Odette
- Odette was named Singapore's best restaurant and the second-best in Asia in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2021 ranking.
- Owner Julien Royer said "revenge dining" helped Odette after last spring's coronavirus lockdown: "People were so happy to get back something they took for granted."
- To stay afloat during the pandemic, Royer pivoted to offering casual dishes like chicken rice for the first time.
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Singapore is famous for its food scene, be that cheap street food at a beloved hawker center or haute cuisine at a Michelin-starred restaurant.
But according to Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, an annual restaurant ranking published by William Reed Business Media, the city-state's absolute best eatery is an upscale French restaurant with three Michelin stars.
Odette, which 38-year-old French chef Julien Royer opened in 2015 with Lo & Behold Group, ranked second overall in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2021. In both 2019 and 2020, Odette was ranked the No. 1 restaurant in Asia, but this year Hong Kong restaurant The Chairman took the top spot.
The restaurant sits inside the National Gallery Singapore, an art museum in the downtown core neighborhood. Odette's lunch menu starts at 248 Singapore dollars, or about $187, while the six-course dinner menu starts at SG$358, or $270. The priciest menu is the eight-course Epicure dinner menu, which is SG$398, or $300.
Odette
Earlier this month, Insider spoke to Royer on the phone about leading a high-end restaurant through the pandemic, how growing up on a farm in central France fostered his love for food, and his next restaurant venture.
On "revenge dining" after lockdown
When Singapore's restaurants reopened last summer after a two-month lockdown, people jumped at the opportunity to dine out again.
Many Singaporeans put money they otherwise would've spent on international travel toward eating out, often at Michelin-starred restaurants. Over the December holidays, many high-end restaurants were fully booked weeks in advance. Since reopening, Odette has had some of its most successful months ever, Royer said.
"I read a couple of times in the papers this expression 'revenge dining,' which is exactly what we experienced," he said. "People were so happy to get back something that they took for granted."
Even the lack of international tourists (Singapore's borders are still closed to most foreign tourists) hasn't been too dire for the restaurant, Royer said. Before the pandemic, Odette's clientele was about 70% locals and 30% tourists. Even though it's now 100% locals, it's been enough to sustain the restaurant, he said - partially because it only has 35 seats to fill.
Odette
Throughout the pandemic, Royer has seen a shift in some of Odette's customers' habits: "The wine spend has grown quite a bit."
The 'panic' of closing the doors of a Michelin-starred restaurant
Prior to Singapore's two-month "circuit-breaker" lockdown that started in April 2020, during which all restaurants had to close except for takeaway and delivery, Odette had never offered either option.
"When someone tells you to physically close your restaurant, you start to first panic," Royer told Insider.
To keep his team of nearly 45 people employed, the team pivoted from "putting food into beautiful plates with beautiful cutlery" to "putting food into boxes" with a new takeaway and delivery program called "Odette at Home," Royer said.
They had to create an entirely new menu because most of their dishes were too complicated to duplicate for takeaway.
"We came up with a range of dishes that were a lot more doable at home," Royer said. "For example we did a very kind of posh version of a chicken rice. Very yummy, very gourmand, and very convivial to share with your family."
Odette
Royer had initially worried about tarnishing Odette's brand by offering meals that were "not really nice enough," he said. But ultimately, the takeaway program helped Odette stay afloat.
"It kind of saved us," Royer said. "Whether it's a fancy piece of lobster with caviar and a beautiful beurre blanc sauce or a simple piece of roast chicken that brings the same amount of joy, I think it's fine," he said.
How growing up in a farm in central France fostered his love for food
Royer grew up in a quiet part of central France called Auvergne, where his family had a farm in the town of Cantal.
"It's a very rich area when it comes to agriculture, tradition, and heritage," he said. "I started loving food and produce and being outside in the garden with my family."
Royer has fond memories picking berries and helping his grandmother - Odette's namesake - in the kitchen and in the garden.
"We didn't have much money, but we always ate very well," he said.
This environment inspired Royer to pursue a cooking career when he was 14 years old. After six years studying the culinary arts, he got his first experience in a Michelin-starred kitchen with chef Michel Bras in southern France. He then worked for two years with another Michelin-starred French chef, Bernard Andrieux.
Royer spent the following years traveling with his wife in French Polynesia, the Caribbean, London, and finally Singapore in 2008, where he cooked at the St. Regis Hotel. After a brief stint back in London, he returned to Singapore in 2011 to helm the kitchen at Jaan, a restaurant in the five-star Hotel Swissôtel The Stamford.
In 2015, Royer left Jaan to open Odette, his first restaurant, with the Lo & Behold Group. In Singapore's inaugural Michelin guide in 2016, Odette scored two stars. In 2019, it attained the rare three Michelin stars, a distinction it shared with only one other restaurant in Singapore.
Next up, Royer is slated to open a new eatery in Singapore's upscale Dempsey Hill in the third quarter of 2021.
Like Odette, the new restaurant will focus on French cuisine, but in a more casual setting.
"I think this kind of food has really bright days ahead," Royer said. "People are looking for authenticity and simplicity with less fuss but the same amount of precision and care when it comes to produce sourcing, good ingredients, and cooking techniques."