Best Hotels in Singapore to eat Local Food

Want to eat Singapore's famous street food but not a fan of the chaotic and hot surroundings of hawker centres? Here are the hotels in Singapore which serve the best local food (personally tried, on my own dime.)

Singapore is famous for its food scene- on every travel blog post about Singapore, you'll find eating street food is one of the top recommendations for things to do in Singapore. (Here is my list of the top foods you can't miss in Singapore.)

Personally, I love street food (or hawker food as we call it in Singapore) but I don't love the hot weather (hawker centres don't have air conditioning though food courts though) and crowds you often get at the hawker centres and food courts.

If you want to enjoy Singapore's famous food in more pleasant surroundings, here are some of the hotels that serve the best local food on the island (all of which I've personally tried many times.)

At the “Alley on 25”, guests can enjoy street foods such as Auntie’s Laksa, Rendang, satay and more. I was surprised by how authentic the food tasted and we enjoyed the food so much we've been back a few times.

The only downside is that the restaurant is small and it can sometimes be a bit noisy if the other guests are inconsiderate and talk loudly. Service can also be a bit slow.

Tip: I find the weekday lunch set very good value! The satay above is a starter for the lunch set!

This probably won't be an issue for you if you're visiting Singapore but the restaurant does not offer parking rebates to guests (which is common practice at other Singaporean 5-star hotels.)

Chatterbox is famous for its Mandarin Chicken rice. However, most of my friends and I agree that it doesn't live up to its name. Instead, the Laksa here is our favorite. (You also have other street food choices such as Seafood Hokkien mee or Bak Kut Teh. which are not bad.)

1 thing I didn't like about this hotel is that I felt the staff are a bit pushy- we were "encouraged" to order a bottle of a non-alcoholic drink which we weren't told was $70! In my opinion, that is quite pricey and we should have been informed about the price before the order went through.

Note: Chatterbox has now opened other outlets- this review only applies to the original outlet.

The ala carte menu during lunch and dinner has Singapore local heritage hawker dishes such as Bak Kut Teh, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Beef Rendang, Katong Laksa, Prawn Noodle Soup with Ngo Hiang, Bak Chor Mee, Satay, Fish Soup, Satay, and more. (So a wide selection as you can see.)

If you feel that it's not worth it paying hotel prices for the same thing you get in hawker centres, Shang Ri La does make an effort to differentiate its local food. For example, when I visited, the Bak Chor Mee came with a robust fish maw soup. (There are 2 versions of this dish: a soup version and a dry version. The latter is more common in hawker centres.)

Unfortunately, the taste isn't amazing. The high-ceiling lounge is very comfortable to hang out in though but service is a bit lacklustre.

Straits Kitchen (Grand Hyatt Singapore)

The Straits Kitchen at Grand Hyatt Singapore is very popular for itsbuffet with live cooking stations.  Favourites like Popiah, Chilli Crab, Satay, Carrot Cake, Nyonya Kueh, prata, Chendol and more are offered.

You'll definitely be able to find the widest range of local dishes here. Personally, I'm not a fan of this buffet: to me, it feels like you get quantity at the expense of quality (the taste is a little watered down.)

There is ala carte All-Day Dining at The Coffee Lounge. Again, local hawker dishes like Roti Prata, Nasi Lemak, Prawn Noodle Soup and Bak Kut Teh are available.

The prices are not as high as at some of the other hotels on this list, and the taste is decent (though not outstanding) but the surroundings are a bit dark and gloomy.

Princess Terrace (Copthorne King's Hotel)

This hotel serves a Peranakan buffet (where Peranakan food is the food of Straits-born Chinese and thought to be a fusion Malay-Chinese food.) Peranakan food, also known as Nyonya food, are amongst my top food recommendations when foreign friends visit Singapore and it's rare to find a Peranakan buffet.

Although the hotel location is a bit less convenient than Hyatt, and the hotel is less posh, I definitely recommend this buffet over the Straits Kitchen!

I personally enjoy eating local food at Sheraton- the food is good, the place is not too crowded, it has high ceilings so it feels very comfortable, service is good, and you have a view of a beautiful waterfall.

However, they charge exorbitant prices for water so my relatives don't really enjoy eating there.

One Ninety (Four Seasons Hotel)

One Ninety does a very small selection of local food but what they do, they do well. We usually order the laksa (which comes with scallops and cockles) and hor fun (wok fried noodles in gravy) here. Some Singaporeans are iffy about having cockles at hawker centres due to health fears.

I've also tried the Nasi Goreng but to be honest I didn't find it as good as the other 2 dishes. (The Indonesian restaurant at Far East Plaza, which is just a short walk away, does much better Indonesian food! Just thinking about it is making me hungry!)

We used to eat here quite a bit when we were considering moving to Sentosa and exploring what island life is like.

The environment is certainly quiet but it can feel quite uninspiring. They serve local dishes but I don't remember what they taste like! One thing you might like, however, is that it's easy distance to the beaches on Sentosa.

Capella has a bit of mixed reputation for its local food- some people think it's not great but others love it so much they go a few times a week! I appreciate how they serve their hawker food with a difference: for example, truffle char siew pau (typically no truffle) and lobster dumplings (instead of shrimp.)

Just bear in mind that the prices are quite steep!

If you prefer a bustling crowd, the sound of sizzling woks, and most important, unbeatably low prices, hawker centres are a better choice for you.

However, if you want comfort and ambiance, the air-conditioned hotel restaurants will win, especially when it's raining! If you have any questions about eating Singapore local food in hotels, let me know in the comments!