Priced to entice: Say hello to wallet-friendly Italian restaurants in Singapore

SINGAPORE – Global economic and political uncertainties swirl. War in the Middle East. What is a skittish diner to do?

Eat fresh pasta, at one of the new Italian restaurants serving food at friendly prices.

The Da Paolo Group has opened two restaurants under its new brand, Tutto, in quick succession. Every dish on the menu is priced under $30++ .

At rumeL Cucina, plates of fresh pasta are priced from $7.80++. Then there is sio pasta, which opened on March 26, a brand from Tokyo offering fresh pasta priced from $13.80++ a plate.

These new restaurants continue a trend which gained momentum in 2025, when a slew of restaurants offering luxe for less opened.

Bari Bari Steak, La Vache! and Steak Sudaku offer steak and trimmings for less. Even omakase sushi, usually a pricey proposition, became affordable, with Sushidan at Raffles City Shopping Centre offering meals priced from $19.90++.

At a time when the restaurant scene here has been hit with wave after wave of closures, with diners choosing to spend their strong Singapore dollars overseas, operators are looking for ways to lure them back.

Mr Benedict Lee, 37, a culinary and catering management lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Business, says the long queues at Scarpetta, a pasta restaurant in Amoy Street; and Casa Vostra, which sio pasta goes head-to-head with at Raffles City Shopping Centre, point to consumer appetite for what he calls “more accessible upscale Italian concepts”.

He adds: “That visible demand may be giving operators greater confidence that this segment of the market is substantial enough to support more openings, even in a challenging environment.”

Data from international market research firm YouGov’s Singapore Dining Out Report 2025 shows that one in three Singaporeans say they are dining out less often than they did a year ago. Some 65 per cent of those who are eating out less give rising restaurant prices as a reason.

In the report, four in 10 Singaporeans say they still dine out at least once a week, with many choosing cheaper restaurants, using discounts or coupons or ordering fewer items, among other money-saving strategies.

Given these consumer sentiments, Mr Lee says: “That suggests lower headline prices are not just a branding choice, but also a practical response to a more price-sensitive consumer environment.”

He adds: “Despite high labour, rent and ingredient costs, pizza and pasta concepts have one important structural advantage: Their main ingredient is flour.

“Compared with restaurants built around beef, seafood or other costly proteins, flour-heavy concepts typically operate with lower food costs, which give operators more flexibility to keep headline menu prices attractive.”

Indeed, Hersing Culinary, which runs the rumeL chain, is leveraging its longstanding relationships with suppliers.

“Flour, the main ingredient in our pasta, is sourced at favourable rates, which allows us to keep prices low without compromising on quality,” its spokesman says.

But operators have less room for inconsistency when they depend on volume sales and table turnover, Mr Lee says, adding that delivering the same standard consistently is critical.

Chef Shusaku Toba, 47, chef-owner of the sio brand, which runs eight restaurants in Japan, says: “Instead of offering a very large menu, we focus on a curated selection of pasta dishes. This allows the kitchen to operate efficiently while maintaining quality.”

Operators are well aware of the signs of the times.

The Hersing spokesman says the company intends to have 18 rumeL restaurants here within the next five years, and plans to introduce islandwide food delivery. Its first restaurant, serving Neapolitan-style pizza, opened in June 2025, and there are now, with the opening of rumeL Cucina, four restaurants in the chain.

Mr Guillaume Pichoir, 51, chief executive of the Da Paolo Group, which runs Tutto, says: “Like many people today, diners are more conscious about how often they eat out and what they spend on.

“What we hear quite often is that people still want good food and a pleasant dining experience, but they also appreciate places where they feel they are getting good value.”

What good value means is up to diners to decide. They hold all the cards.

sio pasta – Pasta, Tokyo style

Where: B1-16 Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road
Open: 11.30am to 10pm daily
Info: @siopasta.singapore (Instagram)

The Japanese accent in sio pasta’s offerings is unmistakable, and may make even the sassiest Italian nonna weep.

Fried Egg, Cheese, Salted Kelp ($13.80++) adds the umami bomb condiment, shio kombu, to what might otherwise be a plain plate of spaghetti. There is also pasta with Scallop & Corn in White Miso Butter ($18.80++), Pork Belly & Mushroom with Yuzu Kosho Butter ($16.80++) and The Best Mentaiko Pasta ($16.80++), featuring spicy pollack roe.

Indeed, sio pasta is hoping its Tokyo credentials will woo diners in Singapore, people who might have dined at its flagship restaurants in Aoyama and Yoyogi Uehara in the Japanese capital.

Chef Shusaku Toba, 47, founder of the sio brand, was an elementary school teacher before he made a career move at age 31, by getting culinary training. He went on to work for fine-dining restaurant Diritto, two-Michelin-starred Florilege and Italian restaurant Aria di Tacubo.

The chef named his restaurant group sio, after the Japanese word for salt, which he says is “simple, yet essential”, a seasoning that “works quietly in the background, enhancing flavours and bringing balance without overpowering the dish”.

He brings that sensibility, shown in the flavour combinations of the pasta dishes, to his 28-seat sio pasta, a partnership with J.A.P. Dining. The company also brought in Sushidan and Pizza Studio Tamaki, both of which opened in 2025.

