Loca Niru
Highlights
About Loca Niru
Loca Niru is one of the most significant restaurant openings in Singapore in 2025 — not just for its food, but for where it lives. The restaurant occupies the second floor of the House of Tan Yeok Nee, a gazetted national monument built in 1885 for Teochew tycoon Tan Yeok Nee. This is the last surviving 'Four Grand Mansions' of Teochew architecture in Singapore, and Loca Niru's opening marks the first time in 140 years that the upper level has been accessible to the public. You are literally dining in a piece of Singapore's architectural history.
At the helm is Chef Shusuke Kubota — 'Chef Shu' — born in Nagano, Japan, and trained across Japanese, French, and Southeast Asian kitchens. His most recent and formative role was as Head Chef at Omakase @ Stevens, the Michelin one-star restaurant where he developed his distinctive Japanese-French style inflected with Southeast Asian flavours. At Loca Niru, he calls his cuisine 'Contemporary Innovative' — a deliberate departure from the labels of 'Japanese' or 'French,' instead forging something genuinely new: Japanese sensibility and French technique as the foundation, with Southeast Asian ingredients and memories providing the spark.
The name 'Loca Niru' derives from two Zen idioms: 'Hakuba Roka ni Iru' (a white horse blending into white reeds) and 'Hakucho Roka ni Iru' (a white swan descending into white reeds) — both expressing harmony, balance, and the beauty of seamless coexistence. The guiding philosophy is 'Kotan' (こたん): quiet simplicity, contemplative peace, and refined subtlety. These are not marketing words — you feel them in the preserved wooden truss ceilings, the brass and natural wood balance, and the way each course arrives without fanfare yet demands your full attention. The 36-seat dining room, with its counter facing the open kitchen and two private rooms, is designed for stillness.
Recommended For
Menu & Pricing
| 8-Course Tasting Menu (dinner only) | S$298++ |
| Sake Pairing (6 glasses) | S$148++ |
| Wine Pairing | Price varies |
All prices subject to 10% service charge and 9% GST. Menu changes seasonally. With drinks, expect ~S$350-450+ per person.
Practical Info
- Tue–Sat: 6pm–11pm (dinner only, last seating 8pm)
- Sun–Mon: Closed
- Lunch: Coming soon
Dietary Info
Photos
Location
House of Tan Yeok Nee, 101 Penang Road, #02-01, Singapore 238466
📍 Open in Google MapsYour Dining Journey at Loca Niru
Entering the Monument
Walk through the grand gates of the House of Tan Yeok Nee from Penang Road. Ascend to the second floor. The interior is a dialogue between heritage and modernity: original wooden truss ceilings preserved alongside brass, natural wood, and Japanese-inspired artwork. Staff share anecdotes of the House's 140-year history tableside — you are dining in a building that has served as a private mansion, a school, a Salvation Army headquarters, and now, for the first time, a public restaurant.
The Southeast Asian Spark
The opening courses reveal Chef Shu's signature: Oyasai, a steamed dumpling filled with Malaysian vegetables. Then the frog leg kadaif — crisp shredded filo encasing tender frog meat, dusted with shichimi, served with curry leaf aioli. It references France (where frog legs are classic), reworks them through Southeast Asian aromatics, and finishes with a Japanese spice. Three cultures in one bite.
Sea & Earth
The Isaki (Japanese grunt fish) arrives pan-seared with a Nyonya beurre blanc — a French butter sauce infused with the spice profile of Peranakan cooking. The Awabi course surprises: braised abalone beneath a vegetable-based chawanmushi, with traditional dashi replaced by a bouillon de legumes from Chef Shu's French training. It looks Japanese, tastes like a conversation between Kyoto and Provence, and uses technique that could only come from someone who has cooked in both worlds.
Dessert & Departure
The meal concludes gently. As you leave, you pass through the Teochew mansion's courtyard, past the ornamental gate, and onto Penang Road. Behind you is a national monument that waited 140 years to become a restaurant. It was worth the wait.
Editor's Note
Full transparency: Loca Niru is not a Japanese restaurant in the traditional sense. Like Iru Den, it is included on Umami Compass because the chef trained in Japan, the technical foundation includes Japanese sensibility, and Southeast Asian diners searching for 'Japanese fine dining Singapore' should know about it. Chef Shu's time at Omakase @ Stevens means there is a direct lineage to one of Orchard's Michelin-starred Japanese restaurants. The setting is extraordinary — dining in a 140-year-old national monument that has never been a restaurant before creates an atmosphere no purpose-built space can match. The S$298++ price point is comparable to peers like Zeniya (S$288-388++) and Omakase @ Stevens (S$280-333++). Honest caveats: the restaurant opened in November 2025 — it is very new and still finding its rhythm. Dinner only and closed Sunday-Monday limits accessibility. Gaia Lifestyle Group is primarily known for casual concepts, making Loca Niru their first fine-dining venture. The House of Tan Yeok Nee is on Penang Road, technically near Dhoby Ghaut rather than Orchard proper. For those who appreciate restaurants that are about more than food — that are about place, history, and the collision of cultures — Loca Niru is one of the most interesting openings in Singapore in years.