Ten restaurants drop out of Michelin guide; sign of times for troubled F&B industry
There are now just 32 restaurants in Singapore with one star, among which Omakase@Stevens was the sole new entry for 2025. The Japanese restaurant, which opened in 2020, also received the Young Chef Award for its 31-year-old head chef Kazuki Arimoto. He joined the restaurant as a sous chef in 2022, and was promoted in 2024.
In the only other new entry for the night, Sushi Sakuta, helmed by Yoshio Sakuta, was elevated from one to two stars.
While Arimoto acknowledged that he was both 'happy and surprised' at the double win for his restaurant, veteran sushi chef Sakuta said he couldn't believe that his eponymous restaurant had moved up to the next level.
He joins fellow two-star restaurants Meta, Thevar, Jaan by Kirk Westaway, Shoukouwa (where he was head chef before stepping out on his own), Saint Pierre and Cloudstreet. Retaining their three stars were Les Amis, Odette and Zen.
Of the 10 restaurants which dropped out of the one-star list, only two are still in operation – Rhubarb and Terra Tokyo Italian. Rhubarb recently rebranded itself as the more casual Encore by Rhubarb, while Terra was moved out to the Michelin Select List, which comprises promising restaurants that are below both Michelin one star and Bib Gourmand.
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The other eight restaurants that closed down were Art di Daniele Sperindio (which will reopen later this year), Matera, Sushi Oshino, Shinji, Sommer, Poise, Sushi Kimura and Chef Kang's Cantonese.
At the event held at Marina Bay Sands, several special awards given out. The service award was given to Ines Carriere Bega of Odette, while Bella Jankaew from Jaan by Kirk Westaway received the sommelier award.
Paul Longworth, chef-owner of Rhubarb, which has been a fixture in the Michelin Guide from the very start, had 'fully expected to be removed from this year's edition', he said. He had already informed Michelin about his plans to make the restaurant 'more relaxed and affordable', as he has found that 'diners want something less formal and more personal'.
It is unclear whether the revamp was also a factor in Rhubarb losing its star, but he added: 'If we still want that accolade, we will have to earn it on merit again.'
Underneath the glamour and cocktails at the post-awards party, chefs and others in the industry were sanguine about the challenges they faced. The drop in the number of one-star restaurants is a reflection of the times, said Odette's Julien Royer.
'Over the past 12 months or so, the economic situation has been very difficult. But I really feel and hope that the worst is over, and Singapore will shine again.'
Sebastien Lepinoy of Les Amis said: 'It's not a situation that is exclusive to Singapore. The same thing is happening all over the world, even in London and New York. It's bad everywhere. We just have to adapt our business and come back fighting.'
He's cautiously confident that things will get better soon. 'People are saving money and not spending on luxury, but at the end of the year, they will come back, especially with Formula 1 and other festivities coming up.'
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