5 of the prettiest restaurant bathrooms in Singapore

For the bathroom, Daughtrey sourced Azul Macaubas marble for the floors and walls, which was chosen for its “striking blue veins and luxurious feel”. Over 300 individual pieces of marble were cut, “each piece carefully inspected for its clarity and colour to ensure a perfect match and superior quality”. The wallpaper, a tasteful chinoiserie, was custom-designed to incorporate flora and fauna inspired by the Singapore Botanic Gardens, rendered “in a serene powder blue from Fromental, achieving a classic and timeless look”. Rockett Studio also designed bespoke joinery for the bathroom, which is gloriously lit by wall and ceiling lights from Vaughan Lighting. 

67 Pall Mall
Address: 1 Scotts Road, 27-00 Shaw Centre, S(228208), +65 6797 6727

In an interview with Tatler Singapore in September 2023, founder and designer Emma Maxwell of Emma Maxwell Studio tells us that her approach to designing a restaurant is always a “three-dimensional portrait of the chef and his team”. When it comes to Burnt Ends, she speaks about how chef-owner Dave Pynt “uses premium products with elevated crafting” that “transforms” the seemingly simple process of barbecuing. “That’s what I’ve also done throughout the space—take materials and metamorphosise them so they tell a new story,” she says. 

So it is at the iconic barbecue restaurant in Dempsey, which is rustic yet seductive with its cast bronze details and lava rocks. The bathroom is no different, with a heavy timbre door adorned with cast bronze handles shaped like an octopus. “Hospitality design is theatre. The patron literally feels the weight of the door and, when he or she walks in, portals to a different world,” she told us last year, and she’s right—thick black tendrils snake over the walls and the ceiling in the wallpaper, and you wash your hands in gnarled sinks made of petrified wood that’s at least ten million years old. 

The Michelin Guide claims not to consider interior design when they inspect restaurants, but if they did, it certainly would have been a major boost for Araya, the Chilean South Pacific restaurant that recently earned its first Michelin star less than a year after opening. It is also Emma Maxwell’s second restaurant design in Singapore.

For this project, Maxwell was inspired by the “captivating Chilean landscape”, defined by the principles of “luxury” and “exclusivity”. “In the bathroom, we aimed to transport guests into the clouds, crafting a soft, moody ambience with gentle lighting and delicate hues of blue,” she says. The result is “flattering lighting” for guests to “feel their best selves” in the spacious bathroom spanning 8.5 square metres, surrounded by Pierre Frey wallpaper. “The same natural blue/grey marble for the customised sinks and flooring, creating a cohesive and luxurious environment,” she continues.

Not one to ignore the small details as well, Maxwell has ensured that the amenities are “not just amenities; they are exclusive experiences”. The handwash, for instance, is a custom blend from Lynk Artisan called Wild Forest, which was exclusively created for the restaurant as an olfactory exploration of South American forests. The hand sanitiser, too, is made with gluten-free and non-GMO perfumers’ alcohol, organic glycerin, and essential oils that “not only provides sanitisation but also moisturisation”.

Araya
Address: 83 Neil Road, 01-08, S(089813), +65 8870 0871

Read more: Michelin Guide Singapore 2024: Meta earns two stars, four new one-star restaurants, and more unveiled

On Scotts Road, a zen oasis lies in Ami Pâtisserie, a fitting home for beloved pastry chef Makoto Arami’s delicate pâtisseries. No expense has been spared for its stylish interiors, from Tsudoi dining room for its chef’s table experience to its bathroom. 

Explaining that the interiors are meant to extend Arami’s omotenashi hospitality (the Japanese philosophy to take care of your guests wholeheartedly) throughout the café, Shukun, the founder and design director of Architology Interiors, says that the design concept was “inspired by a poetic twist in the appreciation of wakimizu, which means spring water in Japanese”. By designing such a peaceful space, Shukun has designed the bathroom as a “pause point”, which is meant to “allow the patron to refresh their senses within a surprising assemblage of elements”.

Just as water flows freely, the washroom is naturally hidden away from the main counter, opened with a sliding curved door to reveal its quadrant layout. By far its most striking feature is the absence of a sink, replaced by a large stone with a custom waterfall tap to mimic the flow of spring water, which seems to “flow magically from the mirrored wall”. “The stone feature was intentionally sculpted to dramatise the impact of a stream of water trickling down its rough edges,” Shukun says. “A seemingly mundane act of washing one’s hand turns into a mindful dance of the water flow (making the person more aware of not splashing water everywhere, perhaps!).”

Ami Pâtisserie
Address: 27 Scotts Road, S(228222), +65 8907 6146

We don’t have many West African restaurants in Singapore, so when Tamba opened earlier this year, many of us were excited to try the food—and to see its interiors. The restaurant is coloured mainly in dark tones such as chocolate and brown, with rough textures thanks to clay and wood designs. To Virginia Pérez-Orive, the designer of Tamba, the bathroom had to be “completely opposite”. “It should be a spa experience, very clean, very smooth and very white. We love the contrast that it creates,” she says. 

Claiming that the “seemingly small things play a vital role in creating great things”, Pérez-Orive has packed the Tamba bathrooms with playful details. Papier-mâché crocodiles, for instance, are made into door handles, injecting a “sense of humour”. The touches of pink from the tiles sourced from Minorca also add an “earthy tone” that is “found throughout the restaurant”. Not to mention the full-length mirror, a detail that she personally loves—it’s “something that you sometimes miss in restaurants is that you want to see your full outfit since you’ve dressed up for the occasion”. 

Pérez-Orive has also brought in portraits from James Barnor, a Ghanaian photographer. “Art is rarely in bathrooms. But I think when you do place them there, they become more important because you notice them,” she says, which helps to make the bathroom “monumental”. African art books are also placed in the communal space, ideal for browsing while waiting in line. 

Ultimately, Pérez-Orive believes that bathrooms are places that should “not just be created as an afterthought”. “We want to give it as much importance as the [main dining area, because] if you think about it, it is also a place to hang out,” she declares. “Sometimes you go with a friend, you wash your hands together, you do your makeup, you fix your clothes—it has always been the place to do that.”

Tamba
Address: 101 Duxton Road, S(089964), +65 9788 2953

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