Thinking of giving your kitchen a break and dining at a local restaurant instead today? If you’re not quite sure what to look for, we can help!
Here, we’ll go over the ways to find the best local restaurants in Singapore. These tips can help you sift through the many options in your area and get at the ones most likely to satisfy your cravings.
Get recommendations from neighbours
Word of mouth is actually a great tool if you want to find the best local restaurants. Honestly, there are a lot of situations when a restaurant doesn’t do much marketing and yet will be known to every local.
When that’s the case, there’s clearly something worth munching on there! So don’t hesitate to ask your neighbours, family, or friends in the area for ideas.
You can even ask others, like cashiers or staff at your favourite local shops. If they work in the area, they likely eat in the area, so they should be able to give you recommendations.
Narrow down your cuisine options
Chances are good that there are more cuisine options than you can count on both hands for the dining scene in your area.
This means it only makes sense to try and narrow down your choices based on cuisine – otherwise, you’ll be paralysed by the range of options!
The easiest way to go about this is simply to choose the cuisine you most feel like eating at any given moment, of course.
Take note, however, that you’re not necessarily limited to one choice in some cases. For example, some restaurants offer dishes from a region instead of a single country.
There are also fusion options if you really can’t make up your mind between two cuisines. Can’t make up your mind between East and West, for instance? Choose a fusion restaurant that covers both bases!
Check out what local foodies say
Foodies take word of mouth to the next level. When they pay attention to a place, it’s a bit like the equivalent of having 20 others recommend it – simply because foodies should be a bit more attuned to good food than most.
We usually like to check out foodie blogs to search for restaurants they’ve visited in our area. This is a good way to find restaurants with interesting or worthy takes on food.
Most foodies will also review the restaurants they visit, of course, so this comes with the benefit of you getting a relatively informed assessment of the place you’re thinking of visiting.
Take a peek at the place and the W.C.
Yes, you got that right – we recommend checking out not just the tables but also the restrooms.
You see, a truly good local restaurant in Singapore would care about cleanliness. The better the hygiene you can see, the more likely it is to be echoed by the spaces not visible to you (like many restaurant kitchens).
So take a look at their dining room before ordering anything and see if the floors are clear and the tables wiped down. Check out the W.C. and see if it’s well-kept.
If the restaurant staff care enough to ensure those areas are presentable, chances are good they prepare food properly and hygienically too. No fear of contamination or issues like salmonella in places like that!