Budget
Lau Pa Sat
A nicely done up Victorian-style hawker centre, but a little pricier and hence quieter than most. The satay here is famous though, and there's a long row of outdoor stalls on the south side open only in the evening, with Fatman Satay Stall #1 generally getting the best reviews.
Yong Bak Kut Teh
Well located for late-night snacks, this coffeeshop serves up tasty KL-style dark, herbal pork rib soup. $5.30 for a bowl with rice and dough fritters.
Komalas
McDonalds-style fast food, only they serve vegetarian Indian food on a banana leaf instead of burgers and fries. Worth a visit for the cognitive dissonance and good food, with massive meal sets under $5.
Song Fa Bak Kut Teh
Popular bak kut teh specialist serving light, peppery Teochew-style pork rib soup, best eaten with salted vegetables mui choy, dough fritters you tiao and rice. Usually packed, but service is fast.
Midrange
Ichibantei
Possibly the best of Singapore's many ramen restaurants, this branch of an Osakan restaurant serves up generous portions of authentic Japanese noodles.
Epicurious
This lovably quirky cafe-delicatessen is justly renowned for its gourmet breakfasts, featuring not only the usual pancakes and toasts but more offbeat options too. Try the Green Eggs and Ham, with pesto scrambled eggs and prosciutto $12, and wash it down with freshly squeezed juice $5.
Inle Myanmar Restaurant
This very authentic little eatery is run by and for Singapore's tiny Burmese community, many of whom are gem traders in the office block above. The food is an intriguing mix of Thai and Indian influences. Try the chicken curry weekday lunch set.
Top end
Mimigar
Excellent Okinawan eatery offering the full range of bitter gourd stir-fries and strange pork parts; the name is Okinawan for "pig ear"! Try the signature soki soba noodles $9 and wash them down with some awamori rice liquor with a shikwasa lime mixer. Limited seating and popular on weekends, so show up early or make reservations.
Jade
One of Singapore's best-regarded Chinese restaurants, dinner here can get very expensive indeed, but they're packed on Saturday and Sunday for one of the best deals in town: all you can eat gourmet dim sum made to order for $28, including soup, tea, and signature dishes like black ink squid dumplings and wasabi prawns. Reserve early.
Lei Garden
One of the most expensive Cantonese restaurants in town, this Hong Kong-based restaurant group serves high end cuisine with an emphasis on garoupa, shark's fin soup, lobsters, prawns and other seafood. Popular when entertaining business guests, just hope you're not the one who gets stuck with the bill.
Prego
Singapore's largest Italian restaurant seating 320, it has a pizzeria, a deli, a wine bar and the main restaurant. Good for their pastas and pizzas, the calamari rings and mushroom soup is also good for a start. The tiramisu is another highlight.
Viet Lang
Among the best Vietnamese restaurants in Singapore, and you can even wash down your pho and cha gio with some imported 333 beer.
Quayside Seafood Grill
One of the better places for Singaporean food on the Quays, open for dinner only. The pepper crab here is good but a little pricy at $4/100g, which translates to $60-80 per critter.
Jumbo Seafood
Well-located outlet of the popular seafood chain famed for their chilli crabs, a Singapore specialty. Jumbo has another central outlet at Riverside Point, just across the river from Clarke Quay.
The best places for a splurge with a view in the evening are Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay, which have many riverside restaurants offering al fresco dining. However, especially on Boat Quay, avoid any restaurant that has to resort to touts to find customers.
Gyu-Kaku
Stylish Japanese-style charcoal barbeque joint, with a vast selection of wagyu Japanese beef and side dishes. Vegetarians need not apply.
IndoChine Waterfront
Directly opposite Boat Quay on a terrace outside the Asian Civilisations Museum, the restaurant offers reasonable modern Vietnamese/Lao/Khmer food and gorgeous views of the river at only moderately high prices. Great place for a romantic date, reservations highly advisable.
Carnivore Brazilian Churrascaria
A real Brazilian churrascaria barbecue, where waiters walk around with skewers of South American beef and you can eat all the meat you want. 11 churrascos at lunch, 15 at dinner, extensive salad bar, and there's a good selection of wines, cold beer and caipirinha, the Brazilian national drink made with sugar cane.
Another good choice popular with the expat crowd is CHIJMES 30 Victoria St (http://www.chijmes.com.sg/), the former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, now an atmospheric assemblage of high-end food & beverage outlets near the Raffles Hotel.
You're spoiled for choice when eating at the riverside. Prices tend to be slightly inflated by Singaporean standards, so avoid any place that needs to use touts to get customers.
The western end of the river around Robertson Quay houses a significant Japanese expat community, and consequently the Japanese restaurants nearby serve up some of the best fare this side of Tokyo.