INFRAME ASIA, CULINARY – Singapore’s dining scene is welcoming a fresh wave of restaurants in October 2026, bringing together Japanese cuisine, modern Asian flavors, pasta and creative desserts. The latest openings include concepts from established chefs as well as smaller homegrown businesses moving into their first permanent dining spaces. The restaurants are spread across several popular dining areas in the city.
One of the most anticipated openings is Ao, a casual modern Japanese restaurant led by Chef Takeshi Araki, formerly of Michelin-starred kappo restaurant Esora. Ao is located on Claymore Drive in the Orchard area and marks Araki’s return to Singapore’s restaurant scene. The restaurant applies Japanese techniques to familiar ingredients and dishes from different culinary traditions.
Ao offers an à la carte menu with dishes designed for sharing. Among the options are bluefin tuna tartare served over crispy toasted sushi rice, sea bream ramen and chicken wings filled with black truffle mochi rice. The restaurant also serves duck rillette and cold sudachi somen with uni.
Another new arrival is Aro, a restaurant associated with Chef Johanne Siy, who is also behind Lolla. The restaurant occupies the former Esora location, creating another connection between Singapore’s current restaurant scene and the chefs who previously worked there. Aro is part of a group of new openings that have brought established culinary names back into the spotlight this month.
Saikyo Pasta is taking a different approach with a much smaller format. The Japanese-Italian pasta bar has just 12 seats at its location in Icon Village in Tanjong Pagar. It began as a home-based takeaway business run by husband-and-wife team Arya Masagung and Angeline Chandraatmadja before moving into its first dine-in space.
The menu at Saikyo Pasta focuses on Japanese-style pasta dishes inspired by the simple and comforting food served at family-run eateries in Japan. Its Napolitan pasta uses Japanese ketchup to create a distinctly sweet and savory flavor. Other choices include shiso mushroom pasta and cold kombu pasta with ikura.
Modern Asian cuisine is represented by Tanica, which has taken over the former Fysh space at The Singapore EDITION. The restaurant focuses on Southeast Asian ingredients, herbs and spices while presenting them through a contemporary dining style. Its menu includes dishes that combine familiar regional flavors with techniques from other culinary traditions.
One of Tanica’s signature dishes is an asam pedas seafood risotto. The rice is cooked slowly in a tangy tamarind broth and served with ama ebi, sea grapes and grilled wing beans. The restaurant also offers a three-course weekday lunch and a Sunday brunch alongside its dinner menu.
Maison Yoshoku at Raffles City is bringing a more theatrical approach to desserts. The Japanese-Western restaurant features a dessert omakase in which selected sweets are suspended in mid-air using magnetic levitation. The concept has attracted attention as the floating-dessert trend continues to spread beyond Japan.
The dessert omakase at Maison Yoshoku is available in three-, five- and seven-course options. Dishes include desserts such as truffle semifreddo served in a charcoal tart shell, with the menu changing regularly. The restaurant also serves savory dishes, including hitsumabushi-style lunch sets and modern yoshoku creations such as omurice and foie gras monaka.
The new openings come as Singapore continues to experience rapid turnover in its food and beverage industry. Recent industry figures show that thousands of restaurants and food businesses have opened and closed during 2026, while new concepts continue to appear across the city. Japanese, Korean, Thai-Malay and modern Asian influences remain prominent among the latest restaurant launches.
