Neon Pigeon

Neon Pigeon is a modern Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar at 36 Carpenter Street, a short walk from the Singapore River and Clarke Quay. It serves bold Japanese sharing plates, charcoal-grilled dishes and creative cocktails, with loud music in the background. The team calls it urban Japanese, and it is clearly not a quiet sushi counter.

Neon Pigeon first opened in 2015 on Keong Saik Road. It closed there in July 2020 and reopened in a larger space on Carpenter Street at the end of November 2020. It has kept its mix of Japanese food, cocktails and a party mood ever since.

What to order

The menu is built for sharing, so plan on several plates for the table. Dishes the restaurant marks as signatures include:

• Hamachi: raw yellowtail with sesame soy, sweet onion and pickled chilli.
• Octopus: served with potato and a teriyaki sauce.
• Duck gyoza: dumplings filled with confit duck and foie gras.
• A5 wagyu and uni maki: a sushi roll of Japanese beef and sea urchin.
• Donabe wagyu fried rice: beef fried rice served in a donabe, a Japanese clay pot.
• Roasted cauliflower: with a romesco sauce sharpened with yuzu kosho.
• Chocolate trifle: the signature dessert, with almond brittle.

Also look out for tuna with ponzu jelly, miso cod with black garlic, the carbonara cup noodle made with udon, and the KFC bao filled with crisp karaage chicken. Other vegetable dishes include caramelised Brussels sprouts and a mushroom bao with maitake tempura. For groups, the Flock Feeder set brings seven dishes for the table to share, and everyone at the table has to order it. A cocktail add-on is offered with the set.

Drinks

Food and drink get equal weight here. The cocktails use Japanese ingredients such as shochu, sake, yuzu and umeshu. The Japanese Drifter and the Teared Negroni are two of the house drinks. If you are not drinking alcohol, there are zero-proof cocktails, such as the Calamansi Cooler and the Arnold Palmurai, which is made with hojicha tea.

The setting

The space has a bar area and a main dining room. The playlist leans towards hip-hop, and the room changes as the night goes on: the lights go down and the music gets louder. When it reopened in 2020, the walls carried pigeon murals by local street artist ZERO. It suits groups, birthdays and nights out more than a quiet dinner for two.

Good to know before you go

• Reservations: book online through SevenRooms or by phone. You can reserve seats at the bar or in the dining room.
• Walk-ins: some seats are held back each day for guests without a booking, on a first come, first served basis.
• Large groups: for parties of 15 or more, contact the events team rather than booking online.
• Dress code: aim for smart casual.
• Timing: it opens for dinner and stays open late, so it works well for an evening out.

Nearby

Carpenter Street is close to Clarke Quay, so you can walk along the river before or after your meal. Our guide to Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay has more ideas. For more drinks, see our picks of cocktail bars. You can also browse restaurants in City Hall and Clarke Quay or our list of Japanese restaurants in Singapore. Menus and booking are on the Neon Pigeon website.