On quiet Greendale Avenue, La Braceria bakes thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas in a blackened dome oven and makes its own sausages, marinated for days in a house spice blend, backed by a Southern Italian menu and wine cellar

Why we love it: It holds the highest Chope rating of the Italians on this guide, 4.8 from 254 diners, and its Antipasto Braceria and house sausages taste of a Naples trattoria rather than a chain

Best for: Weekend family dinners with shared pizzas and a bottle from the cellar.

Must try: Antipasto Braceria, a house-sausage pizza and the Tiramisu.

Location: 5 Greendale Avenue, Singapore 289501

Co-founded by Naples-born Antonio Manetto and Milanese chef Roberto Galbiati, Acqua e Farina splits its menu between Southern pizzas and Northern pastas and grills, using mostly imported produce in a wood-and-brick Rail Mall dining room

Why we love it: It sits on the Rail Mall stretch beside the Rail Corridor, about eight minutes' walk from Hillview MRT, so a crabmeat squid ink fettuccine after a morning walk takes little planning

Best for: Post-walk lunches off the Rail Corridor, Tuesday to Sunday.

Must try: Pizza Acqua e Farina and Fettuccine Nere alla Polpa di Granchio.

Location: 400 Upper Bukit Timah Road, #01-15/16, The Rail Mall, Singapore 678050

A French bakery, patisserie and bistro on Bukit Timah Road near Tan Kah Kee MRT, Choupinette bakes its own loaves and serves brunch from 8am: tartines, quiche of the day and croque monsieur

Why we love it: Its Eggs Benedict, poached eggs and ham on house-baked toast under hollandaise, is the most-voted dish on its Chope profile, and the pastry counter means dessert can go home too

Best for: Unhurried French brunches with house-baked bread and pastries.

Must try: Eggs Benedict, French Toast with berry compote, then the apple tart.

Location: 607 Bukit Timah Road, #01-01, Singapore 269708

Coexist Coffee occupies the eighth-floor rooftop of the Hillview Building, with camping-style patio seats facing Bukit Batok Nature Park and a Modern Singaporean brunch menu running from squid ink fried rice to chilli crab shakshuka

Why we love it: It is the guide's only rooftop table, open 9am to 6pm daily, and local-leaning dishes such as assam barramundi and signature you tiao set it apart from eggs-on-toast cafes

Best for: Weekday brunches with a green rooftop view, away from weekend crowds.

Must try: Chilli Crab Shakshuka and the Coexist Breakfast.

Location: 48 Hillview Terrace, #08-00, Hillview Building, Singapore 669269

Le Rida pairs Lebanese mezze and charcoal-grilled kebabs with French grills and North Indian curries, so one table can order shikaf lamb, duck confit and butter chicken together, in an open-air setting off Cherry Avenue

Why we love it: Open until 11:30pm on weeknights and close to midnight at weekends, it is a relaxed restaurant-bar for groups who cannot agree on one cuisine and want a drink with dinner

Best for: Mixed-taste groups wanting a late, casual dinner with drinks.

Must try: Lebanese Kofta Kebab, Beef Shikaf Kebab and shared pita with dips.

Location: 903 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 589620

From the team behind Hanjip in Clarke Quay, Nami grills Japanese Wagyu chuck ribs, Kurobuta pork jowl and USDA Prime beef over charcoal, with trained servers cooking and slicing at the table in a Nami Island-themed room

Why we love it: Staff-grilled service means nobody at the table minds the meat, and with 361 Chope reviews averaging 4.6, it is the most-reviewed booking on this guide

Best for: Celebratory group dinners where staff handle all the grilling.

Must try: Nami Signatures platter with Korean abalone, plus soy marinated crab.

Location: 18 Greenwood Avenue, Singapore 289212

Jiak serves halal-certified Chinese zi char in an air-conditioned dining room at HillV2, with a menu of close to 60 dishes led by a tender curry fish head and crisp prawn paste chicken

Why we love it: Halal zi char is rare around Bukit Timah, and Jiak lets Muslim and non-Muslim friends share one table of classic wok dishes, with weekday set lunches from $12.80

Best for: Halal family dinners and weekday set lunches near Hillview MRT.

Must try: Fish Head Curry, Prawn Paste Chicken and Sambal Kangkong.

Location: 4 Hillview Rise, #02-04, HillV2, Singapore 667979

Chefs Karl Dobler and Eugenia Ong run two menus side by side at Table At 7: Indonesian dishes such as nasi kuning and udang cumi bakar, and European plates from sirloin steak to sticky date pudding, now on Namly Avenue

Why we love it: Few kitchens let one table order Wagyu oxtail rendang and a Black Angus steak from the same chefs, making it the guide's most distinctive East-meets-West booking

Best for: Quiet weekday lunches for mixed Asian and Western tastes.

Must try: Wagyu Oxtail Rendang and the Nasi Kuning Platter.

Location: 41 Namly Avenue, #03-00, SIM Management House, Singapore 267616

Serving Bukit Timah since 1996, Omar Shariff fires kebabs and naan in a traditional tandoor oven and cooks a broad menu of vegetarian, meat and seafood curries and biryanis, in a renovated dining room on Greenwood Avenue

Why we love it: Thirty years in the neighbourhood make it Bukit Timah's long-standing curry house, and its 4.9 average across 16 Chope reviews is the highest diner rating on this guide

Best for: Relaxed family curry dinners mixing vegetarian and meat dishes.

Must try: Omar Shariff Special Mutton Briyani and the Mix Grill Sizzler.

Location: 14 Greenwood Avenue, Singapore 289206

Founded in 2008 by three F&B professionals, Indian Curry House in Sixth Avenue Centre pairs tandoori dishes and curries with wine, from Badshahi tandoor chicken and tandoori crab claw to Kashmiri rogan josh

Why we love it: Tandoori crab claw and signature fish cakes take it beyond the butter chicken script, and a wine list to match makes it the guide's Indian pick for a quieter evening out

Best for: Weeknight Indian dinners for two with a bottle of wine.

Must try: Tandoori Crab Claw, Kashmiri Rogan Josh and Pistachio Kulfi.

Location: 805 Bukit Timah Road, #01-03, Sixth Avenue Centre, Singapore 279883

Laid-back neighbourhood bar on Sixth Avenue, the group's flagship since 2003, pouring Beck's, Estrella Galicia and Little Creatures with bar food and indoor-outdoor seating. It is the original of the Lazy Lizard outlets, a long-standing local for the surrounding Bukit Timah neighbourhood, with outdoor seats for warmer evenings.

Why we love it: It shows football, F1, rugby and tennis across several TVs, and Chope bookings get 15% off non-promotional items.

Best for: Weeknight games close to home for Bukit Timah and Sixth Avenue locals.

Must try: Chicken wings with an Estrella Galicia or Little Creatures draught.

Location: 2A Sixth Avenue, Singapore 276470