National Kitchen by Violet Oon

Located within National Gallery, this is a smaller outlet but still elegantly furnished. Renowned for their Peranakan cuisine, I really appreciated the effort by this omni eatery to serve vegan-friendly renditions, all of which were deliciously fragrant, featuring family heirloom recipes, fresh herbs, and healthy whole food ingredients. Non-veg companion was impressed by the dishes we ordered - Kunyit Lemak King Oyster Mushroom that was delightly smoky, Sayur Lodeh, Nasi Goreng Kangkung, and Eggplant Goreng Dip with Emping Cracker. Would love to see even more vegan options in the future! Also wanted to give a special shoutout for the service - they went above and beyond to make our birthday celebration a memorable one!

Loved the elegant interior and the great service from the staff. We had the Beef Rendang, spicy eggplant, Udang Goreng Chili, and their wonderful desserts (Gula Melaka Tea Cake, Roti Jala with Banana Pengat), and everything tasted amazing. The traditional Kopi was a perfect match for the sweet desserts. With such reasonable prices, this is now my go-to place for Peranakan food. Highly recommended!

Back to this outlet again for their Peranakan cuisine. Didn't make any booking. Waited quite awhile till my friend has arrived that we were still awaiting. In the end, we were being arranged at corner window seatings. Other than the standard has dropped so much even my friend comment that we should have go to another Peranakan cuisine which we had went to dine-in before at the original venue. However they also have been shifted to this gallery. Almost all the outlets that we had dine-in at. Still prefer their olden days at Steven Road. And also when they were newly opening at this gallery. For thought of differ unit within the gallery. It was totally differ layout or unit when dine-in for their hi-tea & dinner. After checking with the staff, they have informed that they are still at the same unit. Why did I feel like the whole place was not as bright as before 🤷‍♀️

Our first experience at Violet Oon National Gallery Singapore on 6 March 2026 was truly a memorable one. 🎉 We chose to celebrate a birthday there, and the experience exceeded our expectations. The food was excellent — every dish was beautifully prepared and full of rich flavours, showcasing the best of local heritage cuisine. What made the evening even more special was the wonderful service. When we asked if it was possible to have a complimentary birthday cake, a friendly male staff member gladly offered to arrange it for us. He also kindly helped to take a group photo and even printed it as a birthday gift for our friend. Such a thoughtful and heartwarming gesture that made the celebration extra meaningful. 📸 It was a lovely first experience with great food, warm hospitality, and a beautiful setting. Definitely a place we would return to for future celebrations.

Invited for a HiTea set : Dry Laksa is CREAMYdeliciousss, my favourite!! Kway Pie Tee a close 2nd...tasty. Constructive feedback: Tapioca cake too hard, even by heartland standard...wasn't "served with coconut cream". Ko Swee is soft, great. But was coated with dessicated coconut?..totally careless... quite shocked,only item I didn't finish. The white bun with whatever meat, quite tasteless, no salt my host said. I finished it to fill my tummy :) The pot of tea needs 2 sachets, else too diluted despite a long infusion. Service: The tallestlady in black coat is superb...v friendly..didn't get her name.🥰 Ambience: Small cosy noisy lots of archaic mosaic chandeliers mirrors, interesting place to crowd with. Overall : I think the hi tea set isn't good enough to awe the locals. For tourists, the presentation looks interesting; portion could be too tiny to clue them into the peranakan taste... better to sit them in for a full dinner. Just my sincere taste/view.

It may have taken us 15 minutes to find our way in to National Kitchen at the Singapore National Gallery but it was worth it. Please put instructions in the booking confirmation! We arrived at 7 on a Friday and it was busy and noisy with families. By 8 it was quieter and had a more relaxed ambience as we had been expecting. Our cocktails were very good and reasonably priced for Singapore. Shout out to Mark our bartender who made my Haliatini and came over to discuss it with me. Guava juice Bellini was enjoyed by my companion. All of our food was outstanding- beef rendang- tender and well balanced slightly wet sauce. Our ladies fingers leak( okra). with turmeric coconut sauce were delicious. The roti paratha was a standout, crisp, fluffy and not too oily. We had been warned that the nasi goreng kangkong was only garnished with kangkong which was true but it was excellent. Our Ngoh Hiang were crispy and tasty. We were too full to squeeze in dessert. They have a well selected international wine list. Service is inconsistent and patchy with our main wait person leaving us mid sentence and being very distracted. Thanks to Mark at the bar and ivory the manager.

Dined on 19 Dec 2025 for lunch. I have to take issue with the condescending attitude of the staff here. This isn’t a one-off incident but seems to be part of the culture here. A few weeks prior to dining I had visited the restaurant to have a look at the place and make a reservation for 8 pax. I indicated that I’d be bringing foreign guests and asked for possible options where the party could sit. Staff mentioned that seating arrangements are subject to availability which is totally understandable. But his tone was dismissive and unwelcoming. That left me with a very poor first impression of the place. On to the lunch itself on 19 Dec - the Malaysian waiter who took our order was rude and condescending to say the least - repeatedly questioning if I had ordered enough food right in the presence of my guests. “You sure enough?”were the words uttered repeatedly. Surely this isn’t the way to speak to a customer. In any case, I was sure there was enough food as seen in the pics. I had even ordered multiple portions of each dish. On to the food - rendang was good. Meat was very tender but spice level seems to be mellowed down to suit the palette of foreigners. Kueh pie tee - radish was well-flavoured and paired well with the spicy chilli dip. Other dishes ordered - satay, chicken rice, prata, sayur lodeh, Nyonya chap chye, prawn paste chicken wings, desserts of roti jala, tea cake etc were as per expectations but didn’t stand out. Having reviewed hundreds of eateries and restaurants, I must say this was one of the rare instances where the entire meal left a very bad taste and I’m giving it a below average rating. Thanks to the staff- this restaurant certainly didn’t live up to its name. As a Singaporean, I’m ashamed to call this place our local “National Kitchen”. Terrible service standards not representative of Singapore!

We visited Violet Oon National Gallery for dinner after our team-building event at the National Gallery. As it was a work event, we were dressed in smart casual attire, no designer bags, coats or formal dresses. The ambience is undeniably beautiful, with an elegant Peranakan-inspired interior that feels refined and warm. The restaurant itself is not very large, but despite that, it was surprisingly difficult to get the attention of the service staff. Most of the serving personnel were courteous, though not consistently attentive. Unfortunately, one particular staff member named Violet left a very poor impression. When we finally managed to get her attention to place our order, she approached our table, but midway through, she suddenly walked away to the reception without a word of excuse, clearly because she noticed some well-dressed Caucasian guests arriving. When she returned, there was no apology at all. Throughout the ordering process, she never smiled and carried herself in a rather aloof, stuck-up manner, which made us feel looked down upon. That said, the food itself was delicious. The presentation was well done and the cocktails were creative and enjoyable. Prices are on the high side for Peranakan cuisine, but as this is positioned as fine dining, we were comfortable paying for the experience. However, good food alone cannot make up for poor, condescending service. Sadly, because of the “hao lian” attitude we experienced, this is not a place we would recommend, unless you are well dressed or look like some wealthy foreigners. A real pity, as the food and setting truly have potential.