Singapore is known as a foodie's paradise — and we can thank our diverse food culture ranging from humble hawker fare to high-end restaurants and everything in between.
Where else in the world can you find $2 Michelin-starred food?
Apart from that, our little red dot has also received many international accolades like Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, World's 50 Best Bar — and now, La Liste's Top 1,000 Restaurants, where 14 of our homegrown restaurants have made the 2025 list.
For the uninitiated, La Liste is a prestigious French dining guide that compiles a list of the world's best 1,000 restaurants every year.
Instead of a panel of judges, it has a scoring system based on reviews from guidebooks, publications and customers, as well as input from thousands of chefs.
Each restaurant will then be awarded a score out of a hundred.
Fourteen of Singapore's restaurants have made the 2025 list, including all three of Singapore's three-Michelin-starred restaurants.
Odette clinched the top spot among them with a score of 98, followed by Les Amis and Zen (both scoring 97.5 each).
Other restaurants include Saint Pierre, Burnt Ends, Jaan by Kirk Westaway, Waku Ghin, Meta, Cut by Wolfgang Puck, Iggy's, Shoukouwa, Shisen Hanten, Cloudstreet and Thevar.
In the 2024 list, 12 of Singapore's restaurant were ranked on the list — with the top three spots taken by Odette, Les Amis and Zen as well.
The 2025 list saw three first-timers: Meta, Cloudstreet and Thevar.
The rest of the restaurants remained on the list for 2024 and 2025, with the exception of Crystal Jade Golden Palace, which made the list for 2024 but didn't make the cut for this latest edition.
Additionally, the French fine-dining guide also presented an Opening of the Year award to another Singapore restaurant — Air CCCC at Dempsey Hill.
Opened on Jan 31, Air CCCC is a contemporary restaurant co-founded by famed chefs Matthew Orlando and Will Goldfarb.
Focusing on sustainability, the restaurant also has its own on-site garden with fresh produce, research facility and lawn area where diners can enjoy picnics and events.
If you're curious, the restaurants with the highest scores on the list are mostly Western ones, such as Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Switzerland, Guy Savoy in France and LEnclume in the UK.
Other Asian restaurants include Hong Kong's Lung King Heen, Japan's Matsukawa and Caprice at the Four Seasons in China.
But it's not just our restaurants that have been recognised in the culinary scene by La Liste.
Earlier in June, local pastry chef Janice Wong became the first Singaporean to receive the Pastry Innovation Award from the guide.
In November 2023, renowned local chef and Masterchef Singapore judge Damian D'Silva also received a special award from La Liste — the Artisan and Authenticity award — for his dedication to preserving Singapore's culinary heritage through his food.
ALSO READ: 4 Singapore bars make World's 50 Best Bars 2024 list, including Jigger & Pony at No. 5
carol.ong@asiaone.com
