For many who celebrate, the best part of Christmas is the food. Roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy and cranberry sauce are but some of the season’s best offerings. If the last two years of takeaways and home-cooked meals have you longing for a festive feast outside of the home, worry not. From traditional fare and modern renditions to Asian-inspired takes on Christmas dinner, Vogue Singapore rounds up the best restaurants in town to host the most special meal of the season.
For a classic Christmas celebration:
The Knolls
If you’re searching for an escape from the bustling city but are not quite ready to hop on a plane, look no further than Capella Singapore’s Mediterranean restaurant, The Knolls. Located within the vicinity of the sprawling hotel—two restored colonial bungalows nestled within the heart of Sentosa Island—the stunning restaurant overlooks views of cascading pools and the South China Sea, offering its diners a dreamlike respite.
As for the food, look forward to a decadent festive menu curated by Executive Chef Ryan Jette, featuring classic flavours elevated through the use of premium ingredients and precise culinary technique. There are a plethora of lunch and dinner menus to choose from across a week of celebration (including kid-appropriate selections, if you are bringing the little ones along), and standout dishes include the Scottish Salmon Confit, in which perfectly-cooked medallions of fish are artfully plated alongside a sweet green pea mousseline, crunchy asparagus spears and yellow zucchini, Asari clams and an ikura-lemon beurre blanc. Also not to be missed are the picturesque desserts—from the hazelnut-infused Gâteau Chocolat Praliné to the all-time favourite Gingerbread Cheesecake, each item will provide the lavish sweet ending a meal of such proportions deserves. Their lunch menus also offer free-flow champagne—so top up with some bubbly, and you’re golden.
The Knolls, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098297
For inquiries: +65 6591 5046 / [email protected]
Brasserie Les Saveurs
Immerse yourself in epicurean delights at Brasserie Les Saveurs—a French inspired culinary destination guaranteed to inject a generous helping of holiday cheer to your festivities. Before tucking into a traditional quartet of roast meats, warm up your palate with a Fruits de Mer platter featuring king crab legs and freshly shucked oysters. Next comes the pass arounds and entrees, including a beef tartare served with crunchy radish and a rich egg yolk coulis, thin slices of marinated salmon in beetroot juice and the chef’s signature Foie Gras Terrine. When you’ve had your fill of starters, out roll the classic Christmas roasts carved right before your eyes. Tuck into succulently moist turkey; perfectly pink beef wellington encased in crisp buttery pastry; hearty beef prime rib and honey glazed gammon ham accompanied by all the traditional roast fixings. Do make sure to save room for dessert as Les Saveurs’s dessert trolley will leave you spoiled for choice. Dig into cinnamon cheesecakes, truffle balls, forest berries tarts, chocolate eclairs and much more. Our personal favourite is the traditional Panettone, a sweet dough studded with candied fruits and raisins, topped with a lavish helping of aromatic mulled wine sorbet.
Brasserie Les Saveurs, The St. Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247911.
For inquiries: +65 6506 6813 / [email protected]
Zafferano
Celebrate Christmas the Italian way at Zafferano. Unlike the English tradition of having turkey, seafood is the main star of the show here. Your celebration kicks off with a refreshing appetiser of Alaskan King Crab, served with cauliflower and finger lime and adorned with Oscietra caviar. It wouldn’t be an Italian meal without a form of pasta, and Zafferano does not disappoint with their house-made tagliolini that comes adorned with Hokkaido scallops and Bafun uni. If you are gluten-intolerant, opt instead for the Wild Caught Spanish Turbot with Sicilian Red Prawn Cacciucco, a hearty Tuscan stew that highlights the crustaceans’ sweetness. For dessert, relish in a contemporary interpretation of the classic Christmas cake with the Panettone Semifreddo, a marriage between the traditional British rice pudding and the archetypal Italian Christmas cake. Boasting a 43rd storey perch with spectacular views of the Marina Waterfront, partake in the season’s festivities with one of the city’s top Italian restaurants. Buon Natale!
Zafferano, Ocean Financial Centre, 10 Collyer Quay, Singapore 04931.
For inquiries: +65 65091488 / [email protected]
For a holiday feast with a modern touch:
Salted & Hung
If leading a more sustainable lifestyle is one of your new year’s resolutions, get an early start with a zero-waste festive celebration at Salted & Hung. Chef Drew Nocente’s minimal waste culinary approach sees every dish made from scratch with each ingredient pushed to their fullest potential to reduce waste. Think broth made from charcuterie trimmings and tomato buttermilk, a combination of tomato trimmings and the by-product from Salted & Hung’s house-made butters. Here you’ll find a thoughtful gastronomic affair that highlights your favourite yuletide flavours, minus the environmental sacrifice.
