Through a tunnel entryway that resembles the set of Blade Runner, past the bar that glows like a brick of red ember, around the corner from a large oven likely forged from the Industrial Revolution, and by the wall of melted disco balls, you’ll find a twin set of handsome dining rooms bisected by a dark, open kitchen. This is where a team of cooks quietly produce dishes that you’ll remember.

You remember a menu that hews local but still emblematic of its chef, the ex Oud Sluis chef Sergio Herman (the Singapore outpost is one of three, alongside the Tokyo and Antwerp locations). The pizette, ‘chili crab’ style, angus ‘pepper’ beef, and oysters in champagne mousseline all feel custom-built for Singapore. During a recent lunch, though, my dining companions and I submitted to a truncated lunch menu instead. It starts with a compelling take on vitello tonnato and ends with a black forest dessert — a local favorite — that somehow finds novelty in deconstruction.

You remember the signature orecchiette and the sweet, mi-cuit langoustines that crowns the dish (a breathtaking but worth-it upcharge), wherein al-dente pasta simmers in an intensely flavorful gravy; the welcome take on paella, dotted with edible flowers among pristine slabs of rockfish.

You remember the brightness of the dishes, too. Dialed up to a ten, so the flavors sharpen, almost to a dizzying degree.

Le Pristine proves that the gimmicks from chain restaurants are not always lost on diners; that no one outlet is (thankfully) the same; that among the broad array of fine dining in Singapore, you can build something new.

🙏 Aun and Veronica for the recommendation. Less