Housed in what used to be the Kwangtung Provincial Bank, a landmark of 1930s Singapore, The Black Swan now houses bankers of the CBD variety looking to blow off some steam with beers and oysters after a day at work. Brought to you by the Lo & Behold group – the same people behind Loof, The White Rabbit and Overeasy – the restaurant is given its signature cheeky treatment in a grand Art Deco space designed by Takanouchi & Webb.
The handsome 130-seater ground floor dining room with its showcase bar is where the main magic happens, but you could also head outside for alfresco drinks or upstairs to The Powder Room for a private function. Its latest menu has been refreshed by head chef Alysia Chan who has cooked at the likes of Crackerjack and Meatsmith. Her interest in butchery also led her to an internship at Feather and Bone Providore in Sydney, which she now puts to good use curating the restaurant's Chophouse Selection. Standouts include the Vintage Beef Ribeye ($60/300g) a grass-fed cut from retired breeding cattle that are at least 60 months old as well as the Mishima Reserve Flat Iron ($60/250g), an alternative cut of a marbled American wagyu.
It's not just steak on the menu. The grilled Maine lobster ($60) with black barley and corn risotto features succulent morsels of sweet crustacean flesh but it's the black barley cooked in fish stock till creamy with a toothsome bite that steals the show. Vegetarians can take comfort in the charred sugarloaf cabbage ($24), a quartered head that's grilled and served with smoked scamorza polenta, sofrito, crispy quinoa.