[category]
[title]
The year is 2024, and the city's newest wine bar has just popped up in a funky, redecorated shophouse along the quiet Bukit Pasoh Road. Two years on, Big Wine Freaks continues to pack out its 80-seater venue almost daily, keeping diners on their toes with a new set of weekly programming – omakase nights on Thursdays; bar snacks and guest DJs after 9pm on Fridays; a monthly wine dinner series called the Wine Not? Club; and the occasional Torotoro Night where an 80-kilogram bluefin tuna gets wheeled out and carved on the spot.
We're here for the former: a 10-course affair ($188 per person) led by Head Chef Lim Wei Kiat, who used to cook at acclaimed restaurants like the Michelin-starred Art di Daniele Sperindio, as well as Japanese chef Kenyoshi Ryohei, who takes charge of the kitchen's raw bar and Japanese seafood selection. The duo draws inspiration from three main sources – Europe's leading wine bars, Japan's omakase tradition, and the energy of San Sebastian's food scene - culminating in Big Wine Freaks' vibrant, ingredient-led dishes.
The vibe
If Dionysus were to open a wine bar in the 21st century, this would be it. Clad in vibrant hues of magenta, luxurious patterned upholstery and vintage accents all around, Big Wine Freaks screams intoxication with a side of upholstery. A buzzing open kitchen melts seamlessly into the dining space, and eight lucky seats at the chef's counter get the best views of the action, complete with cinematic lights overhead that frame each dish like a work of art. The devil's in the details, down to the fancy dinnerware by Italian luxury house Ginori 1735, which all your dishes come plated on. The communal tables are livelier, and the DJ spins low-groove beats at a volume where you can still hear your dining companion.
The food
The 10-course Thursday dinner with only eight seats available, is a modern interpretation of the traditional Japanese omakase, combining Japanese produce with European techniques – nothing that the average discerning diner in Singapore wouldn't have heard of. It's worth noting that the menu is entirely seafood-driven, with no meat course in sight.
Things kick off strong with clean Cocollos oysters paired with pickled yam and ikura, plus a spoonful of caviar for good measure. It's a great excuse to crack open something bubbly, and the Laherte Frères Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature (a fifty-fifty Pinot Noir-Pinot Meunier Champagne) has enough body to keep up. The charred horse mackerel with grilled eggplants has nice smoky notes, but it's the Hokkaido white corn flan that takes us by surprise. Presented in a dainty teacup, the flan is topped with uni and cacao – an odd combination that somehow works, with the cacao providing a unique, slightly bitter hint at the end to counter the sweetness of the corn.
Wild bluefin akami sashimi is served with caviar and a stick of pickled but too-fibrous Yanaka ginger, followed by a silky chawanmushi generously topped with Hokkaido king crab and ikura. Other standouts: warm brioche rolls with kombu butter, and amadai that's beautifully cooked – crispy, scale side up – but a touch over-salted. The hama-fuedai (Japanese spangled emperor) nigiri arrives with homemade ginger, barely any wasabi and the faintest brush of shoyu, perhaps to let its natural freshness shine, though not quite appropriate when you're nine courses deep with an already saturated palate.
The char-grilled Kumamoto shima aji (striped jack) provides some redemption with an interesting celery sauce, especially if you're lucky enough to get the tender belly cut. And thankfully, dessert closes the night on a high: juicy Japanese peaches paired with Earl Grey mousse and jelly are fresh, watery and the perfect palate cleanser.
The drink
Much has already been said about Big Wine Freaks' award-winning wine programme, led by Head Sommelier Goh Kher Meng, whose stints include three-Michelin-starred Odette, Poise, Le Bon Funk and former natural wine bar RVLT. The bar's ever-growing collection houses over 500 labels, with a keen focus on new-generation Champagnes and Burgundies.
Beyond France, there's also plenty of Old World and New World representation spanning Piedmont, Tuscany and Sicily, all the way Down Under to Adelaide Hills, Margaret River and Victoria. The by-the-glass list is a constantly rotating selection of 40 labels, all served in premium stemware from Zalto, Sydonios and Kimura.
Time Out tip
Don't quite have the stomach space for a 10-course marathon? Feel free to order from the à la carte menu, which has a wide selection of raw seafood from Japan, starters, mains, specials and desserts. There are also Chef's Choice menus starting from $98 per person, featuring some of the joint's must-try plates. The best part? Each diner gets to BYO up to two bottles corkage-free when you opt for the Chef's Choice experience – pretty much unheard of for a wine bar as well-stocked as this.
Time Out's rating: 4/5
Big Wine Freaks' new Thursday-night menu is a modern, ambitious stab at the traditional Japanese omakase. Save for a few genuine surprises like the sweet corn flan and a couple of competent dishes like the bread course and chawanmushi, some seasoning slips keep it short of perfect. Still, it's a spot worth bookmarking if you're down to swap out the regular zen, meditative omakase counters for something buzzier and with more personality – and an interesting wine list to boot.
Big Wine Freaks is open from Monday to Saturday, 5.30pm till late, at 44 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089857.
READ MORE:
The full list of Michelin star restaurants in Singapore 2026
Meatsmith is giving away 101 free cheeseburgers this August
Lulu’s Lounge returns with a new 1930s Shanghai-inspired home in Chinatown