For some, this long weekend means jetting off to Bangkok for the Songkran festivities or to some hidden island paradise for some much needed R&R. But if you don’t have any solid plans lined up, you might want to make room for a nice Sunday brunch. It is Easter after all. We’ve scoured through the many options in Singapore for a nice day out and categorized them into six different profiles. Whether you’re up for trying something fancy or looking for food options for the ‘gram, we’ve got you covered. There are 20 different places in this list, so go crazy. But if you’re hoping for a quiet, kid-free restaurant, look away.
And just to make it simpler, click on the categories below to jump to the list of restaurants:
• For the ones who enjoy fuss-free everything
For the boozy
Montreux Jazz Cafe (Apr 16)
This 500-seater outfit is the first by the people behind Montreux Jazz Festival in Asia and is located just a couple of minutes away from Orchard MRT, behind the infamous Orchard Towers. They’re putting an Easter spin on their regular Sunday Brunch, with a wide selection of dishes to go with the live performances, including starters like the Breakfast Salad and the Portobello Stack, mains like the BB King Cheese Burger and Eggs Benedict, and desserts such as the Fluffy Pancake and Sticky Date pudding. You can opt for the free-flow of champagne and alcohol beverages because, who doesn’t drink when it’s still bright out on a Sunday? $98. Pan Pacific Orchard, 10 Claymore Rd. 6733-0091.
Open Farm Community (Apr 16)
It’s all about the eggs over at the expansive 5,000 sqm space that’s lush and airy with plenty of garden space dedicated to produce and an airy alfresco terrace that’s decked out with clean but cushy deck furniture. Have em’ done the OFC way with highlights like the lamb and curry scotch egg or the 63-degree eggs in the shell served with toasted sourdough, fresh ricotta cheese, baked beans, stir fried chilli beef rib eye and spring onions. Otherwise, you can choose other favorites from their renowned a la carte Weekend Brunch menu like their red grouper burger and cured ocean trout savoury crepe served with Mexican tarragon cream cheese, rough guacamole and quail eggs. Either way, you’ll be able to enjoy 90-minutes free flow of prosecco, house wines, draught beers and Rose Petals, a special concoction created by the Group Bar Manager for Easter. $120. 130E Minden Rd. 6471-0306.
Sear (Apr 14 & 16)
Located on the 45th floor of Singapore Land Tower, Sear provides a great view of the city if you’re lucky enough to be sitting near a window. You’ll essentially be celebrating Easter in the air while gorging on their semi-buffet style brunch with highlights like lobster eggs benedict, truffle mac and cheese and more. Add an additional $20 and you’ll get free flow mimosas, beer, wine, soft drinks and juices. $78 for the non-alcoholic set. #45-01 Singapore Land Tower, 50 Raffles Plc. 6221-9555.
Town Restaurant, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore (Apr 16)
Bright, airy and spacious, Town Restaurant makes for the perfect stopover for a lazy weekend brunch. In fact, its Sunday champagne brunch buffet is not only one of the longest running in town, but also one of the best known, and continually sees people spilling out into the lobby. Gather the troops and have an afternoon of festive plates of onsen egg in cocotte with porcini ragout and black truffle shavings, whole salmon in char siew confit, or Torta Pasqualina, a traditional Italian Easter Pie filled with mixed greens, eggs, grated Parmesan wrapped in a strudel-like pastry. Don’t forget to try the steamed egg custard prepared in its shell with king crab, urchin cream, trout roe and shiso cress. $189 (with free flow Bottega Gold Prosecco). G/F The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, 1 Fullerton Sq. 6877-8128.
