One of the many restaurants in Raffles City’s shiny cluster of basement stores, Kuriya is an elegant, mid-range eatery. Dim lighting and lots of dark wood make for a stylish interior, and we only realized that many of the walls were actually doors when they slid open to reveal people within. The menu is extensive—if you find yourself unable to decide what to have we recommend soba, the restaurant’s specialty. We ordered two soba sets: The soba shokado which comes with many small dishes and, of course, soba; and a soba and sushi set. Everything was delicious, from the fresh slivers of sashimi to the firm, thin soba that is handmade. For dessert, we had chewy green tea pudding with red bean paste—a combo that sounds unlikely but tastes grand. Our servers were very discreet, managing to be around when you needed them but invisible when you didn’t. Considering what good quality you get, the prices are reasonable and you can dine here frequently—something that is hard to do at other fine Japanese restaurants.
