5 of Singapore’s best bistros

When French national, Max Fedkiw, set up Le Bistrot du Sommelier in a shophouse at Prinsep Street two years back, it was nothing more than a watering hole specialising in wine. But as the story went, the food menu expanded over time, and in October 2009, the eatery started serving up beef tartare and duck rillete at the bistro.

In the same year, celebrity chef Emmanuel Stroobant of Saint Pierre fame, too jumped onto the bistro bandwagon. He opened Picotin at Turf City.

Just two month back, Chef Julien Bompard converted his fine-dining Julien Bompard restaurant into a bistro and renamed it J-Bistro. In addition to sourcing local, Bompard stripped the menu of premium meat cuts as well as pricey ingredients, and slashed prices to make the venue more accessible.

And diners seem to welcome the new dining concept.

“Unless the occasion calls for fine dining, I would prefer to dine at a bistro,” says Eric Lim, an IT consultant and a frequent bistro diner. “Why burn $200 per head on a degustation dinner if the same amount buys you dinner for 2 or 3 in less stuffy surrounds, with wine thrown in?

Not just a French affair

Indeed, Singapore is witnessing a surge in bistro culture. Unlike their fine dining counterparts, bistros simply refer to small, causal eateries that serve hearty food along with wine. While bistros originated from France, this value-for-money, laid-back dining bistro concept has also caught on with a slew of eateries proffering themed cuisines—from healthy dishes, freshly prepared seafood to homey Spanish fare.

If you’re keen to try out this dining concept but don’t know where to start, read on to find out which are the five ‘must visit’ bistros in Singapore.

Le Bistrot du Sommelier EDITOR'S PICK

46 Prinsep Street #01-01

Tel: 63331982

Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 6pm-11pm

Ambience: Tucked away in a double-storey shophouse at the pub-littered Princep Street entertainment belt, this bistro is simply furnished with nothing more than empty wine bottles and maps of wine valleys—so that the only thing you need to focus on is the first rate bistro fare.

Regulars: A good mix of expatriates and locals

Why it’s good: You only need to visit once to understand why Le Bistrot du Sommelier packs them in every night. Many guests are regulars who return for Fedkiw’s affordably-priced wines and Heuberger’s first-rate French classics. Don’t say we did not warn you about their extremely generous food portions.  

Specialities: Beef tartare ($26) and charcuterie ($12.50), which you should wash down with lots of red wine and, of course, the the hearty French fare of roasted Welch lamb leg ($68 for 2 pax) and cote de beouf ($128 for 1kg Angus prie rib, which feeds 2-3 pax).

J’ Bistro 

2 Finlayson Green, Ascott Raffles Place

Tel: 65090908

Opening Hours: Daily: 11.00am-9.00pm

Ambience: Located on the second floor of the regal Ascott Serviced Residence, smack bang in Raffles Place, this fine dining restaurant-turned-bistro retains the classic stately interior of the former, though the menu has been revamped.

Regulars: Working professionals, bankers, traders and hotel guests

Why it’s good: Best bang for buck bistro fare—crafted by newly minted French knight and eminent chef, Julien Bompard in the Raffles Place belt. Set lunch and dinner cost just $32++.

Specialities: French bistro classics–such as beef tartare ($18) and duck confit ($28)–complete with hearty Mediterranean fare. Standouts from the ala carte menu includes seafood chowder ($12), sauteed sea scallops ($18) and smoked pork belly ($28).

Greenwood Fish Market Bistro 

38 Greenwood Avenue

Tel: 64674950

Opening hours: Mon to Sat: 12.00pm-10.30pm; Sun & PH: 11.00am-10.30pm

Ambience: Situated next door to the Greenwood Fish Market in the uppity Greenwood enclave off Bukit Timah Road, this glass-framed, spotlight-lit 140-seater is chic without being stuffy.

Regulars: Seafood lovers—from students, the top 5% of Singapore’s income earners, to guests from Malayasia including the occassional Datuks and Tungus.

Why it’s good: Because the fish market next door has access to supremely fresh seafood, some of which are extremely hard to find in Singapore, such as the dunganese crabs from San Francisco and fresh fish like hapukus, ling cod and orange roughy. Greenwood Fish Market is also the only one in Singapore to bring in wild Alaskan salmon fresh.

Specialties: Fresh seafood served hot, cold (including sashimi and sushi), raw, grilled or baked. Don’t miss the freshly shucked plump oysters (from $3 each), the cold seafood platter ($79) and the popular fish & chips prepared with your selection of fish (from $20).

My Little Spanish Place 

619 Bukit Timah Road 

Tel: 64632810

Opening hours: Tue to Fri: 6.30pm-10.00pm; Sat & Sun: 10.30am-10.00pm; Closed on Mon

Ambience: From the rustic ambience to the hearty Spanish fare, this eatery, situated on the ground floor unit of a shophouse along Bukit Timah, resembles a Spanish meson (Spanish term for bistro).

Regulars: Expats, couples and families, most of whom stay at the balmy Bukit Timah suburb.

Why it’s good: This is one of only two Spanish restaurants in Singapore with a Spanish chef at the helm. Other than formulaic Spanish offerings, Chef Maria Sevillano, also has a handful of heirloom Spanish recipes–such a Russian fillets with bell peppers & mahon and fried milk dessert served with cinnamon-dusted whip cream–that you won’t be able to find in any other restaurants in Singapore.

Specialities: Tapas and heart-warming, home-style Spanish dishes including an excellent pan-fried artichokes with jamon ($13.50), snails tossed with chorizo and jamon in white wine sauce ($10.50) and five variations of paella (from $32 to $39 for 2 persons), to go with white, red or bubbly sangria.

Heart Bistro 

390 Orchard Road, #B1-08 Palais Renaissance

Tel: 6737 2148

Opening hours: Mon to Sat: 11.30am-10.00pm; Sun: 10.00am-6.00pm

Ambience: The glitzy Palais Renaissance may have seen better days, but this chi chi, black and white-bathed bistro–tucked away in the basement of this upscale mall–is arguably the hottest dining spot in this stretch of Orchard Road.

Regulars: Working professionals (especially sharp suited ladies) and ladies of leisure on weekdays; families and the young and upwardly mobile types on weekends.

Why it’s good: While the restaurant purports to serve wellness cuisine (there’s no deep-fried food and oily batters here), don’t come expecting anaemic and characterless dishes. At Heart Bistro, every item is seasoned with aplomb and cooked with absolute finesse. The end result is utterly delicious.

Specialities: Palate-gratifying dishes that happen to be good for you. You should not miss the Hawaiin-inspired salmon poké (sesame oil-marinated raw salmon, $14), handmade burgers on sunflower and pumpkin-flecked buns served with a riot of salad leaves ($16-$18) and fork-tender twice-cooked beef short rib in a merlot reduction ($36).   

Evelyn Chen traded her near-solitaire frequent flyer miles from her jet setting corporate days for a critic’s pen, and has been eating, drinking and sleeping on the job ever since. She writes about food and travel and sits on the S.E.Asian judging panel of the San Pellegrino World 50 Best. Evelyn’s gourmet jaunts have been published in Conde Nast Traveller, Destin Asian and The Independent. Her article on Singapore’s fine dining scene won her the Mont Blanc Food Writer of the year award at the World Gourmet Summit in 2010.