For the classy
Botanico at The Garage (Apr 16)
Botanico is one of two eateries at The Garage, housed in a restored two-storey, seven-car garage that was first built in the 1920s to hold the cars (and upstairs, the drivers) of horticulture professors. The handsome, foliage-esconed heritage building is spacious and high-ceilinged, the kind of place your cool and rich friends might have a gorgeous daytime wedding reception. They’ve prepared a four-course Sunday brunch menu for Easter, which consists of a serving of freshly shucked oyster, Iberico ham croquette and lamb tartare, followed by starters like grilled sucrine lettuce paired with creamy Stracciatella buffalo chese, Spanish smoked anchovies, housemmade preserved lemon and capers, mains like chargrilled wagyu flank accompanied by burnt onions, ratte potato and romseco sauce, and desserts like the Eggster Cocktail, a sweet mix of Baileys, vodka, chocolate sauce and chocolate powder. $65. Singapore Botanic Garden, 50 Cluny Park Rd. 9831-1106.
Cut by Wolfgang Puck (Apr 14-16)
Celeb chef Wolfgang Puck’s Singaporean outpost is a contemporary steakhouse that sports an impressive menu of beef. This Easter, indulge in all their carnivorous offering with your family and indulge in plates of roasted USDA prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, scrumptious sides to share like the Fried Pee Wee Potatoes and Spring Pea Medley with confit bacon and poached eggs and the establishment’s signature desserts such as the Valrhona Chocolate Souffle and the locally-inspired Kaya “Baked Alaska” with coconut cake, pandan ice cream, coconut sorbet and coffee crumble. $600. #B1-71 Gallery Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave. 6688-8517.
Lewin Terrace (Apr 16)
While the restaurant is decked out in blinding white walls (typical of a former colonial house) and white tablecloths to match, candlelit table settings, cushioned fabric chairs and parquet flooring, the alfresco section is, in our opinion, the best spot; especially when you’re about to dig into a festive Japanese-inspired four-course lunch or five-course dinner, where you can expect modern reinventions of Devilled Eggs and dishes like seabream, grilled lamb and foie gras saute. $78 for lunch, $128 for dinner. Fort Canning Park, 21 Lewin Terrace. 6333-9905.
Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora (Apr 15-16)
If you never had a reason to check out S.E.A. Aquarium, well now you do. Apart from the 100,000 marine animals from over 800 species, the largest oceanarium in the world is also home to celebrity chef establishment Ocean Restaurant by the first and only female Iron Chef of Iron Chef America fame, Cat Cora. The festive weekend sees unlimited servings of eggs like chawanmushi with foie gras and scrambled egg with truffle, a Fruits de Mer platter of lobster dumpling, grilled fish, scallops and fried shrimp and a main course choice of roasted bresse chicken or wagyu beef prime cuts Rossini with seared foie gras and truffle vinaigrette. End the meal with a desserts combination of Carrot Gateau with mascarpone lime sobrbet; roasted peach with soursop sorbet, buttermilk sago and sakura espuma; and Grand Cru Chocolate, mango and passionfruit sphere with greek yoghurt and tarragon sorbet—all complimented with a fascinating view of the marina animals. $88 (comes with a glass of Prosecco). S.E.A. Aquarium, Marine Life Park, Resorts World Sentosa, 8 Sentosa Gateway. 6577-6869.
For the ones who enjoy fuss-free everything
AquaMarine (Apr 16)
Zip up to the fourth floor of Marina Mandarin to celebrate Easter at AquaMarine. This restaurant has appeared on countless lists as one of the better Halal-certified restaurants with a buffet spread that celebrates the diversity of food from around the world. Chefs are busy behind glass windows that give a peek into what goes on in the kitchen. But for Easter, they’re preparing a bunch of Chef’s Specials like the 16-hours cooked lamb shoulder with orange and fennel, sous vide organic eggs and smoked salmon with spinach herb espuma, salted egg yolk hot cross buns and a bunch of praline chocolate eggs. Nothing too fancy, but enough to celebrate the holiday. $68. 4/F Marina Mandarin Singapore, 6 Raffles Blvd. 6845-1111.
