Restaurant in Singapore, Singapore
Michelin-endorsed biryani at street food prices.
Bismillah Biryani holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (2024 and 2025) at street food prices on Dunlop Street in Little India. Walk-in only, no booking needed. The 3.9 Google score reflects the no-frills format — the Michelin committee's repeated validation is the more reliable signal. Go early to avoid sell-outs.
Bismillah Biryani on Dunlop Street is one of Singapore's most direct yes-book decisions for anyone eating in the $ price tier. Back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025 confirms what the 2,900-plus Google reviewers already know: this is serious biryani at street food prices, in a neighbourhood that rewards unhurried exploration. The 3.9 Google rating is lower than you might expect for a Bib Gourmand holder, which tells you something useful — the experience is not about polish or pacing, it is about the food. If you need tableside service and air-conditioning, this is not your spot. If you want one of Singapore's most credentialled plates of rice for under $15, it is.
Dunlop Street sits in the heart of Little India, one of Singapore's most densely layered eating corridors. Walk the stretch on any weekday lunch and you pass provision shops, flower garland sellers, and a rotating cast of hawker stalls that have fed the neighbourhood for decades. Bismillah Biryani occupies a modest shopfront at number 50, and the visual cue that you are in the right place is simple: a line, and the sight of large metal pots.
The Bib Gourmand is Michelin's recommendation for exceptional food at modest prices — it is not a consolation prize for venues that missed the stars. In Singapore, where the Guide takes hawker and street food culture seriously, a Bib Gourmand held for consecutive years is a meaningful credential. Bismillah Biryani has now held it for at least two consecutive cycles, which places it in a select group of street food addresses that Michelin's inspectors keep returning to.
The editorial angle here matters: this is not a tasting menu venue in the conventional sense, but there is a progression to the way biryani is built and served that rewards the same kind of attention you might bring to a structured meal. Biryani, at its most considered, is layered cooking , aromatics, rice, and protein built in sequence, rested, and served as a unified dish rather than components assembled at the pass. The architecture of a good biryani plate is visible from the moment it arrives: the colour gradient from saffron-touched leading to the darker, more intensely spiced base, the way the protein sits, the accompaniments that cut through the richness. At Bismillah, that visual arrival is the first signal that the kitchen is taking the dish seriously.
Address places you in walking distance of several other credentialled eating stops in the Little India and Jalan Besar corridor. If you are spending a half-day eating through the neighbourhood, Bismillah works as a main event rather than a side trip. For a fuller picture of what Singapore's street food tier looks like at its most awarded, compare the experience here against Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles, and A Noodle Story , all Bib Gourmand holders operating at comparable price points.
3.9 Google score across nearly 3,000 reviews deserves honest framing. At a venue with no website, no phone listing, and no formal booking system, the review pool skews heavily toward walk-in traffic , including tourists who arrived with high expectations and found a hawker-format operation rather than a sit-down restaurant. For a food-focused visitor who knows what they are walking into, the relevant signal is the Michelin committee's repeated validation, not the average score pulled down by atmosphere complaints.
For the explorer who treats eating as research, Bismillah fits into a broader Southeast Asian street food circuit worth building deliberately. The Bib Gourmand format appears across the region at addresses including 888 Hokkien Mee in George Town, A Pong Mae Sunee in Phuket, and Banana Boy in Hong Kong , each a proof point that Michelin's regional editors are paying close attention to the sub-$20 tier. Bismillah sits comfortably in that company.
Recent Bib Gourmand retention (2024 to 2025) is the most meaningful recent signal available. Michelin does not automatically renew , inspectors return and re-evaluate. Holding the award across two consecutive Singapore Guide cycles indicates the kitchen is consistent, not coasting on an earlier reputation.
No booking system is listed. Bismillah Biryani operates as a walk-in street food address at 50 Dunlop St, Singapore 209379, in the Little India district. Arrive early, particularly at lunch, when Bib Gourmand venues in Singapore draw both neighbourhood regulars and visitors. If popular dishes sell out mid-service , common at biryani specialists , you will want to be there in the first wave.
| Detail | Bismillah Biryani | Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle | A Noodle Story |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | $ | $ | $ |
| Award | Bib Gourmand (2024, 2025) | Bib Gourmand / 1 Michelin Star | Bib Gourmand |
| Booking | Walk-in | Walk-in (queue required) | Walk-in |
| Format | Street food / hawker | Hawker stall | Hawker stall |
| Cuisine | Biryani / Indian Muslim | Pork noodle | Singapore noodle |
For more eating and travel context across the city, see our full Singapore restaurants guide, our full Singapore hotels guide, our full Singapore bars guide, our full Singapore wineries guide, and our full Singapore experiences guide.
Go in knowing this is a hawker-format operation, not a sit-down restaurant. The Michelin Bib Gourmand (held in both 2024 and 2025) is for the food, not the setting. Arrive early , biryani specialists often sell out of specific preparations before the end of service. The price tier is $ throughout, so a full meal will cost a fraction of what you would spend at a comparable awarded address in most other cities. First-timers who have eaten at other Singapore Bib Gourmand stalls like Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle will know the format: queue, order, eat. The reward for that friction is a plate that Michelin's inspectors found worth returning to two years running.
No advance booking is available or needed , this is a walk-in street food address. The practical equivalent of booking difficulty here is queue management: arrive at the start of a service period, particularly lunch, to avoid selling out. The Bib Gourmand recognition in both 2024 and 2025 has increased visitor traffic, so later arrivals at peak hours carry more risk of missing the most popular preparations. No phone or website is listed, so there is no way to call ahead.
Bismillah Biryani is a street food operation, not a bar-format venue , there is no bar counter in the conventional sense. Seating is in the hawker or shopfront style standard for Little India's Dunlop Street corridor. If you are looking for a Singapore address with counter or bar-format dining at a higher price point, options like Zén ($$$$) operate in a different category entirely. For street food in the $ tier, the format at Bismillah is shared tables or stand-and-eat, consistent with how most of Singapore's most credentialled hawker addresses operate.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismillah Biryani | Street Food | $ | Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| Zén | European Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Jaan by Kirk Westaway | British Contemporary | $$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Iggy's | Modern European, European Contemporary | $$$ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Summer Pavilion | Cantonese | $$ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Waku Ghin | Creative Japanese, Japanese Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
How Bismillah Biryani stacks up against the competition.
Go hungry and go early. Bismillah Biryani holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024 and 2025), which means word is out — popular items can sell out before the lunch rush ends. It operates as a walk-in street food spot at 50 Dunlop St in Little India, so there's no reservation to fall back on. At $ pricing, this is one of the few Michelin-recognised meals in Singapore that won't require planning your finances around it.
You can't book — Bismillah Biryani is walk-in only. The practical workaround is timing: arrive at or before opening, or plan for an off-peak slot to avoid a queue or a sold-out sign. The Bib Gourmand recognition has widened its profile, so weekends and lunch peaks will draw the biggest crowds.
Bismillah Biryani is a street food address, not a bar-format restaurant, so there's no bar seating in the conventional sense. Expect counter or casual table-style eating consistent with Little India's hawker and coffeeshop dining culture. If you're after a sit-down experience with a drinks list, this isn't the format — but for Michelin-endorsed biryani at $ prices, the trade-off is straightforward.
Bismillah Biryani is primarily known for Street Food in Singapore.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
