The Experience
Nobody predicted that one of Singapore's most beloved Michelin-starred restaurants would be built around Irish cuisine. The city has French, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian cooking at the highest levels — but Irish? Yet since Andrew Walsh opened Cure on Keong Saik Road in 2015, the restaurant has made a compelling argument that the Irish kitchen — its dairy richness, its coastal ingredients, its comforting plainness sharpened by ambition — translates beautifully to the tasting-menu format, and that Singapore's dining public is open-minded enough to embrace it.
Walsh coined the term "nua Irish" — nua meaning "new" in Irish — to describe cooking that anchors itself in his Celtic heritage and personal history while remaining entirely open to influence and evolution. The menus draw on Irish history, Walsh's childhood food memories, and the specific ingredients of the Irish landscape: farmhouse dairy, Atlantic seafood, root vegetables, game. They are then interpreted with European technique and the seasonal rigour of serious fine dining. The result is cuisine that is simultaneously nostalgic and modern, personal and universal.
The restaurant occupies a ground-floor heritage shophouse on Keong Saik Road — a street that has become one of Singapore's most interesting dining strips — with forty seats, warm lighting, and a level of intimacy that supports genuine conversation. Cure earned its first Michelin star in 2021 and has maintained it consistently, while Walsh has remained committed to keeping the restaurant accessible: a three-course dinner at S$158++ and a five-course option at S$188++ represent exceptional value in the context of starred Singapore dining. The restaurant has recently focused on offering an even more approachable entry point, with streamlined menus and shorter dining times — a philosophy that resists the creeping formality that undermines so many fine dining experiences.
The wine list is thoughtfully international, with good coverage of European and New World producers, and the service team balances genuine warmth with professional precision. There is nothing stiff about Cure. Walsh himself moves through the room; the kitchen is open and unhidden. This is Michelin dining without the ceremony tax.
Why it's perfect for a First Date
Cure occupies a sweet spot that is genuinely rare in Singapore's dining landscape: it is Michelin-starred and therefore signals intent, but it is warm, conversational, and unpretentious enough that neither party feels like they are being evaluated by the room. Keong Saik Road itself — a street of low colonial shophouses, neon signs, and a mix of old-guard and new-wave restaurants and bars — provides an excellent neighbourhood to extend the evening into. The intimate scale of forty seats means that a weeknight dinner at Cure has the feeling of an exclusive booking even when the room is full. The food gives you something to talk about that isn't work. The price doesn't require subsequent financial recovery.
Why it works for Close a Deal
Cure is not an obvious choice for a business dinner — and that is precisely what makes it effective. Bringing a client here rather than to one of Singapore's formulaic private dining rooms signals originality, and the relaxed-but-precise environment keeps the evening moving at a pace that is productive without feeling rushed. The star confirms legitimacy; the price means neither party is distracted by the bill. Walsh's food is specific enough to generate genuine enthusiasm — a useful social lubricant — without requiring expertise to appreciate. For closing a deal at lower financial altitude than Odette or Les Amis, Cure is the calculation that works consistently.
Keong Saik and the neighbourhood advantage
Cure's address on Keong Saik Road situates it within one of Singapore's most interesting and walkable neighbourhoods. The Chinatown fringe location means pre-dinner drinks or post-dinner exploration are straightforward. Nouri is nearby for a different expression of tasting-menu cooking, and the Singapore dining guide maps the full context. For comparable Michelin-starred value in Singapore's wider landscape, Meta offers Korean-European crossover at similar accessibility, and Burnt Ends provides an entirely different but equally considered experience for more casual occasions.