For black pepper crab in Singapore, the benchmark is Eng Seng Restaurant, now in Tampines, followed by Long Beach Seafood (widely credited with creating the dish), JUMBO and Palm Beach Seafood. The dish is a whole crab wok-fried in a dry, buttery sauce of cracked black pepper, and almost every restaurant prices it by weight: mud crab runs from around $10.80 to $14.80++ per 100g, and a whole crab usually costs $80 to $120. The best spots are spread out, with heritage zi char in Tampines, Marine Parade and Katong, polished seafood houses along the Singapore River, Dempsey and Marina Bay, and two halal options in Geylang Serai and Joo Chiat. Ask the per-100g rate and the crab's weight before it is cooked, and pre-order at Eng Seng, where crabs are served at dinner only.
Last verified: October 2026. Hours and prices can change — we re-check our guides regularly, but do confirm before a special trip.
- Eng Seng Restaurant
- Long Beach Seafood (Dempsey)
- JUMBO Seafood (Riverside Point)
- Palm Beach Seafood
- Mellben Seafood (Ang Mo Kio)
- Sin Hoi Sai Eating House
- Keng Eng Kee Seafood (SAFRA Tampines)
- No Signboard Seafood (Geylang)
- Roland Restaurant
- Red House Seafood (Grand Copthorne)
- Hua Yu Wee Seafood Restaurant
- Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood
- Mutiara Seafood
- Home of Seafood
The list
Eng Seng Restaurant Zi char / crab specialist · $$$
The family zi char many locals name as the benchmark for sticky, sweet-savoury black pepper crab. It closed its Joo Chiat Place shop on 31 August 2025 and now cooks from an industrial-estate canteen in Tampines; crabs are served at dinner only and are best pre-ordered.
- Cuisine: Zi char / crab specialist
- Price: $$$ · Crab at seasonal market price (not published); pre-order via WhatsApp
- Must-try: Black pepper crab
- Where: 9007 Tampines Street 93, Singapore 528841
- Area: Tampines
- Nearest MRT: Tampines West
- Hours: About 11am-10pm; closed Mon (crabs at dinner only)
- Halal: No
Long Beach Seafood (Dempsey) Chinese seafood · $$$
The seafood name widely credited with creating black pepper crab, which it still sells as its 'original' pepper flavour, priced the same per 100g as its chilli crab. Besides Dempsey it runs Robertson Quay and a new East Coast outlet at Coastal PlayGrove (902 East Coast Parkway) that replaced its East Coast Seafood Centre restaurant in 2026.
- Cuisine: Chinese seafood
- Price: $$$ · XL mud crab from around $11.80++ per 100g
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 25 Dempsey Road, Singapore 249670
- Area: Dempsey Hill
- Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-3pm, 5pm-11:30pm; Sat-Sun & PH 11am-11:30pm (the site's header also lists an 11pm close, so call ahead for late visits)
- Halal: No
JUMBO Seafood (Riverside Point) Chinese seafood · $$$
The chain founded in 1987, now at Riverside Point after its East Coast Seafood Centre flagship closed on 30 September 2026. Other branches include Dempsey Hill, ION Orchard, Jewel Changi Airport, The Riverwalk and Resorts World Sentosa; reservations are recommended.
- Cuisine: Chinese seafood
- Price: $$$ · Mud crab from around $10.80++ per 100g (under 1kg)
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 30 Merchant Road, #01-01/02, Riverside Point, Singapore 058282
- Area: Clarke Quay
- Nearest MRT: Clarke Quay
- Hours: Daily 11:30am-11pm (last order 10:15pm)
- Halal: No
Palm Beach Seafood Chinese seafood · $$$
A veteran seafood house at One Fullerton with Marina Bay views. It says its black pepper crab, made with pepper, sugar and soy, is its second most popular dish after chilli crab.
- Cuisine: Chinese seafood
- Price: $$$ · Crab at market price
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 1 Fullerton Road, #01-09, One Fullerton, Singapore 049213
- Area: Marina Bay
- Nearest MRT: Raffles Place
- Hours: Daily 12pm-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm
- Halal: No
Mellben Seafood (Ang Mo Kio) Zi char / crab specialist · $$
A family-run crab specialist founded in 1993 under an HDB block in Ang Mo Kio. It is best known for claypot crab bee hoon soup, but it also cooks crab in black pepper and butter styles.
