increased return of the office crowd post-pandemic, it presents an excellent opportunity to reach a diverse audience,” he says. “The location allows the restaurant to cater to office workers during the day, attracting international visitors and locals exploring the area after hours.”

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.