The leafy hilltop hideaway every Singaporean foodie needs to bookmark
Tucked above Holland Road, Dempsey Hill is the rare Singapore enclave where you can wander between century-old colonial barracks, browse antique galleries, and end up sipping natural wine under a canopy of rain trees. Once a nutmeg plantation and later a British military camp, this lush pocket has reinvented itself as the city's most relaxed lifestyle quarter. Weekends here feel like a mini-escape — minus the airport queue. Whether you're plotting brunch, a long boozy lunch, or a date that needs a soft-lit finish, Dempsey delivers without the CBD crush.
Where to eat: from dim sum institutions to chef-led tasting menus
Start with Min Jiang at Dempsey, the grande dame of the hill, where Peking duck is carved tableside and the dim sum trolley remains gloriously old-school. For something more theatrical, Burnt Ends fires its famed beetroot, smoked quail egg, and onglet over a custom four-tonne grill — book weeks ahead, you've been warned. Candlenut, the world's first Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant, turns buah keluak and blue pea rice into a love letter to nyonya cooking.
- Signature dish: Burnt Ends' sanger with pulled pork and chipotle aioli ($22)
- Must-try set: Candlenut's Ahmakase tasting menu ($118 per person)
- Price range: $40-180 per person across the precinct
Burnt Ends
📍 7 Dempsey Road, #01-04, Singapore 249671
⏰ Tue-Sat 11.45am-2pm, 6pm-10pm
Candlenut
📍 Block 17A Dempsey Road, Singapore 249676
⏰ Daily 12pm-3pm, 6pm-10pm
Cafes for slow mornings and lazy afternoons
PS.Cafe Harding remains the spiritual home of Sunday brunch — order the truffle shoestring fries and a passionfruit mojito, then linger on the verandah. Plain Vanilla's flagship bakery does the city's fluffiest red velvet cupcakes and a flat white that holds its own against any Tiong Bahru hipster joint. For something greener, Open Farm Community grows its own herbs in the front garden and serves a knockout heirloom tomato salad.
PS.Cafe Harding
📍 28B Harding Road, Singapore 249549
⏰ Mon-Sun 8am-10.30pm
Bars and shops to round out the day
For sundowners, RVLT pours Singapore's most adventurous natural wine list in a graffiti-splashed bungalow — get the orange wine flight and a charcuterie board. Como Dempsey's Culina is the gourmet grocer to raid for imported cheese, fresh truffles, and a serious wine cellar. Browse Em Gallery for handmade Korean ceramics, then poke around Pasardina Fine Living for vintage Indonesian teak furniture you'll suddenly need.
The verdict
Dempsey Hill isn't a single destination — it's a full afternoon's worth of plans stitched together by jungle paths and free parking. Come for Burnt Ends, stay for the wine at RVLT, and leave with a Plain Vanilla cake box. It's the closest thing Singapore has to a country retreat with a Michelin map attached.
