8 Best Thosai in Singapore (2026)

Thosai, the crisp, fermented rice-and-lentil crepe more widely known outside Singapore as dosa, anchors South Indian breakfast and tiffin menus across the island, served plain, stuffed with spiced potato as masala thosai, or rolled paper-thin. Little India remains the centre of gravity, home to vegetarian restaurants that have served the dish for generations, but hawker stalls in Tampines and Geylang Serai turn out their own versions, including a Michelin-listed one and a halal one. This guide gathers 8 places in Singapore recognised for their thosai and dosa, spanning heritage institutions, a global chain outlet and standalone stalls. Each entry notes its own style, so use this as a starting point and confirm hours before visiting.

Komala Vilas is a Little India institution on Serangoon Road that traces its history to 1947, when founder Murugiah Rajoo opened its doors after arriving from Tamil Nadu; it is recognised as a Singapore Heritage Brand and now runs under a third generation of the family. Its thosai meal comes as either a thin, crisp paper thosai or a spicier masala version, served with vegetables, a vegetable curry, dhal, raita, payasam and pickles, and the restaurant is known for a distinctive three-colour chutney combination alongside a wider menu of vadai, idli and uthappam. Banana-leaf service is a tradition it says it carries from its founder's hometown. An adjoining sweets shop and a River Valley Road sister restaurant, Fennel by Komala Vilas, round out the group.

Little India
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Ananda Bhavan is a vegetarian restaurant group that traces its Singapore roots to 1924 and now runs five outlets, four clustered around Little India plus one at Changi Business Park. Its South Indian tiffin menu centres on dosai in several forms, from a straightforward onion masala version to novelty takes such as a pizza thosai and a ghee-laden onion rava dosai, served alongside idli, vadai and uthappam, with North Indian and Indian-Chinese dishes filling out the rest of the card. The chain's own material says its kitchens cook without added MSG. Outlets differ slightly in hours and weekly closures, with at least one Serangoon Road branch shutting on Wednesdays, so check the specific outlet nearest you before visiting.

Little India (multiple outlets)
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MTR, short for Mavalli Tiffin Room, is the Singapore branch of a Bangalore restaurant operating since 1924; its own site describes the outlet, run by Samanvay Singapore Pte Ltd in partnership with the Indian brand, as the group's first venture outside India. It sits on Serangoon Road near Farrer Park, opposite the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, serving the same vegetarian tiffin repertoire as the original: crisp masala dosa, idli, uppittu and kesari bath, alongside filter coffee. Food-history writers credit MTR's Bangalore kitchen with inventing rava idli, a semolina-based steamed cake devised when wartime rice shortages made the usual batter scarce. Unlike all-day restaurants elsewhere in Little India, MTR keeps split breakfast, lunch and dinner sessions rather than staying open through the afternoon.

Farrer Park
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Murugan Idli Shop is the Singapore outlet of a South Indian vegetarian chain that press and directory accounts trace to a coffee shop in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, later renamed and expanded into an idli specialist before growing into a wider chain, though the exact founding year varies by source. The Syed Alwi Road shop lives up to its name, with idli, including a podi-dusted version, as its declared speciality, but its dosa list runs to several styles alongside vada and rice plates, and the kitchen is pure vegetarian throughout. It keeps longer hours than most Little India peers, opening through the morning into the evening rather than closing for a mid-afternoon break, suiting diners who arrive outside the breakfast rush.

Little India
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Madras New Woodlands Restaurant is a long-running, no-frills vegetarian restaurant in Little India, distinct from the similarly named New Madras Cafe over on Race Course Road. Its menu sticks to South Indian tiffin staples: masala and rava dosai, idli, upuma and appam, plus a thali platter that pairs dosai with spiced vegetables, curd, dhal, rasam and papadam. There is little in the way of decor or seating comfort, and service leans brisk and canteen-style rather than polished, which has kept it a fixture for regulars rather than a destination for atmosphere. It opens from early morning through to late evening, spanning breakfast, lunch and dinner in one stretch, making it a reliable option when other South Indian kitchens nearby are between meal periods.

Little India
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Saravanaa Bhavan is the Singapore franchise of a Chennai-founded chain that press coverage widely describes as one of the world's largest South Indian vegetarian restaurant groups. Its Singapore operation has changed hands and locations over the years; industry reports describe it formally resuming business in 2024 with a new outlet at Centrium Square on Serangoon Road, run under a franchise agreement rather than as a continuation of any earlier local entity. The menu follows the chain's standard tiffin format, with an extensive list of dosai variations served with sambar and chutneys, alongside idli and vada. Given that history of closures and reopenings, treat this as the current branch rather than assuming continuity with any earlier Saravanaa Bhavan outlet.

Little India (Centrium Square)
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Rajarani Thosai is a hawker stall at Tampines Round Market & Food Centre that has been making thosai and appam to order for around 25 years, run by a mother-and-son team according to food press coverage. The Michelin Guide added it to its Singapore selection in 2026 with a Bib Gourmand recognition, citing its crisp thosai and a reported near-20 fillings, ranging from simple cereal-crusted versions to combinations of cheese, egg and butter. Unlike the sit-down restaurants clustered in Little India, this is a strictly morning operation, open from around 7am into the early afternoon and closed on Wednesdays, suiting a breakfast trip rather than lunch or dinner. The Michelin nod has reportedly drawn longer queues than before.

Tampines
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G.S. Oli Thosei & Food Stall is a Muslim-owned hawker stall at Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre that specialises in halal versions of Tamil South Indian breakfast dishes, an uncommon combination in a category otherwise dominated by Hindu-run vegetarian kitchens. Thosai and appam are the mainstays, and the stall is also known for putu mayam, the steamed rice-flour noodle usually eaten with grated coconut and gula melaka, alongside roti jala. It sits in the Geylang Serai area rather than Little India, drawing a customer base more local to the neighbourhood than Little India's tourist crowd. Hours run from before dawn into the mid-afternoon, Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays, placing it firmly in the breakfast-and-brunch camp rather than an all-day or supper option.

Geylang Serai
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