Dempsey gets a new Mediterranean restaurant this month, with chefs from Ottolenghi and Aniba behind the menu. Petra opens to the public on Saturday 24 October at 40C Harding Road, with a Levantine-leaning menu of mezze, wood-fired seafood and grilled meats, and reservations are already open.
The name comes from the ancient city carved out of rose-coloured stone in the Levant, and the cooking follows it: Mediterranean food from its eastern, Levantine end.
Who is cooking
Anas Shami is executive chef. He started in pastry and cooked in Berlin, Kyiv and Greece before joining the opening team of Aniba in Singapore, where he rose to executive chef.
Dawid Nowosadzki is consultant chef. He spent years in the Ottolenghi group, including head chef roles at NOPI and Ottolenghi in London, held senior roles at Soho House and an executive chef post in Doha, and most recently ran the kitchen at Koma, a vegetarian deli-restaurant in Hakushu, Japan. Vegetable-forward cooking is his calling card.
What is on the menu
Petra splits its food into three parts. The mezze section has house-made dips and freshly baked breads. Seafood and grilled meats come off the fire. A patisserie section covers Mediterranean-style sweets and seasonal desserts.
Hamachi tartare, hummus and muhallabia, a Middle Eastern milk pudding, are among the dishes in the restaurant’s own launch photographs.
Hours and booking
Petra is on Level 1 of 40C Harding Road, Dempsey Hill, Singapore 249548. It opens for lunch and dinner every day:
- Monday to Thursday: 11.30am to 3pm, and 5.30pm to 10.30pm
- Friday: 11.30am to 3pm, and 5.30pm to 11pm
- Saturday: 11.30am to 11pm, all day
- Sunday: 11.30am to 10.30pm, all day
Tables can be booked online through SevenRooms or by phone on +65 8876 5823. The restaurant also takes private dinners and long-table events.
