Here’s what’s just opened in Singapore this July, and the spots we’ve added to our own list of places to check out.
Vernacular Coffee
Vernacular Coffee, the specialty coffee brand under The Grange Collective, has opened its street-front flagship inside Varel Singapore, a Tribute Portfolio hotel on Selegie Road. It’s an all-day, pet-friendly space with floor-to-ceiling glass and alfresco seating, roasting single-origin beans in house alongside TWG teas and Fossa Chocolate drinking chocolate. The all-day menu runs from a Skagen shrimp salad Danish and a pulled pork, gherkin and mustard Danish to mentaiko pasta, fish and chips, and a homemade kaya croast. Come evening, the space turns into Vernacular After Dark, a beer garden pouring Sapporo and Jing-A on tap with yakitori, smoked duck sliders and BBQ pulled pork loaded fries. It’s the brand’s third Singapore outlet, joining existing locations at Guillemard Road and Capital Tower.
Address: 189 Selegie Road, Singapore 188332
Website: vernacularcoffee.com
Martina’s Kitchen
Martina’s Kitchen has opened its second outlet at Aperia Mall on Kallang Avenue, following on from the original Seletar Aerospace location. The 128-seat space is styled as a living museum of sorts, with a wall of nine painted windows inspired by the old Hill Street Police Station and a display of family heirlooms: Peranakan porcelain, beaded shoes, hand-drawn batiks and Nyonya watercolours. The kitchen serves modern Peranakan cooking rooted in founder Eileen Tay-Wong’s family recipes, made without MSG. Signatures include the Singapore Satay, Sengguang Goreng, Sambal Chicken, Steam Assam Red Snapper and Black Vinegar Pork Trotter, with the Lemongrass Chicken best ordered alongside the Bird of Paradise mocktail. A pop-jazz band plays live every Friday and Saturday from 6.30pm.
Address: Aperia Mall, 12 Kallang Avenue, #01-60/61, Singapore 339511
Website: martinaskitchen.com.sg
Behind Clay
Tucked behind Il Clay’s wood-fired oven in Clarke Quay, Behind Clay is a 52-seat dining lounge with no street entrance or signage, reached only by walking past the pizzeria’s kitchen. It’s a joint concept between Chef Ciro Sorrentino, whose Ho Chi Minh City pizzeria Margheri ranked twelfth in Asia-Pacific this year, and Modern Chinese chef Yip. The menu leans into shared plates that pair the two disciplines: a Butternut Chicken Pizza topped with chicken curry and pork floss, Mala Shaker Pork Belly, and slow-cooked beef short ribs in char siu sauce. A daily aperitif hour from 5pm to 6pm runs $10 cocktails and wines alongside $1 oysters. The room itself is burgundy-lit, with a mirrored ceiling and zigzag flooring built for slower evenings.
Address: Blk D, 3D River Valley Rd, #01-04 Clarke Quay, Singapore 179023
Website: ilclay.com/behindclay
Torikizoku
Japan’s Torikizoku, the yakitori chain with close to 700 outlets worldwide, has landed in Singapore with its biggest outlet yet: a 174-seat space at VivoCity split between an indoor dining room and an alfresco stretch overlooking the promenade. Founded in Osaka in 1985 by Tadashi Ōkura, the chain built its following on flat pricing, with food and non-alcoholic drinks at a flat S$3.90++ and alcoholic drinks or kids’ meals at S$9.90++. The signature KIZOKUYAKI skewers, double the size of a standard skewer, come in sauce, spice and salt versions, with the Chicken Thigh and Leek in sauce a solid starting order. Beyond the grill, there’s Chicken Kamameshi claypot rice and a grilled fluffy grated yam on the side. It’s a straightforward, affordable stop for a casual round of skewers and beer.
Address: 1 Harbourfront Walk #01-104/105, VivoCity, Singapore 098585
Website: torikizoku.com.sg
Braveheart Sake Originals
Braveheart Sake Originals has opened in Tanjong Pagar as Singapore’s first dedicated sake-cocktail bar, founded by mixologist James Li and sake sommelier Ong Jun Quan. The debut menu, Sake Originals Vol. 1, runs across two chapters: Common Ground reworks familiar names like Lager and Whisky using sake in place of their usual base spirit, while Shin Tradition builds new creations around sake as the lead ingredient, including the nigori-based Hedonic, which combines cream, pistachio and cold brew coffee. Alongside the cocktails sits a list of 15 sakes organised by four flavour markers, fruit, umami, cereal and milky, rather than by technical classification, meant to guide newcomers without requiring prior sake knowledge. Bottles start from S$118, cocktails from S$20.
Address: 83A Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088504
Website: braveheart.asia
11 Westside
Liberty Group has brought its Hong Kong-born taco concept 11 Westside to Asia Square Tower 1, led by Group Executive Chef Yong Soo Do working off a menu built with original collaborator Chef Esdras Ochoa. The space runs 133 indoor seats and 88 alfresco, pet-friendly ones, styled after a Mexican hacienda with arched walkways around a central courtyard bar. Tortillas are made fresh daily using imported masa flour, filling out tacos like Al Pastor, Baja Fish and Carnitas, alongside starters like tableside guacamole and yellowtail ceviche. The bar programme, developed by 11 Westside Hong Kong founder Daniel Eun, leans on agave spirits and sour-style cocktails such as the Smoky Tajin Margarita. A weekday lunch set runs from S$35++, and Taco Tuesdays brings 50% off all tacos from 6pm.
