National Day 2024: Where to dine out to celebrate Singapore’s 59th birthday

National Day is fast approaching, and restaurants across the city are preparing for the occasion with themed events and menus. From locally inspired dishes to exclusive cocktails, the limited-time menus aim to help guests gather and celebrate Singapore’s 59th with the country’s favourite pastime: food. 

Read on for a list of restaurants which have made special preparations for National Day, ranging from unlimited Hot Dogs by the pool, to a locally inspired three course meal with an aerial view of the parade.

Restaurants with a view of the National Day Parade

The fireworks show at the end of every parade is always a crowd favourite. These restaurants offer a view of the ever-popular display, paired with gastronomic delights.

1. CÉ LA VI Singapore

The well-known rooftop bar CÉ LA VI will be holding a full-day family friendly event for National Day. Ticketes will be $58, inclusive of one premium house pour. 

Guests can try a menu curated by CÉ LA VI’s new Executive Chef Joshua Bedell. This menu will offer a buffet-style meal featuring dishes from CÉ LA VI’s dinner menu, and standalone live stations for grilling, muah chee, and popcorn. In this way, guests will be able to explore the bar’s large al-fresco deck as they sample the various dishes from the buffet, with full access to the rooftop bar’s well-known view. 

Since the event is in celebration of Singapore, the dress code is red and white, and the bar will have a temporary tattoo station for kids and adults alike to get Singapore-inspired tattoos for the day. 

The event begins at 12pm and ends at 10pm. From the bar’s position at the top of Marina Bay Sands, guests will be able to enjoy the unobstructed view of the Padang, and watch the airshow and fireworks display from afar. 

2. Clifford Pier

Just across the bay, the Fullerton Hotel houses a number of restaurants, each with their own plans for National Day. These are the highlights. 

The Clifford Pier, presently an events space, will reopen as a dining venue on 9th August. There, guests can indulge in an all-you-can-eat National Day Feast ($189 per adult, and $126 per child) while listening to local duo Jack & Rai, who will perform live with local classics and National Day songs. 

The buffet offers a mix of International staples, like Salt-crusted Whole Norwegian Salmon and Beef OP Ribs, as well as elevated variants of local favourites, like laksa and bak kut teh. The venue’s al fresco deck offers an unobstructed waterfront view of the parade’s fireworks and aerial display. 

3. La Brasserie

French bistro, La Brasserie may appeal better to guests who prefer a more intimate meal; the restaurant offers a sit-down experience, and has a private room, for those who may want more exclusivity. 

For National Day, the restaurant will serve a locally inspired three course lunch menu ($68 per person) featuring bak kut teh with Iberico pork jowl, garlic confit and white peppercorn velouté. From 1st to 9th August, La Brasserie will also have a four course dinner menu ($159 per person) with the unique dessert, My Childhood Memory Dessert, which aims to evoke nostalgia in guests. 

Guests will have access to the Voyage Floating Pod to view the fireworks display. 

4. Fullerton Hotel’s rooftop bars

For guests who desire a closer view of the fireworks, The Lighthouse is situated at the top of Fullerton Hotel. The rooftop bar will be serving the four course Singapore Skyline set dinner ($238 per person with a flute of champagne) access to the rooftop bar so that guests can enjoy food while overlooking the waterfront. 

The menu features dishes such as the Tajima Wagyu Beef with truffle, parsnip puree and Cognac vanilla jus, and comes with complimentary flute of champagne for each person.

On the other hand, if guests prefer a more vibrant experience, Fullerton has another rooftop bar: Lantern. This bar is perched on top of the Clifford Pierce and blanketed by an infinity pool. Guests have the option of booking tables ($1288 for six, with three bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne, and a bottle of house spirits) or entry tickets ($118 per person, with two glasses of champagne, wine, or house spirit). Like The Lighthouse, Lantern offers a view of the City Center and Marina Promenade, and will have a live DJ performance alongside a live screening of the National Day Parade. 

5. Saint Pierre

Located just stone’s throw from Fullerton Hotel in One Fullerton, Michelin starred Saint Pierre has prepared a seven course dinner degustation ($488 per person) and four course lunch menu ($288 per person). The menus are curated by the restaurant’s Chef Owner, Emmanuel Stroobant, and will feature French dishes made with Asian flavours, only available on National Day itself. 