- Cuisine: Zi char / crab specialist
- Price: $$ · Crab at market price
- Must-try: Claypot crab bee hoon soup, Black pepper crab, Butter crab
- Where: 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, #01-1222, Singapore 560232
- Area: Ang Mo Kio
- Nearest MRT: Ang Mo Kio
- Hours: Daily 5pm-10pm
- Halal: No
Sin Hoi Sai Eating House Zi char / seafood · $$$
A veteran East Coast Road zi char known for late-night crab suppers, with black pepper crab, sambal stingray and cold beer served until 3am.
- Cuisine: Zi char / seafood
- Price: $$$ · Black pepper crab from around $111; BBQ stingray from around $16
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Barbecue stingray, Prawn paste chicken wings
- Where: 187 East Coast Road, Singapore 428893
- Area: Katong / Marine Parade
- Nearest MRT: Marine Parade
- Hours: Daily 4pm-3am
- Halal: No
Keng Eng Kee Seafood (SAFRA Tampines) Zi char / Chinese seafood · $$
A Michelin-recognised family zi char whose crab comes in nine styles, black pepper among them, at a flat whole-crab price. Its SAFRA Tampines branch is open to the public; the brand also lists Alexandra Village and SAFRA Punggol.
- Cuisine: Zi char / Chinese seafood
- Price: $$ · Whole crab (about 900g) from around $93 in any of nine styles
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Coffee pork ribs, Moonlight hor fun
- Where: 1A Tampines Street 92, #01-K2, SAFRA Tampines, Singapore
- Area: Tampines
- Nearest MRT: Tampines West
- Halal: No
No Signboard Seafood (Geylang) Chinese seafood · $$$
The Geylang flagship of a chain that began in 1981 as a hawker stall with no signboard. It is best known for white pepper crab but also offers black pepper among its 11 crab styles, and it stays open past midnight.
- Cuisine: Chinese seafood
- Price: $$$ · Crab at seasonal price; fried buns $3 for 4
- Must-try: White pepper crab, Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 414 Geylang Road, Singapore 389392
- Area: Geylang
- Nearest MRT: Aljunied
- Hours: Daily 11am-12:15am
- Halal: No
Roland Restaurant Chinese seafood · $$
A Marine Parade restaurant on the sixth floor of a multi-storey carpark, run by the family linked to the origin of chilli crab. Black pepper is one of the styles in its two-crab promotion.
- Cuisine: Chinese seafood
- Price: $$ · Promotion of 2 crabs for $88++ in one style, black pepper included (Oct 2026, while stocks last)
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 89 Marine Parade Central, #06-750, Singapore 440089
- Area: Marine Parade
- Nearest MRT: Marine Parade
- Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30am-2:30pm, 6pm-10pm; Sun & PH 11am-2:45pm, 6pm-10pm
- Halal: No
Red House Seafood (Grand Copthorne) Chinese / Nanyang seafood · $$$
A seafood house established in 1976, with private rooms at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and sister outlets at Esplanade and CQ @ Clarke Quay; useful for group and family dinners.
- Cuisine: Chinese / Nanyang seafood
- Price: $$$ · Crab at market price
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 392 Havelock Road, Level 2, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore 169663
- Area: Havelock / Robertson Quay
- Nearest MRT: Havelock
- Hours: Daily 12pm-3pm, 5:30pm-10pm
- Halal: No
Hua Yu Wee Seafood Restaurant Chinese seafood · $$
An old-school East Coast seafood restaurant in a 1950s bungalow on Upper East Coast Road, open for dinner only and known for black pepper crab alongside a spicier, eggier chilli crab.
- Cuisine: Chinese seafood
- Price: $$ · Crab at market price
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 462 Upper East Coast Road, Singapore 466508
- Area: Upper East Coast
- Nearest MRT: Bayshore
- Hours: Dinner daily from 5pm
- Halal: No
Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood Chinese seafood · $$
A long-standing neighbourhood seafood restaurant off Upper Thomson whose black pepper crab is one of its best-known dishes, alongside chilli crab and cereal prawns.
- Cuisine: Chinese seafood
- Price: $$ · Crab at market price
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab, Prawn paste chicken
- Where: 122 Casuarina Road, Singapore 579510
- Area: Upper Thomson
- Hours: Mon 4:30pm-10:30pm; Tue-Sun 11:30am-2pm, 4:30pm-10:30pm
- Halal: No
Mutiara Seafood Halal Chinese and Malay seafood · $$$
JUMBO Group's first halal-certified seafood restaurant, opened in 2023 at Wisma Geylang Serai and listed in the MUIS halal directory, serving JUMBO-style black pepper and chilli crab alongside Malay-style grilled seafood.
