Over the years, Singapore has attracted numerous influential artists and big-name museum exhibitions—from renown Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to prized specimens from the prestigious Natural History Museum London. In addition to all that rich culture and wonderful art, there are some excellent cafes and restaurants in these museums as well.

We have put together a list of places where you can expect great food and magnificent art under one roof; you’d be surprised that many of these places offer a lot more than just coffee and cake—some even deserve a visit of their own.

Here is a guide to 8 Museum Cafés And Restaurants In Singapore To Appreciate Art And Food.

#1 FABCAFE

FabCafe puts innovative state-of-the-art 3D printers and laser cutters together with food and drinks, creating a space where technology, creativity and food collide. Besides aromatic roasted coffee, you can find your usual fare at this futuristic café such as pastries, cakes and croissants.

If that isn’t enough, FabCafe offers workshops and meetups where you can learn about the latest happenings in the arts and technology fields.

Fab Café
6 Bayfront Avenue
ArtScience Museum Lobby
Singapore 018974
Tel: +65 6688 7023
Daily: 10am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Bayfront

Photo Credit: foodanatomysg

#2 FOOD ANATOMY

Known for their Instagram-worthy dishes shaped in cubes, Food Anatomy recently shifted from Tanjong Pagar to Red Dot Design Museum. You’ll be thrilled to know that the venue not only offers a visual gastronomic experience, they even serve craft beers as low as S$6!

Unlike other museum cafes in Singapore, Food Anatomy exudes a chill vibe very much like the bars in Clarke Quay.

Food Anatomy
1 Marina Boulevard
Red Dot Design Museum Lobby
Singapore 018940
Tel: +65 6514 0111
Mon to Thu: 10am – 8pm
Fri to Sun: 10am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Bayfront

Photo Credit: adjimantoro

#3 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Set in Singapore’s oldest museum, Food For Thought features a range of delectable dishes that are full of Southeast Asian flavours, such as Red Rice Wine Chicken Leg Mee Sua, Crispy Curry Chicken and Soy Beef Brisket.

The decor of the restaurant pays homage to old-school home-style dining rooms and kopitiams Singaporeans grew up with—a great reminiscent of childhood days.

Food For Thought
93 Stamford Rd
National Museum of Singapore #01-04/05
Singapore 178897
Tel: +65 6338 9887
Daily: 10am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Bras Basah

#4 GALLERY & CO

Housed within the historic City Hall wing of National Gallery Singapore, Gallery & Co is a design store with a bookstore, café, and bar. Featuring a Southeast Asian theme, the café offers an all-day dining menu and seasonal sweet treats that are often inspired by ongoing exhibitions.

If you seek something stronger than coffee, visit the POPbar where cocktails start at S$15 and beer buckets go for S$25 during happy hour.

Gallery & Co
1 St Andrew’s Rd
The National Gallery
City Hall Wing #01-11
Singapore 178957
Tel: +65 6385 6683
Sat to Thurs: 10am – 7pm
Fri: 10am – 10pm
Nearest Station: City Hall

Photo Credit: beckybecsbeca

#5 LOVE PAL CAFÉ

SAM at 8Q—housed right across the street from Singapore Art Museum—is where you can find Love Pal Café.

This quaint spot serves a mix of Western and Asian fare and the Korean Kimichi Shabu Shabu Pork Don (S$7.90) is a crowd favourite. The best part? No GST and service charge and there’s even complimentary WiFi!

Love Pal Café
8 Queen St
SAM At 8Q
Singapore 188535
Tel: +65 6338 1884
Mon to Fri: 10am – 10pm
Sat and Sun: 8am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Bras Basah

Photo Credit: nardypoh

#6 PRIVÉ ACM CAFÉ

Boasting a magnificent view of the Singapore River, Privé at the Asian Civilisation Museum is a casual all-day dining concept which offers both indoor and al fresco dining options. The retro-style cafe is furnished with marble tables, wire-mesh doors and rattan chairs.

Serving simple yet hearty food, this café is perfect for a quick meal during the day or post-work drinks with colleagues at night against the stunning CBD skyline.

Privé ACM Café
1 Empress Place
Asian Civilisation Museum #01-02
Singapore 179555
Tel: +65 6776 0777
Mon to Thurs: 8.30am – 10.30pm
Fri and Sat: 8.30am – 12am
Sun: 9am – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

Photo Credit: moycindy

#7 TRATTORIA LAFIANDRA

After exploring the stellar collection of contemporary Southeast Asian Art at Singapore Art Museum (SAM), visitors can drop by charming Italian restaurant, Trattoria Lafiandra for scrumptious Italian cuisine.

From antipasti, homemade pasta, risotto to main courses, you will definitely be spoilt for choices.

Trattoria Lafiandra
71 Bras Basah Rd
Singapore Art Museum #01-02
Singapore 189555
Tel: +65 6884 4035
Daily: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
Nearest Station: Bras Basah

Photo Credit: visit_singapore

#8 TRUE BLUE PANTRY

If you need a light bite after touring the Peranakan Museum, indulge in nonya kuehs over a cup of refreshing floral tea or aromatic local coffee at True Blue Pantry. Salads and quick nonya meals are available here too.

