Árō by Johanne Siy: A Labour of Love in Fine Dining

Chef Johanne Siy's debut restaurant, Árō, opened on September 25, 2026, at 15 Mohamed Sultan Road in Singapore. The single 12-serving tasting menu costs S$268++ per person, with the '++' indicating service charge and GST (Goods and Services Tax) are added to the bill.

Siy's journey to becoming a chef-owner began far from a professional kitchen. She grew up cooking for her family in Pangasinan, Philippines, but was steered towards accountancy instead. After working at Procter & Gamble, Siy left to train as a chef at 28 and eventually worked at Le Bernardin and Café Boulud in New York.

Her experience at two-Michelin-starred Restaurant André in Singapore and stages at Noma, Relæ, and Fäviken in Scandinavia had a profound impact on her cooking style. She now focuses on foraging and terroir, which is reflected in Árō's opening menu.

The restaurant's name, Árō, is derived from Latin and the dialect of Siy's hometown, meaning 'labour of love.' Each course starts with a single ingredient and highlights the people who grow or make it. The menu cards plating each dish explain where the ingredients come from and who produced them.

Notable dishes include stingless bee honey, aligue tart with spanner crab enriched by Filipino crab fat, pili custard with Ossetra caviar, seaweed course featuring rare purple seaweed harvested in Ilocos, and a whole carabinero prawn inspired by Basque seafood producers.

Árō's dining room is designed to feel like a home, with artwork and objects from Siy's collection filling the space. The restaurant occupies the former Esora space and has 26 seats, including a chef's counter that offers an intimate view of the open kitchen.