Takayama spoils you with great hospitality and the best of land and sea

Takayama deserves to be revisited over and over. The food is great, ambience is perfect and hospitality? On point. Led by chef Taro Takayama, a Wakayama native who began his career at Michelin-starred restaurants in Osaka, the kappo-style restaurant has made a name for itself, and for good reason. Tucked away inside OUE Downtown Gallery, it spoils you with the best of land and sea, embodying dishes with traditional Japanese culinary techniques and authenticity.

What do we order?

There are only three kinds of menus: lunch and dinner two ways. The $150 lunch may not be as extensive as dinner (naturally), but seven courses will fill you up, from abalone and a series of seasonal Japanese fish to the signature Monaka, a wafer sandwich heated over charcoal and stuffed with whipped foie gras and yuzu. Every dish is always something to look forward to, including the Miyazaki Wagyu (for an additional S$30) and Donabe Rice, cooked with ginger flower and sakura ebi.

Dinnertime has two offerings: eight courses for S$280 or nine courses for S$350. The latter, of course, is the way to go, especially if you enjoy Japanese Clams, Baby Ayu Fish, sashimi, Japanese Spiny Lobster, Miyazaki Wagyu… the whole works. Wash it all down with a flight of select sakes, house-made fruit liqueur, or if you are going all out, there is a bottle of Tatenokawa Komodo sake going for a cool S$2,000.

What else is there to know?

Takayama’s sister concept, Hanare, is said to be the “best Kamameshi restaurant in Singapore”. Find it on the third floor of Takashimaya Shopping Centre, where traditional, homey rice dishes rule.

Takayama
6A Shenton Way,
Downtown Gallery, 01-09/10,
Singapore 068815
Tel: +65 9168 2639