Both meals begin with Imperial Oscietra Caviar — kuruma prawn accompanied by lassi dressing — followed by Hokkaido Hairy Crab, which is served with chilli crab sauce and fried mantou.

Stand-out dishes only on the dinner menu feature the Brittany Blue Lobster; and Nagasaki Kinmedai, the restaurant’s interpretation of fish head curry.

The restaurant overlooks the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade through its wall of windows, enabling dinner guests to watch the National Day Parade airshow and fireworks with Marina Bay Sands as its backdrop.

6. Altro Zafferano

Another restaurant that gives guests a view of the fireworks over our well-known waterfront is Altro Zafferano, an Italian Restaurant on the 43rd floor of Ocean Financial Center. 

Altro Zafferano has a four-course dinner menu (S$248 per person) exclusively for the Ninth of August. Service for this National Day dinner starts at 6pm, and guests can enjoy food made with ingredients sourced from Italy. 

The menu begins with a selection of canapés and a seafood starter, a Spanner Crab Salad with mango, panzanella and Oscietra Caviar. Guests will then get a plate of house-made tagliatelle, accompanied by plump Hokkaido Sea Urchin and Amalfi Lemon.

After which, the main course will be served; diners can choose between the Rubra Marinated Black Cod, made with Romanesco and Champagne Sauce, or a seared Tajima Wagyu Striploin, served with potatoes and green pepper jus. 

As guests enjoy their dishes, they will be granted a bird’s eye view of the country’s celebrations.

7. COTE Singapore X Sky Bar

Stepping away from Singapore’s iconic skyline and venturing up central, to Orchard, guests can visit COTE Singapore. Located in COMO Orchard, this steakhouse is from Korea. Despite just entering Singapore earlier this year, the restaurant is participating in the birthday festivities.

For their National Day event, COTE Singapore will be collaborating with Sky Bar at COMO Orchard to host their event, A Toast to Singapore, on August 9th. The Toast will begin at 5:30pm. Guests, in groups of four, will enjoy the restaurant’s Butcher’s Feast ($671 for four) — this meal features four hand-selected cuts of USDA Prime and Australian Wagyu beef, paired with Korean side dishes.

As the sun sets, guests can prepare for post-dinner drinks. Those who book a table at COTE will be guaranteed a standing cocktail table at the Sky Bar. Tables come with a bottle of Taittinger or Billecart-Salmon champagne to be shared amongst their party.

Since Sky Bar is located on the 19th floor of COMO Orchard, guests will be able to enjoy a flute of champagne by the poolside as they watch the fireworks fall over the central region of Singapore.

Restaurants with special National Day-themed menus

However, not all diners may be looking to go out on National Day itself. Some may be planning to stay in or travel overseas for the long weekend. These individuals can celebrate on their own time at these restaurants, located away from the festivities, which offer lunch and dinner menus for the week, sometimes even the month, of National Day.

8. Courtyard by Marriott 

For Singapore’s National Day, Courtyard by Marriott has a day of American food planned. The hotel will operate a pop-up Hot Dog Bar by the pool, treating guests to a hot dog buffet with three hot dog variants and tortilla chips as a side. 

Numerous packages are available to guests, including a celebration package consisting of two items from the Hot Dog Bar and an alcoholic beverage at $59. Other packages offered include free-flow hot dogs at $38 per person, or $59 for two.

Guests who opt for an all-inclusive National Day Weekend stay can book Courtyard by Marriott Singapore Novena’s Savour & Stay room package. This package includes free-flow hotdogs, dining credits and full access to hotel amenities, so that guests can have free reign of the hotel for the long weekend.

9. Las Palmas

For those who are not planning any hotel stays, the event at the hotel’s rooftop bar, Las Palmas, will be more appealing. On the 7th of August, Las Palmas will welcome Dawen Ong, the Head Bartender of The Nest, a popular bar situated in Penang, to take over for a night. 

Ong will offer guests a sample of The Nest, with a one night only menu of their cocktails. These drinks are classic cocktails adapted with Southeast Asian ingredients. Guests will also have the opportunity to request an off-menu cocktail, tailored to their preferences.