Brotzeit (Apr 14-17)
When you think of Brotzeit, their famous Knoblauchwurst (smoked pork garlic sausage with roasted potatoes and sauerkraut) comes to mind, which goes well with their decent selection of German beers. This Easter, they’re keeping in line with their heritage to offer a three-course menu that starts off with a bowl of zucchini and potato cream soup with bacon, which segues into the braised lamb shank with mashed potato and oven roasted vegetable, and finally, the warm chocolate cake served with ice cream. $48. #01-149/151 VivoCity, 1 Harbourfront Walk. 6272-8815 / #01-17 Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Rd. 6883-1534 / Discovery Walk, 313@Somerset, 313 Orchard Rd. 6834-4038.
Fratelli (Apr 16)
There’s nothing much going on over at this family-run Italian food joint, but if you have little humans in the family joining in for Easter Sunday brunch, then there’s a complimentary pizza making workshop where they can really work their creative juices. Otherwise, bask in the gourmet experience brought to you by brothers Enrico and Roberto Cerea, whose family runs the acclaimed Michelin-starred Da Vittorio restaurants in Italy, and enjoy nosh like lobster cappuccino soup with crab meat, house signature paccheri pasta with parmigiano reggiano cheese and Boston lobster meat, eggless double cream flan panna cotta, and much more. $88. #02-144/145 Hotel Michael, 26 Sentosa Gateway. 6577-6555.
Lawry’s The Prime Rib (Apr 14-16)
With its prime location and its British tea room theme, one has to expect a bit of cheesiness from Lawry’s ambiance. While the prices are decidedly fine dining, the atmosphere is a little more kitsch with waitresses in aprons and bonnets and gimmicks like the spinning salad. Still, that doesn’t take away from the food, which is well above average. Their four-course Easter menu includes the said spinning bowl salad, a choice of gratinated smoked salmon and egg or Easter carrot soup with scallops, fresh cream and dill, mains like their signature roasted prime rib of beef or New Zealand king salmon and the classic carrot cake to finish the meal. $89. #04-01/31 Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Rd. 6836-3333.
For the penny-pinchers
Brez’n (Through Apr 16)
Brez’n, which means “pretzel” in Bavarian, was opened last September by the guys behind LeVeL 33 and Erwin’s Gastrobar and Kaiserhaus Restaurant. Located along River Valley Road, it serves up all things Bavarian, from sourdough breads to Bavarian beers. If you have kids on your entourage, rejoice, because this Easter, the Bavarian restaurant is treating every child to a free meal from a dedicated kids menu as long as you order something to eat (of course you’re there to eat right?). Highlights include the special Easter Platter ($118) of glazed slow cooked lamb shank, two pan-fried salmon steaks, buttery herbed potato mash and Brez’ns signature crispy pork knuckles; the lamb shank with potato mash ($42) and creamed spinach and egg ($15). $15-$118. #01-21/22/23 Valley Point, 491 River Valley Rd. 6235-1613.
The Carvery, Park Hotel Alexandra (Apr 16)
Set in an airy and modern space perched on the seventh floor of Park Hotel Alexandra and overlooking the treetop canopy of The Southern Ridges, The Carvery has made a name for its exceptional meats buffet, offering a wide selection of meats (and suggested wine pairings) that have been flawlessly prepared. This Sunday, they’re preparing for a wood-fired feast featuring juicy charred Argentinian ribeye, Australian lamb shoulder, Yorkshire Pudding and their special house-made hot cross buns. $58. Level 7, Park Hotel Alexandra, 323 Alexandra Rd. 6828-8880.
Jamie’s Italian (Apr 15-16)
Instead of creating well-thought out dishes for Easter, Jamie’s Italian has decided to pull all the stops with a gourmet pop-up market within their VivoCity outlet, where you can check out a live cooking station where the chefs demonstrate their prowess in hand-making fresh pasta from scratch, grab some of that fresh pasta to eat and that recipe card that details steps on how to recreate Jamie’s famous Italian sauce at home, and a market where you can get a healthy range of oil, cheeses, cold cuts and home-made sauces. However, if you rather skip all of that and just grab the food, you’ll be able to try out their one and only Easter special, the roast pork belly infused with Somersby cider and paired with red cabbage, grilled fennel, an apricot stuffed green apple and orange gremolata ($32.50). Free admission to event. #01-165/167 VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk. 6733-5500.