Starters include the rose-shaped Cured Kingfish and The Uni, a luscious plate of uni, caviar, fish soy panna cotta and sparkling sake jelly. Keeping up with the zero-waste theme, the next dish on the menu: King Crab and Kaluga Caviar, comes served atop collagen chips made from turbot trimmings. Main courses here include Australian marron served with a shellfish and buttermilk emulsion and a dry aged wagyu with potato mille feuille and truffle. For dessert, you can’t go wrong with the classic Christmas Pudding. Aged for four weeks and served with clotted cream ice cream and finished with rum and a little fire magic, we can think of no better way to round off the holiday festivities.
Salted & Hung, 12 Purvis St, Singapore 188591.
For inquiries: +65 63583130 / [email protected]
665°F
Celebrate the festive season with a breath-taking view of the Singapore skyline at 665°F. Located on the 38th level of Andaz Singapore, the modern steakhouse is named after the temperature of their signature Pira oven and grill. This December, look forward to a decadent seven-course Christmas tasting menu featuring the restaurant’s prime cuts and sustainable seafood. Appetisers include Fine de Claire Oyster with Prosecco granite, Hokkaido Scallop with parsnip puree, pan-seared foie gras and Jerusalem Artichoke Velouté with winter black truffle. For mains, choose between ‘surf’ and ‘turf’ with either a Patagonian Toothfish served with a caviar beurre blanc or an A4 Kagoshima Wagyu Sirloin that comes with a bordelaise sauce. Before moving to dessert, savour the Truffle Brie de Meaux with accompaniments of honeycomb and Fuji apple compote. A Spiced White Chocolate Trifle with wine poached pear provides a sweet finish to your festive meal. With a contemporary interior inspired by the classic Savile-Row tailor shops in London, if you aren’t able to travel this Christmas, a holiday meal here might be the next best thing.
665°F, Andaz Singapore, 5 Fraser St, Singapore 189354.
For inquiries: +65 64081255
For a fusion meal that celebrates the East and West:
La Dame de Pic
This festive season, step into the world of three-Michelin-starred Chef Anne-Sophie Pic with a Christmas menu that pays tribute to her French origins, with touches of local and regional flavours. If you are a fan of truffles, you will love the festive menu here as it showcases seasonal truffles of both the white and melanosporum variety. Your Christmas feast begins with a Foie Gras Terrine with flavours of Japanese strawberry and sencha, served alongside a warm black truffled brioche. Next, look forward to the restaurant’s signature Berlingots that have received a festive upgrade in accordance with the season. Now filled with French cheese fondue and accompanied by French black truffles, these little pyramid-shaped pasta parcels come bathed in a leek consommé with Bourbon Pointu coffee and pine buds—a testament to Chef Pic’s quest to include an element of bitterness to add depth in all her creations. Indulge in the next two dishes: Scallop from Normandy and Classic Bresse Poularde, before rounding your meal off with the restaurant’s take on christmas dessert. Here, Itakuja chocolate is paired with a turmeric mango and ginger condiment for sweet yet spicy finish—the perfect way to end off a flavourful Christmas meal.
La Dame de Pic, Raffles Singapore, 1 Beach Rd, Singapore 189673.
For inquiries: +65 6412 1816 / [email protected]
Koma Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar
If you are interested in a holiday meal with a twist, Koma is a good place to start. The restaurant and sushi bar presents its interpretation of a festive feast with its four-course Christmas menu, incorporating classic holiday notes into its modern Japanese fare. Your meal begins with a wintry assortment of seafood appetisers including a fragrant Flower Crab Soup infused with barley and mushrooms. For mains, choose between Beef Sirloin with Sansho Sauce, Pan-fried Soy Braised Duck with Beet Sauce or Abalone with Mixed Mushrooms, an earthy dish of maitake and eryngii mushrooms. Each meal also comes with Koma’s Sushi Jewel Box, a decadent chirashi don with five types of fish. For dessert, indulge in the Christmas Log Cake, the restaurant’s modern-Japanese take on the traditional festive pastry. Coated with dark chocolate mousse, vanilla crémeux and a light burst of nashi pear jelly, we can’t think of a sweeter way to celebrate the holiday season.
Koma, The Shoppes, 2 Bayfront Avenue #B1-67, Singapore 018972.
For inquiries: +65 66888590 / koma[email protected]