“Our cooking style combines Italian techniques with Japanese attention to detail,” the chef says.

“That balance creates flavours that are comforting, but also a little unexpected. Pasta is something many people love, but fresh pasta restaurants are often quite expensive. We wanted to create a place where people can enjoy freshly made pasta at a price that feels approachable.”

He says he took time to study how, where and at what price point diners here eat out, before taking the plunge.

Not that it was all smooth sailing. The humidity here was a challenge.

“Fresh pasta dough is very sensitive to humidity and temperature, so we had to carefully adjust our production process to maintain consistency,” he says.

“We experimented with different flour blends, hydration levels and resting times to ensure the pasta maintains the texture and quality that we expect.”

Heading the Singapore kitchen is Malaysia-born chef Edward Low, 38, who had trained in sio’s kitchens in Japan.

Chef Toba acknowledges that Singapore has many great restaurants. How will his stand out?

“​​What we want to offer is something slightly different. For me, cooking is only a tool. The real purpose is to make people happy.”

Tutto – Every dish under $30++

Where: 01-49/50/51 One Holland Village, 7 Holland Village Way
Open: 11am to 10pm daily
Where: 02-246/247 Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Boulevard 
Open: 11.30am to 9.30pm (Mondays to Thursdays), 11.30am to 10pm (Fridays), 11am to 10pm (Saturdays), 11am to 9.30pm (Sundays)
Info: dapaolo.com.sg/tutto or @tuttosg (Instagram)

It might be difficult to tear Singaporeans away from bak chor me and char kway teow, but Tutto is putting up a fight.

The first one, a 90-seater, opened at Jewel Changi Airport in December 2025, followed by a second Tutto, with 80 seats, at One Holland Village in February 2026. It is a new brand by the Da Paolo Group, which was established in 1989 and runs upscale and casual restaurants.

Tutto, Italian for all and everything, seems an apt name for a chain seeking to make Italian food accessible to everybody. Nothing on the menu is priced above $30++.

Da Paolo Group chief executive Guillaume Pichoir, 51, says: “We wanted the freedom to build something new from the ground up, a restaurant designed around the idea of everyday Italian food.

“In Italy, pizza and pasta are things people eat often and casually. Tutto was created to bring that same spirit to Singapore in a lively, approachable format.”

The restaurants offer pasta made on the premises with 100 per cent Italian semolina, in shapes that include mafaldine, casarecce, spaghetti, spaghettone, campanelle, trottole and bucatini. These range in price from $15++ for Pomodoro e Basilico, casarecce with tomato and basil; to $28++ for Gamberi, bucatini with Argentinian prawns and prawn bisque.

Diners can also order hand-stretched Neapolitan-style pizza made with dough fermented for 72 hours. Options are priced from $15++ for Marinara, topped with San Marzano tomatoes, garlic chips and oregano; to $28++ for Tartufo e Funghi, topped with truffled mushrooms, fior di latte cheese and truffle oil.

Where did the $30++ limit on the price of a dish come from?

Mr Pichoir says: “Thirty dollars felt like a natural threshold where people feel comfortable ordering a main dish without thinking too much about it. It also allows diners to enjoy a pasta or pizza and still add a drink, share something or finish with gelato without the meal becoming overly expensive.”

rumeL Cucina – Heeding the call

Where: 02-25/26 PLQ Mall, 10 Paya Lebar Road
Open: 11am to 10pm daily
Info: rumel.co or @rumeLsingapore (Instagram)

The first rumeL opened at Bugis+ in June 2025, proclaiming that it served “Singapore’s cheapest sourdough Neapolitan pizza”. It still makes that claim on its website, and prices of the pizza start at $6.80++.

That strategy resonated with diners, who brand owner Hersing Culinary says range from children and students to young working adults and families.

A spokesman for Hersing, which also runs ramen chain Tsuta and soya sauce chicken chain Liao Fan Hawker Chan, says: “We received lots of feedback from our pizza customers that they love freshly made Italian pasta.”

It heeded the call, swung into action and introduced fresh pasta at the 50-seat rumeL Cucina, which opened on March 8, 2026.

Prices start at $7.80++ for a plate of Aglio Olio, spaghetti tossed with olive oil, garlic and chilli padi. For $9.80++, diners get Aglio Olio with Bacon. Vongole, spaghetti with clams; and Aglio Olio with Prawns, are priced at $12.80++ a plate. The outlet also has a special pasta, Live Black Pepper Crab Pasta ($18.80++), available only from 6pm.

The spaghetti and fettucine are made in an automated pasta machine at the restaurant, the spokesman says.

Diners can also order its pizza, with prices starting at $6.80++ for a six-inch Kaya Butter, Hot Honey Cheese or Eggplant Parmigiana. Prices top out at $8.80++ for a six-inch Chicken Pepperoni, Carbonara or Kimchi Bacon.

The brand seems intent on standing out. Its name is “lemur” spelt backwards.

“We chose it as a distinctive and memorable name that reflects our intention to do things a little differently from typical concepts,” the spokesman says.