Chef Rishi Naleendra’s nod to Australia is expressed through a distinctly Sri Lankan lens.
Stepping in from Amoy Street, Cloudstreet feels like it has already made up its mind about what it wants to be. The entrance is discreet, the room is dim, and the tone is instantly calmer than the bustle of Chinatown outside. Inside, flagstones and soft lighting give the two-storey shophouse a lived-in warmth, like a private dining room. The chef’s counter sits at the heart of the space, turning the kitchen into a point of connection, while the rest of the dining room keeps things deliberately calm and composed.
Cloudstreet is helmed by Sri Lankan chef-owner Rishi Naleendra and his wife, Manuela Toniolo, a partnership that first caught attention in Singapore with Cheek By Jowl. Named after Tim Winton’s novel, Cloudstreet is an evolution, folding Chef Rishi’s personal story into the menu, with European technique and Australian produce filtered through a Sri Lankan lens.
There is only a tasting menu, and the restaurant is upfront about the time it asks of you. Dinner is an eight-course experience, with shorter options at lunch, and you are encouraged to settle in for about three hours to experience the ebb and flow of the courses. That pacing is important because Cloudstreet’s best trick is its progression. The menu gets stronger, more assured, and more rewarding as it moves through its courses.
The front-of-house team is switched on and quietly warm, reading the table well and keeping the room moving without fuss, even for a solo diner like myself. Plates arrive with confidence and a narrative explanation that is slick, engaging, and personal, without being overwhelming.
The opening dishes set the tone. A Grilled Oyster arrives atop pebbles, a small nod to nature that never feels like more than a mere prop. The oyster is luscious and clean with finger lime bringing citrus pop and a light but flavourful coconut foam that crowns it all.
Then comes a course that plays with texture as much as taste: Bergamot Meringue with beetroot, mandarin kosho and Kaluga Queen caviar. It is a clever combination, but not a chaotic one. The meringue cracks and dissolves, beetroot brings earth and sweetness, the citrus is bright, and the caviar’s salinity tightens everything into focus. It’s a dish that looks like modern fine dining, yet tastes rooted and logical.
That restraint shows again in a Celeriac Custard with crab consommé and chilli. It looks unassuming, but it is quietly excellent. The custard is silky and savoury, the crab tastes sweet and true, and the chilli plays a supporting role, never overwhelming the crustacean.
From there, the menu keeps shifting between delicacy and depth. A Hamachi course, paired with rhubarb, umeboshi, mango and caviar, is a personal highlight, presented almost like a nest. Sweetness and acidity play off one another, and the caviar adds a precise saltiness that keeps the fish feeling bright.
Cloudstreet’s signature, a Sri Lankan curry of Normandy blue lobster with aromatic coconut broth, arrives with a touch of whimsy in the cutlery holder, a replica hermit crab in its shell. The broth carries Sri Lankan warmth without heaviness, coconut lending richness while spice and aromatics keep it buoyant. It tastes like heritage, refined rather than diluted, and it is easy to see why the restaurant has kept versions of this dish in rotation over time.
A Murray Cod course follows with fermented bell pepper and almond, an exercise in bold flavours applied with discipline. The fish is beautifully cooked, the skin crisp, and the pepper brings a sweet-fermented depth that feels both Mediterranean and distinctly Cloudstreet.
Aged Duck with roasted beetroot, cashew nut butter and liquorice bread is a stunning main course, the kind that makes you realise the kitchen has been building to this point all along. The breast arrives blushing pink, rich but clean, with the liquorice note adding darkness without bitterness. It is clever, but it is also comforting.
The crescendo is Tochigi A4 Wagyu with bell pepper and fermented soy, lacquered in a sauce that tastes deeply savoury and beautifully grown-up. The fat is rendered to pure perfection, and the fermentation gives the dish an umami length that lingers without weighing you down.
Dessert keeps the tone light. White Pepper Ice Cream with cherry compote, pecan and candy floss arrives with an edible paper aeroplane. The candy floss collapses into the fruit, turning sweetness into something juicier and more grounded, while the white pepper gives the fruity finish a gentle lift rather than a sugary full stop.
Cloudstreet is also serious about drinks. The wine list runs deep, with labels spanning big names and smaller producers, and the pairings are built to match the menu’s shifting moods. If you skip alcohol, the non-alcoholic pairing is treated as its own experience rather than an afterthought, with playful options like a Sri Lankan stout-inspired pour, a banana chai and a convincing “red wine” alternative.
Just as clouds spark imagination, each dish is meticulously crafted, reflecting chef Rishi’s heritage, his innovation, and his deep respect for flavours. The result is a marvellous menu that gets progressively stronger course by course.
Accolades are easy to list, and Cloudstreet has plenty, including its two MICHELIN Stars and a place on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants extended rankings in 2025. But the more interesting story is how clearly this restaurant expresses its chef. Naleendra’s wider portfolio in Singapore now spans Cloudstreet, Kotuwa and Station by Kotuwa, each exploring a different register of Sri Lankan identity. At Cloudstreet, that identity is not pinned to a flag. It is woven through flavour, technique, and a sense of hospitality that feels genuinely generous.
Where: Cloudstreet, 84 Amoy Street, Singapore, 069903
Contact: https://cloudstreet.com.sg