There is something rather satisfying about a restaurant that knows exactly what it wants to do. At Toriei in Cuppage Plaza, the focus is chicken, charcoal and salt — with an 18-course yakitori omakase built around the different cuts of a single bird.

Opened in July 2026, the ten-seat restaurant is Chef-Owner Roy Koh’s more intimate follow-up to Skewers Yakitori Izakaya, which operates on the same floor. While Skewers takes a more casual approach, Toriei is devoted to shio yakitori, or salt-seasoned grilled chicken, rather than relying on a sweet tare glaze.

What makes Toriei’s shio yakitori different?

The chicken comes from a French breed reared for 60 days. Before grilling, each cut is brined using a recipe developed specifically for that part of the bird. The skewers are then seasoned with Okinawan sea salt and cooked over Japanese charcoal, with careful heat control intended to produce crisp skin without drying out the meat.

Chef Roy believes this stripped-back method puts more pressure on the ingredient: there is little sauce to disguise the chicken’s natural flavour. Working alongside him is Head Chef Asai Masashi, whose more than 40 years in Japanese kitchens include a stint at the former Bincho in Tiong Bahru.

What’s included in the 18-course omakase?

The roughly two-hour dinner starts with seasonal appetisers and proceeds through ten chicken skewers and four vegetable skewers, followed by a donabe rice course and dessert. The menu is designed to introduce diners to familiar favourites and less commonly ordered parts of the chicken.

One of the more sought-after skewers is the chicken oyster, or soriresu: a small, tender piece found near the thigh, with only two available per bird. Other cuts on the menu include tail, heart, liver, skin, neck, cartilage and gizzard. There is also tsukune, a chicken meatball served with egg yolk for dipping, alongside a seasonal skewer.

The meal is not exclusively about meat. Head Chef Asai’s vegetable preparations include a seasonal lotus root mochi: the root is grilled, grated and shaped into a soft ball, then dressed with yuzu miso.

From chicken-broth chawanmushi to comforting zosui

Chicken broth provides a thread through the meal. Instead of the usual dashi, the restaurant uses its own chicken-based stock, finished with a little kombu, for the chawanmushi steamed egg custard.

Later, the same broth returns in the zosui course. Rice is simmered until soft and porridge-like, with chicken and egg folded through it. It is a deliberately comforting finish to a dinner centred on charcoal-grilled skewers.

What can you drink with yakitori?

Restaurant Manager Takumi Ikeguchi has put together a drinks selection intended to balance the richness of the skewers. Options mentioned in the restaurant’s launch include fresh-fruit chuhai with shochu, Osaka’s Minoh Stout and an umeshu cocktail with ginger ale and preserved plums. Head Chef Asai can also advise on sake pairings.

Toriei Singapore: price, location and reservations

At S$180++ per person, Toriei is positioned as a special-occasion yakitori dinner rather than a casual skewer stop. With just ten seats and a single grill, the appeal is as much about watching the chefs work as it is about discovering how differently each cut can taste.

• Address: 5 Koek Road, Cuppage Plaza, #04-15, Singapore 228796
• Dinner: Monday to Saturday, 7pm–10pm
• Menu: 18-course shio yakitori omakase, S$180++ per person
• Reservations: Book online or WhatsApp +65 9898 4044

Information and menu descriptions are based on the restaurant’s October 2026 media release. This is a restaurant news feature, not a first-hand dining review. Dishes and availability may change.

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Images: Toriei