Singapore restaurant closures: Tippling Club, Matera, Sommer among the latest exits

A steady stream of closures has plagued the Singapore fine-dining restaurant scene over the past few months. Come 31 December, innovative restaurant Tippling Club by chef Ryan Clift will call it a day after 17 years. The restaurant is known for being one of the earlier players in the gastro-cocktail scene, pairing cocktails with food and whipping up experimental dishes.

One-starred contemporary Italian restaurant Matera has also closed at The Fullerton Waterboat House. However, the restaurant has resurfaced as pop-up, Club Matera at The Cliff at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort and Spa. The pop-up, which is on till the end of the year, is a partnership between chef Bjoern Alexander and The Cliff, the hotel’s Italian restaurant. Club Matera at The Cliff serves modern Asian-influenced Italian dishes and Southern Italian dishes.

One-starred restaurant modern European restaurant Sommer, led by chef Lewis Barker, served its last meal on 26 October. Other one-starred casualties include French-Japanese restaurant Beni, Italian restaurant Braci, 28Wilkie, Chinese restaurant Chef Kang’s Private Kitchen and French restaurant, Le Dame de Pic. Rent and manpower closures have led to the closure of Restaurant Art, which is in process of looking for a new venue after it has vacated its premises at the National Gallery, and Sushi Kimura shuttered in November, according to a report by The Business Times. 

Other recent exits from the scene include contemporary Indian restaurant Ms Maria and Mr Singh, a tie-up between famed Indian chef Gaggan Anand and local F&B group, Proper Concepts, Spanish restaurant, Bam!, modern Vietnamese restaurant Lo Quay and Chinese restaurant Yue Bai. Voyage restaurant will call it a day by the end of this year. 

One-starred restaurant La Dame de Pic by acclaimed French chef Anne-Sophie Pic shut down on 31 May after six years. The contemporary French fine dining restaurant, which is the debut Asian venture of Pic, is one of Raffles Hotel Singapore’s marquee dining concepts that opened in 2019, following the hotel’s massive restoration project. Pic is best known for helming her family’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Maison Pic in Valence in south-east France. 

A spokesperson for Raffles Hotel Singapore says: “The collaboration between Raffles Hotel Singapore and Groupe Pic has been successful, the partnership contract is now coming to a close. The development strategy of Groupe Pic and the periodic review of partnerships at Raffles Hotel Singapore led both parties to see the opportunity to evolve separately.”

2024 has proven to be a challenging year for the industry as diners are tightening their purse strings with the GST hike and inflation. With a stronger Singapore currency, they are also turning to neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia to get more bang for their buck. Likewise, tourists are becoming more cautious about spending in Singapore. Restaurants are also hit hard by the triple whammy of rising costs of operations, rent and manpower, which is already constricted by long-running quotas. 

Speaking to The Peak, Loh Lik Peng, chief executive officer of the Unlisted Collection group of restaurants, remarks: “There is little doubt that the majority of the public will face more financial constraints in 2024. Inflation and the cost of living remain a concern, as well as higher interest rates for loans and mortgages.”

He says: “It all points to a similar direction. Consumers are more careful with their spending, so businesses need to be aware of that. Cost of living pressures is now a global issue because of inflation and high-interest rates.”

It is not all doom and gloom and the F&B industry. Upcoming noteworthy openings include the fine-dining restaurant Le Pristine by Dutch chef Sergio Herman in Grand Hyatt Singapore, which opened in October, and Italian fine-dining restaurant Somma by chef-owner Mirko Febbrile, who runs the popular casual beachside restaurant Fico opened in lifestyle enclave New Bahru in the same month. Violet Oon Singapore, run by cooking doyenne Violet Oon Singapore, will open its fourth and largest outlet in Dempsey Hill early next year.

Besides a cluster of new restaurants in New Bahru, Surrey Hills Holdings has added three restaurants to its portfolio: MoVida, Mensho Tokyo and Bon Broth. Marina Bay Sands has welcomed a Greek fine-dining restaurant, estiatorio Milos to its F&B line-up. It features a seafood bar and ingredients imported from Greece and the Mediterranean a few times a week.

Saying goodbye to restaurants   

The first quarter of the year has proved to be a challenging one as diners are tightening their purse strings with the GST hike and businesses grappling with rising costs of operations. 

Tigerlily Patisserie in Joo Chiat will shut its doors tomorrow (April 30) after a four-year run. It also marks chef Maxine Ngooi’s departure from The Ebb and Flow Group, which runs the concept. According to a report by The Straits Times, she cites mounting operational costs, such as rent, manpower and ingredients, as the crux of the problem.

Dessert omakase restaurant Catkin by Huishan, which was started by pastry chef Soh Huishan, has called it a day, while Le Matin Patisserie by former Noma pastry chef Mohamed Al-Matin shut down in February. Gourmet burger restaurant Three Buns, run by the Potato Head Group, closed down at the end of March. Filipino-inspired woodfire restaurant Kubo, by The Tipsy Collective, has vacated its Robertson Quay space, though it is running a pop-up at Tipsy Hippo in the neighbouring UE Square Mall. 

These closures come after a batch of earlier ones that include Restaurant Elan by the Les Amis Group, Jelebu Dry Laksa and pizzeria Lucali BYGB in Kampong Bugis.

The original article was published on April 29, 2024 and updated on September 11, 2024 and 4 December, 2024.

LISTEN: Kenneth Goh, The Peak’s Dining Lead share more about how restaurants in Singapore are navigating a challenging 2024.