- Cuisine: Halal Chinese and Malay seafood
- Price: $$$ · Crab priced by weight
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab
- Where: 1 Engku Aman Turn, #01-02 & #02-02/03, Wisma Geylang Serai, Singapore 408528
- Area: Geylang Serai
- Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar
- Hours: Daily 11:30am-3pm; dinner Mon-Fri 5:30pm-10pm, Sat-Sun & PH 5pm-10pm
- Halal: MUIS-certified
Home of Seafood Halal Chinese-style seafood · $$$
A Joo Chiat restaurant, open since 2009 and listed in the MUIS halal directory, serving halal Chinese-style seafood; black pepper crab is its best-known signature, alongside chilli and salted egg crab.
- Cuisine: Halal Chinese-style seafood
- Price: $$$ · Crab at seasonal price
- Must-try: Black pepper crab, Chilli crab, Salted egg crab
- Where: 1 Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 427739
- Area: Joo Chiat / Eunos
- Nearest MRT: Eunos
- Hours: Daily 10:30am-10:30pm
- Halal: MUIS-certified
At a glance: compare every spot
| Spot | Cuisine | Price | Area | Halal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eng Seng Restaurant | Zi char / crab specialist | $$$ | Tampines | No |
| Long Beach Seafood (Dempsey) | Chinese seafood | $$$ | Dempsey Hill | No |
| JUMBO Seafood (Riverside Point) | Chinese seafood | $$$ | Clarke Quay | No |
| Palm Beach Seafood | Chinese seafood | $$$ | Marina Bay | No |
| Mellben Seafood (Ang Mo Kio) | Zi char / crab specialist | $$ | Ang Mo Kio | No |
| Sin Hoi Sai Eating House | Zi char / seafood | $$$ | Katong / Marine Parade | No |
| Keng Eng Kee Seafood (SAFRA Tampines) | Zi char / Chinese seafood | $$ | Tampines | No |
| No Signboard Seafood (Geylang) | Chinese seafood | $$$ | Geylang | No |
| Roland Restaurant | Chinese seafood | $$ | Marine Parade | No |
| Red House Seafood (Grand Copthorne) | Chinese / Nanyang seafood | $$$ | Havelock / Robertson Quay | No |
| Hua Yu Wee Seafood Restaurant | Chinese seafood | $$ | Upper East Coast | No |
| Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood | Chinese seafood | $$ | Upper Thomson | No |
| Mutiara Seafood | Halal Chinese and Malay seafood | $$$ | Geylang Serai | MUIS-certified |
| Home of Seafood | Halal Chinese-style seafood | $$$ | Joo Chiat / Eunos | MUIS-certified |
Your questions answered
Where is the best black pepper crab in Singapore?
Eng Seng Restaurant (now at 9007 Tampines Street 93) is the name most often cited for black pepper crab. Long Beach Seafood, which is credited with creating the dish, JUMBO Seafood and Palm Beach Seafood are the best-known restaurant options, and Sin Hoi Sai on East Coast Road is a popular late-night choice.
How much does black pepper crab cost in Singapore?
Crab is sold by weight at seasonal prices. In 2026, mud crab costs from around $10.80++ per 100g at JUMBO and $11.80++ per 100g at Long Beach, so a 1kg crab is roughly $110 to $120 before service charge and GST. Keng Eng Kee has a flat price of around $93 for a 900g crab, and Roland runs a two-crab deal for $88++.
Is there halal black pepper crab in Singapore?
Yes. Mutiara Seafood by JUMBO Group at Wisma Geylang Serai and Home of Seafood at 1 Joo Chiat Place are both listed in the MUIS halal directory and serve black pepper crab. The other restaurants in this guide are not halal.
What is the difference between black pepper crab and chilli crab?
Black pepper crab is wok-fried dry in butter, soy and coarsely cracked black pepper, so it is savoury and peppery-hot. Chilli crab comes in a wet, sweet-spicy tomato and egg gravy, usually mopped up with fried mantou. Many tables order one of each.
Which restaurants serve black pepper crab late at night?
Sin Hoi Sai Eating House on East Coast Road is open until 3am daily, No Signboard Seafood in Geylang until 12:15am, and Long Beach at Dempsey until about 11pm to 11:30pm.
Do I need to book for black pepper crab?
Book ahead at JUMBO, Long Beach, Palm Beach and Red House, especially on weekends. At Eng Seng, pre-order crabs by WhatsApp, as they are served at dinner only. Roland's crab promotion runs while stocks last.
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