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Photo: Raffles Hotel Singapore
A spate of restaurant closures has plagued Singapore’s F&B industry in the first quarter of 2024, including the first departure from the fine dining arena. One-Michelin-starred restaurant La Dame de Pic by acclaimed French chef Anne-Sophie Pic will 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.”
Tigerlily Patisserie’s chef Maxine Ngooi.
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.
According to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, March saw the closure of 234 F&B businesses, though 335 F&B entities sprouted.
