Thanks to the Thomson-East Coast line, Dempsey Hill is now more accessible, and these 12 restaurants should be on your list when seeking out the best food there.
The hilltop area is steeped in history. Its colonial buildings once housed British and Singaporean soldiers, then furniture shops and art galleries, and more recently a slew of upscale restaurants and eateries. While the isolated location allowed for dining in lush surroundings, it was also rather inconvenient to get to, until the opening of Napier MRT station in 2022.
Some of Dempsey Hill’s best restaurants include Burnt Ends, a superlative modern Australian barbecue joint with one Michelin star and multiple mentions on the 50 Best list, as well as Candlenut, the first Peranakan restaurant in the world to be given a star. Claudine is Odette chef Julien Royer’s tribute to homestyle French cooking, while Sushi Sato delivers a masterclass on how to prepare rice.
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Well-executed Greek staples can be found at Blu Kouzina and homemade charcuterie at the French restaurant Atout. Canchita turns the focus to Peruvian cuisine, as the Open Farm Community demonstrates how high-quality food can come directly from the onsite garden. Discover them, and more, below.
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12 restaurants for the best food at Dempsey Hill
The charcuterie at most restaurants likely came from a supplier, but not at Atout. Founded in 2018 by former Au Petit Salut chef Patrick Heuberger, they make almost all their cured meats in-house, including duck rillette, pork pate en croute, foie gras terrine, and sausages. It’s rustic rather than revelatory, but that enables them to focus on quality bistro food like lobster bisque, frog legs cooked with garlic and butter, and a 1kg roasted Angus prime rib, which Heuberger slices table-side. If the cold cuts are immensely enjoyable, Atout sells them for takeaway at the adjoining store.
(Image credit: @running_bunny_sg / Instagram)
- Address 40C Harding Rd, Singapore 249548
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 8799 4567
Blu Kouzina is one of the most popular spots in Singapore for authentic Greek food. The menu sees a mix of modern and traditional Mediterranean dishes, all prepared with olive oil made from the restaurateur’s family farm. There’s also a list of Greek spirits and wines to explore here.
(Image credit: Blu Kouzina)
- Address 10 Dempsey Rd, #01-20, Singapore 247700
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 9728 7514
Burnt Ends does barbecue at its most visceral. Flames constantly jump in the air, together with the crackle of glowing embers that turn blocks of meat into well-charred, intensely flavoured dishes. The modern Australian barbecue restaurant changes its menu daily, and all its food touches the fire, from the signature grissini with taramasalata dip to the smoked ice cream. Despite moving from Keong Saik Road to a bigger location in Dempsey Hill in 2021, it’s still painfully difficult to get a reservation, but it’s well worth a try.
(Image credit: Burnt Ends SG / Facebook)
- Address 7 Dempsey Rd, #01-02, Singapore 249671
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 6224 3933
Candlenut is the world’s first Peranakan restaurant to get a Michelin star. The restaurant is led by chef-owner Malcolm Lee who introduces a contemporary approach to the Straits Chinese cuisine. Go for the ‘ah-ma-kase’ menu which has more than ten dishes to be shared with everyone at the table.
(Image credit: COMO Dempsey / Facebook)
- Address 17a Dempsey Rd, Singapore 249676
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 1800 304 2288
With an interior as green as the view outside, dining at Canchita can be transportive. Led by chefs Daniel and Camara Chavez, the restaurant taps into the diversity of Peruvian cuisine to serve various ceviches made with the catch of the day, a mashed potato terrine called causa, tiraditos, and Peruvian rice dishes studded with seafood, beans, spices, and bright sauces. A pisco sour is practically mandatory, as well as a rich tres leches dessert with coconut, mixed berries, and vanilla cream.
(Image credit: Canchita Peruvian Cuisine)
- Address #9A-9B Dempsey Rd, Singapore 247698
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 8028 1994
If the three-starred Odette is chef Julien Royer’s temple to haute French cuisine, Claudine is his ode to homestyle cooking. Set in an old colonial chapel that’s been beautifully restored, the French brasserie recreates quintessential dishes like bouillabaisse and vol-au-vent, all made to Royer’s exacting standards of high-quality produce and refined techniques. The restaurant also regularly hosts their Friend of Claudine nights, where guest chefs present different aspects of France’s culinary traditions.
(Image credit: Claudine)
- Address 39C Harding Rd, Singapore 249541
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 8031 9935
Culina at COMO Dempsey is a vast gastronomic playground. Here, visitors can shop for fresh restaurant-quality produce such as Westholme beef and sustainably caught seafood from French purveyor Qwehli. They can also have these produce prepared at the modern European bistro here.
(Image credit: @kapagurume / Instagram)
- Address 15 Dempsey Rd, Singapore 249675
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 6474 7338
Celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant features a menu of his signature dishes as well as local-inspired creations. The colonial-style restaurant is armed with private rooms and an open kitchen for a more comfortable and casual dining experience. It is also a popular brunch spot.
(Image credit: The Dempsey Cookhouse & Bar / Facebook)
- Address 17D Dempsey Rd, Singapore 249676
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 1800 304 5588
The natural materials of wood and rattan at Chinese restaurant Min Jiang offer an airy light-filled dining area: a refreshing contrast to the dark and serious Chinoiserie-led banquet halls of its Goodwood Park Hotel sister and other Chinese restaurants. Cuisine-wise, Minjiang at Dempsey goes for modern showcases of nostalgic Cantonese and Sichuan dishes.
(Image credit: Goodwood Park Hotel)
- Address 7A &, 7B Dempsey Rd, 249684
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 6774 0122
Siri House is a little tough to locate – it involves going to the fringes of Dempsey Hill and down a flight of stairs – but the isolation graces it with a quiet, verdant garden where the restaurant serves an outdoor private dining experience. Even if you don’t spring for the special menu, the patio and eclectic indoor area offer worldly dishes ranging from burrata with red chilli salsa and pappadam, to unagi risotto.
(Image credit: SIRI HOUSE Dempsey / Facebook)
- Address 8D Dempsey Rd, #01-02 Dempsey Hill, Singapore 249672
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 9487 1552
Sushi Sato is slightly down the road from Burnt Ends, and it contrasts the barbecue restaurant’s forcefulness with tranquillity. The serene wood-clad dining room offers glimpses of the miniature Zen garden outside, but the sushi-ya captures attention with its sublime use of Tsuyahime rice, made with three kinds of Japanese vinegar to offer a firm, sticky, and gently tart bite. It is used as a vehicle for a variety of raw seasonal fish, from squid hiding sea salt and sudachi lime in its delicately cut ridges to kinmedai (golden eye snapper), which head sushi chef Kawana Yusuke gently dabs with charcoal. Yusuke constantly asks if you’d like more or less rice, and the former is the correct answer when it comes to a bowl of uni and ikura roe, which is gloriously sweet and buttery.
(Image credit: Sushi Sato)
- Address 6B Dempsey Rd, Singapore 247662
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 6971 8265
Open Farm Community is one of the pioneers of locavorism in Singapore. As its name suggests, it draws vegetables and herbs from its own garden, which guests have to pass through before entering the restaurant. It also uses ingredients, such as seafood and poultry, from local farmers.
(Image credit: Open Farm Community / Facebook)
- Address 130E Minden Rd, Singapore 248819
google map - Website Website here
- Phone 6471 0306
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(Hero and featured images credits: Sushi Sato)
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