Plate, Carlton City Hotel Singapore (Apr 16)
The modern-looking establishment on the third floor of Carlton City Hotel is going all out to offer a special buffet spread that embodies and celebrates ingredients that make up the festive season. Fresh seafood on ice like half shell scallops, snow crabs and tiger prawns are at your disposal, along with a selection of appetizers like smoked salmon platter, duck rillettes with macadamia and chargrilled Portobello mushrooms with garlic confit. Then move on to the main event—no Easter Sunday fare is complete without a roast. Here, indulge in the succulent herb-crusted lamb leg, honey-glazed gammon ham, roasted prime ribs or baked whole salmon with soya and sesame, all available at the live carving station. Otherwise, there’s also the beef cheek red wine stew, charcoal-grilled barbeque pork spare ribs and a station dedicated to preparing a la minute pasta dishes. End the meal off with a bout of sugary goodness with Easter rice cakes, hot cross buns, baked glazed pear tart and assorted pralines. $35 (free flow soda and juices). 3/F Carlton City Hotel Singapore, 1 Gopeng St. 6632-8922.
For the “influencer”
Bee’s Knees at The Garage (Apr 16-30)
The other outlet housed in The Garage at Singapore Botanic Gardens is the aptly named Bee’s Knees; a casual, post-walking-the-dog brunch spot on the first floor of the restored 1920s car garage. After you’ve had your fill upstairs, head down here to get yourself some enticing baked goods like lemon cupcakes with handmade chocolate bunny ears; parsley and mint or chocolate and carrot cupcakes; and mango linzer cookies. While they may sound a little kiddish, they make for a good addition to your Instagram feed, especially when composed well against the cool hipster-looking decor of the place. $3-$6. Singapore Botanic Garden, 50 Cluny Park Rd. 9831-1106.
Colony, The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore (Apr 16)
Most of their dishes are inspired by the route that the British took to travel to the East Indies back in the 18th century, which explains the seven “live” conservatory kitchens, each showcasing their signature Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Western and of course, Singaporean dishes. Be sure to have your cameras ready and head down with your friends to take shots of their Italian meat pie, roasted baby lamb, Scotch quail eggs, various crustaceans on ice and a smorgasbord of Easter confections under the restaurant’s natural lighting. Remember to smile, okay? $198 (includes unlimited pours of Moet and Chandon Grand Vintage Blanc 2006, Moet and Chandon Grand Rose 2008, Easter-themed cocktails and house pour wines. 1/F The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, 7 Raffles Ave. 6434-5288.
Italian Osteria (Apr 16)
Get a dose of Italian grub and tipples this Easter weekend and dine at Italian Osteria as they dish out festive specials like grilled lamb rack in “Scottadito” style served with nouvelle potatoes ($39), fresh anchovies in saor with stewed onions, pine nuts and raisins ($36), fresh homemade Colomba (traditional Easter Cake; $32) and more. One of the great things about the establishment is its ambience, which was inspired by traditional and humble Italian taverns of yesteryears that weren’t lavishly decked out. To give it a more convincing rustic vibe, they’ve adorned the place with fine antique pieces of decor and gorgeous copper and wood furniture. $32-$39. #02-01 Hillv2, 4 Hillview Rise. 6710-7150.
Sessions, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore (Apr 16)
This sweet new kid on the block that just opened is an adult’s sugary wonderland. This new establishment located within Hard Rock Hotel Singapore is part live music venue (thus the name Sessions), part restaurant and part patisserie. While you can get your hands on Instagram-worthy and mouth-watering desserts at the patisserie, what you really want to go for is their Easter buffet spread of local and Louisiana crabs and seafood like the perennial favorite chili crab, stir-fried cereal prawn and more. The multi-concept dining destination’s team has also prepared some saccharine-laced Easter desserts like crunchy praline mousse in giant chocolate eggshell, violet chocolate fudge with jelly bean, and the like. $88. #02-261 Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, 26 Sentosa Gateway. 6577-6567 / 6577-6688.
