Tapas Bar Near Me at Raffles Arcade: Binomio's Spanish Bar Counter

Around City Hall and Bras Basah, a search for tapas bar near me now lands in the colonnades of Raffles Hotel Arcade. Binomio, at #01-25 on the North Bridge Road side, takes its name from the Spanish word for pair, and the idea is literal: a casual tapas bar and a more formal dining room under one roof. It opened in 2012, when founder Asifur Chowdhury, a devoted fan of Spanish food, decided Singapore needed more of it.

Binomio's own story is short and personal. Chowdhury, the restaurant says, was an admirer of Spanish cuisine and culture long before he opened, and he wanted to bring the food of the Iberian Peninsula closer to home: paella, seafood, grilled meats and the long, shared meals that go with them. The bar side exists for exactly the kind of diner who wants a little of everything.

The restaurant describes its bar as a place for indecisive eaters and for friends meeting before or after dinner, while the dining room handles celebrations and business meals. Being inside the Raffles Hotel Arcade gives it an unusual setting for a tapas bar: you walk through the white colonnades of one of Singapore's best-known hotels to reach a room built around ham, croquetas and sangria.

The bar menu is shorter and cheaper than the restaurant list, and it is the one to order from at the counter. Gordal green olives are S$9, pan con tomate is S$10 and a classic tortilla de patatas is also S$10. Patatas bravas with both brava sauce and alioli cost S$11, and padrón peppers are S$17. Eggplant chips with organic honey and pine nuts, a southern Spanish favourite, are S$17.

Croquetas come three to a plate on the bar menu: mushroom or cod at S$14, and the house Binomio croquettes of ham, chicken and boiled egg at S$16. Chopitos, fried baby squid with squid ink alioli, cost S$18, and bienmesabe, marinated fried seabass, is S$19. For cured meat, the bar's hand-cut 60-month pata negra ham is S$31 and the Ibérico cold cuts platter is S$26.

From the hotter end of the bar menu, Ibérico pork belly with roasted eggplant purée costs S$22, seared variegated scallops are S$18, and chicken roulade with garlic purée and foie gras sauce is S$18. Chorizo a la sidra, warm bread stuffed with cider-braised chorizo, is S$28. Extra country bread is S$4.

The bar also serves rice. Arroz de mar y montaña, a chicken and seafood paella, is S$37, the vegetable and fava bean rice is S$32, and fideuá with duck breast is S$38. These are smaller than the dining-room arroces, where a Canadian blue lobster and prawn paella runs S$128 and is designed for two or three people, so the bar is the better choice for a couple.

If you move to the dining room, the menu grows. Lobster txaka with caviar on brioche and steak tartare with caviar are S$32 for two pieces each, Atlantic octopus a feira with potato and smoked paprika is S$44, and red prawns al ajillo cost S$42. Razor clams with garlic and cayenne are S$31, and the fried squid with black alioli is S$28.

Large plates are built for tables of three or four: a 700g Spanish seabass in the Donostiarra style is S$98, Segovian suckling pig is S$118, and a 500g charcoal-grilled Australian Shimo wagyu striploin is S$128. Desserts include churros with chocolate and crema catalana at S$12 each.

For drinks, classic cocktails such as a negroni, old fashioned, Aperol spritz or espresso martini are S$15, and a 330ml Estrella draught is S$10. Binomio pours three styles of sangria, oro, tinta and rosado, and they are part of the free-flow packages: wine flow at S$58 covers red and white wine, sherry and sangria for 90 minutes, and champagne flow at S$88 adds Crucifix Champagne, cava and cocktails.

At lunch, the set menu is S$48++ for two courses or S$54++ for three, including coffee, tea or the house ginger iced tea. Starters include a duo of mushroom croqueta with truffle cheese terrine, or tortilla with pan tumaca. There is also a tapas brunch at S$68++ per person, excluding drinks. All prices carry a 10% service charge and 9% GST.

Lunch runs Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 2.30pm, with last orders at 2.15pm, and Sunday from 12pm to 3pm. Dinner is Monday to Saturday 5.30pm to 11pm, last orders 9.45pm, and Sunday 5.30pm to 10pm, last orders 9.15pm. There is no strict dress code, but smart casual is recommended.

Children are welcome and high chairs are available on request. The restaurant is not halal certified and serves pork and alcohol. You can bring a birthday cake without charge, but there is a strict no-durian policy. Wine corkage is one-for-one for standard wine and champagne, capped at six bottles per booking, with no spirits allowed.

Binomio sits inside the Raffles Hotel complex, so the obvious walk is through the arcade's colonnades and courtyards before dinner. The hotel's Long Bar, home of the Singapore Sling, is part of the same building, and the arcade's shops and galleries line the walkway between Seah Street and North Bridge Road.

Across Bras Basah Road, Chijmes, the restored 19th-century convent with its white Gothic chapel, is a few minutes away on foot and full of bars for a nightcap. City Hall and Esplanade MRT stations are both a short walk, and drivers can use the Raffles Hotel car park off Seah Street, where the Raffles Boutique drop-off point is the closest to the restaurant.

Address: #01-25 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188719. Lunch Monday to Saturday 12pm to 2.30pm, Sunday 12pm to 3pm; dinner Monday to Saturday 5.30pm to 11pm, Sunday 5.30pm to 10pm. Nearest MRT: City Hall or Esplanade. Parking at the Raffles Hotel car park via Seah Street; no complimentary parking coupons. Prices exclude 10% service charge and 9% GST.