Odette Named No.1 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019

Odette, in Singapore, was named The Best Restaurant in Asia at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 awards, held on 26 March 2019 at Wynn Palace in Macau. It ended the run of Gaggan, the Bangkok restaurant that had held the first place for four consecutive years and was No.2 on this occasion.

Odette opened in 2015 in the National Gallery Singapore, the museum created in the former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings. Its chef, Julien Royer, grew up on a farm in the Auvergne, in central France, and named the restaurant after his grandmother, who taught him to cook. He describes his food as modern French with Asian inspiration: classical sauces and technique applied to produce from Japan, France and the region, in a pale, calm dining room by the artist Dawn Ng. Later the same year the restaurant was promoted to three Michelin stars.

Den in Tokyo was No.3, Sühring in Bangkok No.4 and Florilège in Tokyo No.5. Japan had the most restaurants on the list, with 12, followed by Hong Kong with nine, Singapore with seven and Thailand with six.

There were ten new entries, and two of them were firsts for their countries’ newer restaurant scenes: Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur, the first Malaysian restaurant to appear on the list, at No.46, and Toyo Eatery in Manila at No.43. Both would be recognised again when the Michelin guide reached Malaysia and the Philippines. Gaa in Bangkok entered at No.16, and its chef, Garima Arora, was named Asia’s Best Female Chef.

Zaiyu Hasegawa of Den received the Chefs’ Choice Award, three years before his restaurant reached No.1. Locavore in Bali won the Sustainable Restaurant Award, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong the Art of Hospitality Award, and Fabrizio Fiorani of Il Ristorante Luca Fantin in Tokyo was named best pastry chef.

Odette kept the first place in 2020, when the results were announced online.