New Middle Eastern Grill In Chinatown Serves Wagyu Fat-Basted Chicken That’s Seriously Good

Opened by serial entrepreneur

Styxx is founded by Yogev Vardi, 38, an entrepreneur who has called Singapore home for 12 years. He declined to share his nationality, but says his mother is French-Moroccan and his father’s family hails from the former Yugoslavia. “I’m some sort of a Peranakan of the Middle East,” he quips.

In 2017, Yogev co-founded the photo mosaic brand Picxel, which was sold in 2021 for an undisclosed sum. The INSEAD MBA holder also currently runs businesses in the beauty and wellness sectors.

Styxx’s flavours approved by his French-Moroccan mum

His path to F&B began in his mother's kitchen. “We weren't well off, but my mum always made sure I had balanced, home cooked meals,” he recalls. By third grade, classmates noticed his lunches were different – meatballs with mustard, schnitzel, eggplant. Never the usual peanut butter and jam.

“She was also the principal of my school, so she’d find time to pack my lunch. Even as a working mum, she’d batch prep on weekends.” Young Yogev would stand beside her, playing with dough scraps and helping with small tasks.

When she visited Styxx recently, she told Yogev something that moved him deeply: the restaurant’s matbucha – a North African condiment – tastes better than hers. She’s not someone who expresses feelings openly,” he says. “So that meant a lot.”

Cool, grungy vibe 

Styxx is the second venture from Yogev’s Amira Collective, a hospitality group that opened its debut project, Mediterranean gastro-bar Leila, in June just doors away. Co-founded with longtime friend Lee Penn (who runs hospitality ventures across Thailand, UK and the Middle East), the 60-seater strikes a balance between industrial cool and cosy warmth – exposed brick, brushed metal, warm lighting. Yogev declined to reveal the investment sum for the restaurant.

Flaming hot

All skewers and several dishes, like the grilled half or whole chicken, are finished on this simple open-fire grill stoked with oak and applewood, along with Japanese binchotan.

Use your hands 

Diners are encouraged to get a little messy. Part of the fun here is being hands-on: cutting apart grilled chook with scissors or slicing through the sealed flatbread lid that comes with your lamb stew.

This hands-on approach comes from the Moroccan side of Yogev’s family, where his mum is from. “They’re more relaxed and ‘tribal’ in nature,” he explains. “There’s a sense of warmth, sharing, and communal dining.”

The menu

Head chef Titus Thamil (pictured above), a Singaporean trained in French cooking with Middle Eastern restaurant experience, helms the kitchen. The menu centers on skewers priced per 150g, plus sharing plates and salads enhanced with imported spices like sumac and ras el hanout.

Larger sharing plates include a slow-cooked lamb stew and grilled chicken, while sides such as freekeh salad, dolma and hummus round out the spread. For dessert, expect modern spins on Middle Eastern classics like baklava and basbousa cake.

The complimentary platter

Every table is served with saluf (a traditional Yemeite flatbread), condiments and pickles – all made in-house. Cooked on a pan, the saluf is soft, pliable, and faintly chewy, its texture surprisingly reminiscent of a thin version of min jiang kueh.

For dips, there’s a savoury and smoky black sesame and black garlic tahini, and our favourite, the matbucha, a North African condiment made from slow-cooked tomatoes and roasted red peppers. It’s rich, tangy and deep – so good, we’d happily eat it on its own.

Finally, there’s carrot and celery pickles made with a Yemenite-style brine. We couldn’t quite detect the spices, but they make a refreshing, crunchy counterpoint to the heavier grilled meats that follow.

Layered Kebab, $18 for 150g (8 DAYS Pick!)

The kebab meat is a mix of Australian sirloin and lamb, sandwiched between housemade tortillas. Chef Titus uses a three-step cooking process (pan-sear, oven grill and char-grill) to ensure the fats are rendered perfectly. Smoky, well-seasoned, finished with beetroot tahini for subtle sweetness. An ideal portion for sharing.

Shishlik (Chicken Thigh), $18 for 150g

We were surprised to learn that this straightforward chicken thigh skewer is one of Yogev’s personal favourites. While the meat is juicy and nicely charred, and comes with a small dollop of matbucha and salad, $18 feels a touch steep given its simplicity. If you want to order a chicken dish, we recommend the heartier grilled half chicken instead – it feeds three to four diners and offers better value overall (more on that later).

King Oyster Mushrooms, $18 for 150g

Brushed with a savoury-sweet glaze, plump king oyster mushrooms and leeks are cooked well on the grill. The skewer is served on a velvety housemade labneh mousse (labneh is a strained yogurt popular in Middle Eastern cooking, similar to cream cheese) whipped with roasted eggplant that adds richness and contrast. Not cheap for a veggie dish, but the thoughtful pairing is worth it.

Half Chicken, $29 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Don’t skip this. The chicken is brined for 24 hours, marinated in harissa (a spicy North African chilli paste), and then grilled over charcoal and wood till the skin turns crisp. Inside, the meat stays juicy, perfumed with smoke and spice. Chef Titus tells us the bird is also basted with wagyu fat during grilling – and topped with demi-glace before serving – which explains the extra depth of flavour. Outstanding.

Dolma, $18

Traditionally, dolma refers to stuffed vegetables, a staple across the Mediterranean and Middle East. Yogev’s mother’s recipe gets a refined spin: banana shallots stuffed with seasoned beef and rice, cooked in demi-glace. Aromatic, gently spiced, and layered with subtle sweetness from the shallots, this is a sophisticated take on a humble home classic.

Taboon Lahme, $37

Think of this as a Middle Eastern soup en croûte – slow-cooked minced Australian lamb stew sealed with laffa (Iraqi pita) to resemble the taboon, a traditional clay oven. The stew is rich and hearty, while the bread is meant to be torn and dipped into the sauce.

We found the “lid” a little too soggy – likely because the thin layer of flatbread absorbed too much steam as it rested. Break into it as soon as it lands to enjoy the best texture.

Basbousa Cake, $23; feeds 2-3 pax (8 DAYS Pick!)

A dessert worth saving space for. This clever creation marries basbousa – a syrup-soaked semolina cake – with malabi, a creamy milk pudding perfumed with rosewater. Carefully layered, the indulgent dessert combines the aromatic nuttiness of semolina with custardy smoothness. We’re usually wary of rosewater, but here it’s used with restraint – just enough to lend a delicate floral note. Beautifully balanced and unexpectedly addictive.

The details

Styxx is at 18 Teck Lim Road. Open Tue to Sun, 5.30pm - 12am. Closed on Mon. More info via Instagram. Tel: 9711 6913.

Photos: Lionel Lai