Fine-dining restaurants in Singapore suffer cancellations due to Iran war

[SINGAPORE] Just when things couldn’t get worse for Singapore’s beleaguered fine-dining scene, the ongoing Iran war has dealt an extra blow – several Michelin-starred restaurants have reported a spate of cancelled reservations since the conflict began.

In the first two weeks of March, reservations at the two-Michelin-starred Saint Pierre and Shoukouwa fell by between 30 and 50 per cent, said Edina Hong, co-owner of Emmanuel Stroobant Group. Reservations have remained soft, “with no meaningful rebound in booking pace”, she added.

Apart from the prevailing uncertainty around travel and the economy affecting diners’ confidence, “all our cancellations were directly attributed to travel disruptions such as flight cancellations and delays, with several guests stranded in transit hubs such as Dubai”.

Three-Michelin-starred Les Amis has also dealt with similar cancellations, said its director of culinary and operations, Sebastien Lepinoy. “I don’t anticipate any increase in the coming weeks, due to the situation in Iran,” he said.

Stock market uncertainty has also unnerved diners, and this has had “a significant impact on our business operations”.

The impact has not been felt across the board. Restaurants such as the two-starred Thevar and one-starred Seroja are optimistic that increased travel within Asia would have a positive impact.

Chef-owner Mano Thevar said of his eponymous restaurant: “We are seeing more bookings with people leaving Dubai and returning to Singapore.”

Kevin Wong of Seroja said that despite an increase in cancellations, bookings have nonetheless been consistent. But there has been a change in customer demographics.

“There are fewer domestic bookings but more from tourism,” he said. 

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In the medium to long-term, how restaurants will be affected depends on their client base, said Han Li Guang, chef-owner of the one-starred Labyrinth.

“Some restaurants depend on affluent locals, others on tourists. Some do a lot of events, so we’re looking at different demographics and revenue streams.”

Labyrinth has been significantly hit by cancellations due to its high base of tourist diners, mainly from the US, Europe and Australia. “Many flights have been cancelled and (guests) usually transit through the Middle East,” he added.

“Even in Australia, the government has been advising its citizens to save money and not travel so much.”

Julien Royer of the three-starred Odette reported a mixed impact, but said that higher costs were one definite outcome.

He cited a silver lining in tourism and relocations. Like Thevar, he has encountered Dubai expats considering a permanent move to Singapore if the war were to continue indefinitely.

Impact on Dubai F&B

Restaurant operators who relocated from Singapore to Dubai found themselves caught off-guard as the city reeled from the initial attacks.

Tristin Farmer, formerly of Singapore’s three-starred Zen, relocated to Dubai in 2025 as culinary director of the Culinary Arts Group, with three restaurants including Revolver and Maison Dali under his watch. 

“Business has been greatly affected due to extremely low tourism, and a lot of residents leaving the city until things settle down,” he said. “Roads are quiet and businesses that are open have seen a drop of as much as 80 to 90 per cent.”

Despite “an eerie quietness that feels like Covid times”, he credited the Dubai government’s support in making the city safe for residents.

“Life goes on as per normal and the only difference is that there are missile warnings sent to our phones. When that happens, we find somewhere safe to stay until the all-clear message comes.”

For now, the group has chosen to close all three restaurants temporarily. “We are waiting to see how things progress before deciding our next steps,” he said.

Catering to the local community rather than tourists helped Dubai-based Singaporean chef Reif Othman weather the current crisis, said the restaurateur with nine outlets in the city.

Apart from a seasonal low during Ramadan and the initial impact of the war, business has been “so far so good”, he said. “The local neighbourhood is my target audience, so I’m not reliant on tourists.

“We continued doing home deliveries even after Covid, so this helps us a lot, plus we do home catering as well, for those who don’t want to go out.”

Mohamed Orfali of Orfali Bros, a well-known name in the Dubai food scene, said: “We saw a drop in international visitors, which impacted reservations, especially for our restaurants which are booked well in advance. But we were fortunate to be supported by a loyal local community.”

Overall, the members of the tight-knit restaurant community have been supportive of each other, Orfali added, and “concepts with a strong local following and community connection remain stable”.

The sentiment was echoed by Dubai veteran Gregoire Berger, who opened his first independent restaurant Kraken in 2025. Business has been slowly picking up, but the sudden drop was expected.

Even so, “there are many initiatives for chefs and industry professionals to support each other”, he said. His team has since been hard at work developing “new offers, deliveries and marketing strategies to make sure our dining room is filled”.

The outlook remains unclear, said Loh Lik Peng of Unlisted Collection in Singapore.

“There’s no clear pattern – it’s just choppy and volatile. People are nervous about spending, but I don’t see a drop off the cliff yet,” he said.

There was the usual drop with the recent March school holidays with more people travelling, but he added “that might change for the next school holidays (in June) because flights are very much more expensive now”.