10. Choon Hoy Parlor

The retro old-Singapore restaurant, located along Beach Road, has curated a special edition of their communal set menu, priced at $59.90 per pax in honour of the nation’s 59th birthday. This version of the set menu will be available for the month of August, and serves three. 

Guests will be treated to the restaurant’s mainstays, including appetisers Our Rojak Our Own Way, a contemporary version of rojak that serves its sauce as ice cream; and mains, such as the Choon Hoy Parlor Signature Hainanese Kampong Chicken, and Teochew Steamed Fish of the Day.

The restaurant has also prepared new creations for this special edition menu, namely their Mutton Satay, and the Fragrant Ginger Flower Broth Braised Pig Ear Salad, of which the pig ears are braised in a house-made ginger flower broth.

For those who may not be looking for a full meal, Choon Hoy Parlor also offers the Ngo Hiang Platter on their ala carte menu. This platter serves two to three people and features a variety of traditional finger foods, including smoked pitan tofu, chicken skin stuffed squid paste, and orh ji.

10. Podi & Poriyal

For a regional twist on South Indian food, people may be interested in Vegetarian restaurant, Podi and Poriyal. The contemporary South Indian eatery will be celebrating National Day weekend with a collaboration: Podi and Poriyal will work with Chef Vasunthara Ramasamy, who was a top ten chef on Masterchef Singapore’s second season. 

From the 9th to the 11th, the restaurant in Little India will serve a five course menu designed by Vasunthara. She aims to spotlight the influence of Southeast Asia on South Indian cuisine, on account of the over a millennium’s worth of trade between the regions.

Some examples of dishes to be served include Dosai Crackers with Sambaar Dip; Porcini Mushroom ‘Kichdi’ with Grilled Maitake, Indian Chili Oil & Papad; and the Red Rice Noodles With ‘Laksa-Sothi’, Red Chilli Garlic Chutney & Vegetables. These dishes bring distinctly Southeast Asian flavours to add to the taste profile of South Indian dishes.

11. Wildseed Cafe

Located on Sentosa Island, 1-Flowerhill is a multi-concept destination with multiple restaurants housed within its walls. Each of the brands under 1-Flowerhill have a special menu prepared for National Day, each aiming to feature a different corner of Singapore’s diverse cultures.

Overlooking the new Sentosa Sensory Scape is the Wildseed cafe, which will serve a Rempapa x Wildseed National Day Afternoon Tea Set ($58 for two) for the entire month of August. This afternoon tea set is in collaboration with Rempapa, a restaurant under the OUE group, which serves Asian fusion cuisine. 

Available from 9am to 4:30pm, the dual tier tea set features a number of heritage finger foods, such as Pulut Tai Tai and Rempapa’s award winning kuehs. Other set highlights feature local inspired fusion dishes, including mini croissants filled with chicken satay, and mushroom tart made with feta cheese.

12. Wildseed Bar & Grill 

At night, the cafe turns into the Wildseed Bar and Grill, and continues to serve local inspired dishes with the Archipelago Communal Menu. This menu is available from 5th to 11th August, and is designed for sharing, necessitating a minimum of two guests to order this menu. In honor of National Day, the menu is $59 per person. 

Menu highlights include Tiger Prawn Dry Laksa, which reimagines laksa in a dry version made from rice vermicelli fried with a house made laksa paste; and the Buah Wagyu Beef Cheek, where wagyu beef cheek is slow braised in a buah keluak paste. 

Each guest will also receive a complimentary non-alcoholic beverage as part of the menu, though the bar and grill has specially produced a variant on the Singapore Sling: the Singapore Slushie. It can be purchased ala carte.

13. Camille

The menu at the last brand, Camille, likewise requires a minimum of two people to order. The French-Japanese restaurant will offer a three course Dinner Menu ($85 per person), from 6th to 9th August and 11th August. 

This menu features interesting dishes such as the appetiser Cèpe and Shiitake Cappuccino, which is an array of mushrooms served with a mushroom tea. The two mains on offer are the White Miso Glazed Kuhlbarra Barramundi, and the Argentinian Flat Iron Steak, accompanied with a banana shallot confit. 

Guests ordering the dinner menu will also enjoy a complimentary cocktail brewed for the occasion, the Pandan Paradise. This cocktail is also available for purchase ala carte.