Address: 8 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 1, #01-05, Singapore 018960
Website: 11westside.sg
Nyonya Next Door
Nyonya Next Door has opened at One Shenton, bringing a build-your-own Peranakan format to the CBD from the team behind Cherki. Diners start with a base, choosing between Kerabu Beehoon tossed with lemongrass and kaffir lime, Lemongrass Blue Pea Coconut Rice, or the Nyonya Black Curry Rice built on buah keluak paste and coconut milk. Mains are added from there: Inchi Kabin Chicken Berempah, Buah Keluak Chicken, Coconut Chicken Kapitan, Assam Pedas Barramundi, and an eight-hour Beef Brisket Rendang. A trio of house-made sambals rounds out the plate, from the slow-cooked original to a raw, herbaceous sambal matah. Classic Nanyang coffee and tea are on the drinks list too, alongside a calamansi and plum Assam Boy refresher. Sets start from S$8.90.
Address: 1 Shenton Way, #01-06 One Shenton, Singapore 068803
Website: nyonyanextdoor.com
67 on Scotts
67 on Scotts has introduced a new weekday set lunch, part of a wider refresh of dining across 67 Pall Mall Singapore and its newer sister venue at Shaw Centre. The lunch runs two courses for S$28++ or three for S$32++, opening with a choice of sweet corn soup or king salmon gravlax, moving into mains like wagyu beef ragù rigatoni or a Mediterranean pan-seared seabass fillet, with a Margaret River beef ribeye upgrade for S$18 more. A glass of sommelier-selected wine can be added for S$10++, drawn from a rotating list that currently includes a Verdejo, a dry rosé and a negroamaro. Weekend visitors can also catch The 67 Weekend, running Champagne, oysters and wagyu tataki brioche until 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Address: 67 on Scotts, Shaw Centre, 1 Scotts Road, Singapore
Website: 67onscotts.com
Milkfish & Broth
Milkfish & Broth has relaunched at Raffles City with a refreshed menu built around its two mainstays: grilled milkfish belly and slow-brewed broths. The belly, prized for its buttery texture and natural omega-3 content, now comes in a new miso option alongside the existing Nyonya and soy glaze finishes. The broth list has expanded to six bowls simmered for up to eight hours without MSG or preservatives, including new additions like a dang gui chicken broth and a vegan-friendly wild mushroom and kombu broth, alongside the seafood-forward collagen broths with batang. A Combo for 2 set brings a shared grilled milkfish plate with two broth bowls from S$43.60. Both mains can be upgraded into a full set with sides and a rice or noodle choice for S$5 more.
Address: Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road, #B1-44F, Singapore 179103
Website: milkfish.sg
If you missed it, here’s our May edition of new restaurants to catch up on. And if there’s a new opening we’ve missed or a menu we should know about, we’d love to hear it. Until next month, happy eating!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
July’s openings include Martina’s Kitchen’s second outlet at Aperia Mall, Nyonya Next Door at One Shenton, Vernacular Coffee’s flagship at Varel Singapore in Selegie, Torikizoku’s biggest global outlet at VivoCity, Behind Clay’s hidden dining lounge in Clarke Quay, and 11 Westside’s Singapore debut at Asia Square Tower 1.
Torikizoku has opened its largest outlet in the world at VivoCity, with 174 seats spanning an indoor dining room and an alfresco stretch overlooking the promenade. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are kept at a flat $3.90++, with the KIZOKUYAKI skewers, double the size of a standard skewer, as the signature order.
Behind Clay is a 52-seat dining lounge in Clarke Quay with no separate street entrance or signage, accessed only by walking through Il Clay’s pizzeria and past its wood-fired oven. It’s a joint menu between Chef Ciro Sorrentino of Margheri and Modern Chinese chef Yip, built around shared plates that combine Neapolitan technique with wok hei.
Nyonya Next Door has opened at One Shenton with a build-your-own Peranakan format from the team behind Cherki. Diners choose a base, such as Nyonya Black Curry Rice or Kerabu Beehoon, then add mains like Buah Keluak Chicken or Beef Brisket Rendang, with sets starting from $8.90.
11 Westside has opened at Asia Square Tower 1, marking Liberty Group’s Singapore debut of the Hong Kong-born taco concept. The menu includes handmade tortillas, tacos such as Al Pastor and Baja Fish, and a cocktail programme built around agave spirits, with a weekday lunch set from $35++.
Milkfish & Broth has relaunched with an expanded broth menu, now six options simmered for up to eight hours, alongside a new miso glaze for its signature Grilled Milkfish Belly. A Combo for 2 set brings a shared milkfish plate with two broth bowls from $43.60.
Read Full Article At Source
