Lede: Singapore’s Dempsey enclave has a new culinary contender: Casa Mori, a Spanish-inspired restaurant housed in a restored 19th-century barrack, where celebrity chef Willin Low—pioneer of Modern Singaporean (“Mod-Sin”) cuisine—teams up with José Alonso of Spanish restaurant Kulto. The venue opened in early 2025, offering a sun-dappled, courtyard atmosphere and a menu that attempts to fuse Asian and Spanish influences. But while the setting earns top marks, the kitchen is still working out some kinks.
Ambiance and Design
Casa Mori’s interior is an immediate win. Local studio Produce transformed the high-ceilinged space with terracotta hues, earthy tones, and towering columns designed to resemble tree trunks. The effect is that of a breezy Spanish patio, even in humid Singapore. Diners sit beneath these faux trees, surrounded by warm light and natural materials—a setting that encourages the kind of long, leisurely meals Dempsey is known for.
The Collaboration
The partnership between Low and Alonso promises creative crossovers. Low, who closed his acclaimed Wild Rocket in 2019, earned a reputation for reimagining local dishes with Western techniques. Alonso brings Spanish grounding. Together they’ve built a menu that riffs on Singaporean hawker classics through a Spanish lens.
What to Order (and Skip)
The standout starter is the kalipoquetas (S$16 for four pieces)—a hybrid of curry puff (“kalipok”) and Spanish croqueta, filled with chicken-and-potato curry and served with a dab of curry aioli. It’s familiar, comforting, and a clear crowd-pleaser. Another table favorite: garlic huajiao prawns (S$32), where subtle huadiao wine and Sichuan pepper meet an oily confit garlic base. The sauce alone justifies ordering extra bread.
Not everything hits. The Iberico secreto pork satay (S$24, three skewers) arrives with an aggressive sweet-and-salty Indonesian sate glaze that masks the quality Iberico meat. Worse, the skewers are served extremely hot, making it difficult to pull off the pork without burning fingers. Among mains, the squid ink fried rice (S$38, claypot) lacks the promised smoky wok hei and concentrated squid flavor; aside from crunchy tobiko, baby squid tempura, and an onsen egg, it reads as an ordinary fried rice. The black cod (S$38) tries to blend Teochew and Japanese notes—pickled olive leaves, takana, tomatoes, edamame—but the components never cohere, leaving the buttery fish to carry the dish alone.
Perhaps the most anticipated dish is the spring chicken (S$36), an attempt to recreate Singapore’s national dish—chicken rice—with a Josper-oven-seared bird over cauliflower purée (standing in for rice). It falls short: the meat is dry and underseasoned, and the dish lacks the punchy chilli and ginger that make the original legendary.
The Verdict
Time Out’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars. The dining experience at Dempsey has always been about ambiance as much as food, and Casa Mori delivers the former generously. The kitchen may still be finding its footing, but there are sufficient reasons to return: a S$35 weekday lunch set looks like solid value, and weekend brunch appears family-friendly. Dishes that escaped our table—the Casa Wagyu Burger (S$34), oyster omelette pasta (S$28), and Hokkien mee fideua (S$58)—have earned glowing early reviews. The setting alone warrants a return visit, and with some refinement, the menu could catch up.
Casa Mori, 11 Dempsey Road #01-17. Open Tue–Fri 11:30am–2:30pm & 5:30–10:30pm, Sat 11am–10:30pm, Sun 11am–10pm.