During Chinese New Year, the café sells festive traditional homemade cookies that are absolutely divine. You can also purchase nonya kebayas, jewellery, bags and beaded shoes from the cafe’s merchandise corner too.

True Blue Pantry
39 Armenian Street
Peranakan Museum
Singapore 179941
Tel: +65 6337 7514
Daily: 10am – 7pm
Nearest Station: City Hall

Culture buffs have to check out these 11 fascinating museums in Singapore to visit over the weekend.

Located at the Singapore Art Museum, it was love at first sight with the comforting atmosphere of 7Kickstart Cafe. The walls are nicely decorated with coffee sacks, plenty of natural lighting streaming in, and you know your photos are gonna turn out awesome.

We knew exactly what we came here for; the Salted Egg Yolk Liu Sha French Toast (S$13). Honestly, S$13 for a French toast is slightly over-priced! But, totally worth it.

The cafe also specialises in coffee, and the locally-inspired flavoured coffee such as Kaya Pandan Latte (S$6) are pretty popular, too.

Now, back to the main star – the Liu Sha French Toast. The generous portion of salted egg yolk sauce was divine; creamy and savoury, with that slight hint of sweetness.

Our only gripe is the odd serving of salad at the side, which definitely did not complement the dish. Nevertheless, if you are a big fan of Salted Egg Yolk, this Liu Sha French Toast is a winner.

We also had other mains such as the Assam Nyonya Curry with Fish & Rice (S$11.90) and Tandoori Chicken Wrap (S$11.90), but unfortunately, they were far from the best we’ve had. So we say, stay away from their mains and just stick to the French toast and their drinks.

7Kickstart
71 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189555
Tel: +65 8389 7877
Mon & Tue: 8am – 8pm
Wed to Fri: 8am – 10pm
Sat: 10am – 8pm
Sun: 10am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Bras Basah

For more recommendations, read our guide on the best salted egg yolk dishes in Singapore.

Standing Sushi Bar has established a good reputation for good quality Japanese cuisine since opening back in 2009. The quirky concept of standing-in-a-sushi-bar has also helped boost their popularity in the Singapore Food Scene.

Fans of Standing Sushi Bar will be happy to know that they have recently added new branches at 8Q Singapore Art Museum and Marina Bay Link.

The new location at 8Q sam is much bigger than their original outlet at Raffles Place. While I like the idea of watching the chef in action while eating at a sushi bar, sometimes I just want to sit in a corner and enjoy my Japanese food in peace.

Standing Sushi Bar’s menu is very comprehensive and it includes a good variety of sashimi and sushi, agemono, robatayaki, noodle and grilled items. It took us a while before we could decide on what to order. Luckily, the staff was very knowledgeable about the menu and she advised us to go for some of their popular dishes.

The Sushi Take ($25) set came with 7 assorted nigiri, 2 pieces of maki, miso soup and a salad. Every piece of nigiri was so delicate and easy on the palate.

The Garlic Fried Rice ($7) came highly recommended and it did not disappoint. It had a lovely smell and every grain was so good. Seriously I could just eat this and ignore everything else. Definitely one of the best fried rice I’ve had.

Standing Sushi Bar’s Sashimi Platter ($35 for 6 kinds, 12 slices) is a good choice if you want variety. But we decided to focus solely on Salmon Sashimi ($10 for 5 slices). There are only so many words you can use to describe sashimi, and sooner or later, it is inevitable to repeat the same description. So here goes: the gorgeous salmon sashimi was extremely fresh, and it was excellent with a gentle touch of wasabi.

With choices like foie gras, chicken heart, chicken gizzard, chicken skin, chicken cartillage on Standing Sushi Bar’s robatayaki menu, it was very difficult to choose just one. In the end, we went for the Beef & Enoki mushroom skewer ($8 for 2 sticks) and it was fantastic! Together with the flavourful sauce, the mushrooms added an earthy tone to the succulent and tender beef.

Anyway, I am not sure if it is just me, but I do feel that most Japanese restaurants in Singapore have pretty expensive grilled skewers. Do let me know if you know any place that serves cheap and good yakitori.

We were quite full by now, but of course, there’s always room for desserts and we ended the Japanese dinner with matcha and black sesame ice cream.

* * *

The fact that there are plenty of seats in a Standing Sushi Bar (SSB) is contradicting, but I am not complaining. The new Standing Sushi Bar at 8Q @ Singapore Arts Museum (SAM) is a place where you can dine in peace and have good Japanese food. Otherwise, there is always Food For Thought Cafe, which serves comfort food at affordable prices.

With sashimi, sushi and sake, my life is complete.

// Standing Sushi Bar at 8QSAM has an 1 for 1 Asahi draft beer promotion from Monday to Friday 5pm – 7pm happy hour.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Standing Sushi Bar
8 Queen Street #01-03 Singapore
Tel: +65 6333 1335

8A Marina Boulevard #B2-51
Marina Bay Link Mall Singapore
Tel: +65 6634 7068

1 Raffles Place #B1-02B
One Raffles Place (OUB Centre) Singapore
Tel: +65 6533 7078

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