Forget the showroom and imagine a counter where the chef sears a porterhouse as diners discuss leather —not handbags or the latest fashion drops —turning materials into the story, not just the product. The new Coach Restaurant in Singapore Jewel opens that possibility. It’s a new 56-seat woodfire steakhouse that places Coach’s design codes, leather menu covers, a suspended yellow taxi, terrazzo floors, centre stage while serving USDA Prime, Satsuma Wagyu and a caviar-topped Black and White Bagel. It is, simultaneously, an exercise in narrative and a business decision about where attention lives now.
A Brand That Wants To Be Lived In
Coach started as an American leather house; today it is also testing whether its cultural grammar can extend beyond bags to meals, interiors and shared moments. The Jewel project is not a pop-up; this is a permanent, connected experience attached to the brand’s retail store. That continuity matters because it shifts the relationship from product purchase to habit formation —a customer stops by for lunch, discovers the collection next door, returns for cocktails. It’s a small ecosystem, designed to keep people inside the Coach world longer.
Todd Kahn, Coach’s CEO, frames it in terms of “Expressive Luxury” and of meeting younger customers where they are: wanting authenticity and things they can share. This is a useful way to think about the calculus: food is low-friction luxury. A cocktail or slice of pizza creates access to a brand in a way a handbag cannot for everyone
Design as Shorthand For Story
Walk into the dining room and the details do the talking. The architecture —a curved ceiling and warm archival hues— tries to feel like a Manhattan nook while remaining comfortable for Southeast Asia. Leather turns up in unexpected ways: apron cuffs, placemats and menu covers, all referencing Coach’s craft without resorting to logos plastered everywhere. The yellow taxi hung above the room is almost funny; its hyperliteralism works precisely because the rest of the interior reads as thoughtfully restrained. You can post the shot and not feel like you’re advertising.
Whether by deliberate design or happy serendipity, the interiors are Instagram-ready without feeling like an installation. That balance is intentional. The chef’s counter and open woodfire kitchen invite diners into the craft, making each dish part of the brand story rather than merely the subject.
The Menu Speaks Coach’s Language
Under Head Chef Kurt Sombero, who worked at woodfire-centric Burnt Ends and Meatsmith, the menu is a credible steakhouse with a few theatrical Coach flourishes. Expect porterhouse for sharing, Dover Sole with citrus butter, a selection of USDA Prime and Japanese Satsuma A5, and street-style bites such as pizza slices and a Coach cheeseburger. Desserts, from a 20-layer chocolate cake to PB&J Baked Alaska, lean into nostalgia, another shorthand luxury brands use to feel familiar.
The sommelier has curated an all-American wine list and the cocktail programme nods to New York classics with modern touches. The food operates on two levels: it must function as good restaurant cuisine, and it must act as a communicative surface, briefing patrons about the brand’s origins and ambitions without sounding like a press release.
Experience-driven Luxury
The new Coach Restaurant in Singapore Jewel also reflects a larger industry trend: younger consumers increasingly define luxury through experiences rather than simply owning products. According to a Vogue Business survey, younger consumers increasingly see food and drink as a form of attainable luxury —a sentiment echoed by McKinsey’s findings on experience-driven consumption¹². For Coach, dining acts as both social signal and brand entry point: accessible yet aspirational.
This isn’t Coach’s first foray into dining (there’s already the Coffee Shop at Sentosa and the Coach Bar at Keong Saik), but this one feels different —and deliberate. Positioned at Jewel Changi Airport, a crossroads of global travellers and local foodies, the restaurant signals the brand’s evolution from an accessories label into a full-bodied lifestyle name. It’s Coach’s answer to the question: what does modern luxury taste like?
Singapore is no accident. Jewel Changi sits at a crossroads of tourists, locals, and transit travellers, giving the restaurant high visibility and reinforcing Coach’s strategic positioning in Asia. Its presence here is also a regional test: with prior F&B launches in Jakarta and plans for further Asian expansion, Singapore becomes a proving ground for scaling lifestyle concepts.
Cultural Nuance And Pop Attention
The grand opening featured Thai actors Nanon Korapat, Force Jiratchapong, and Love Pattranite — a subtle nod to the region’s fandom dynamics. Their presence also signals that Coach is thinking beyond Western cultural references, acknowledging Southeast Asia’s diverse tastes, and leveraging celebrity influence with sophistication rather than excess.
The Takeaway
Coach’s Jewel venture demonstrates that luxury houses can transform physical spaces into platforms for culture, not just commerce. This restaurant doesn’t simply serve food but delivers a lived expression of brand heritage, lifestyle, and identity. For a house that once defined American cool with leather, this may be its most compelling reinvention yet.
FAQ
What is The new Coach Restaurant in Singapore Jewel?
A permanent New York-inspired steakhouse at Jewel Changi Airport, blending interiors, craft, and woodfire cuisine into a lifestyle experience.
Who runs the kitchen?
Head Chef Kurt Sombero leads the culinary programme, assisted by Head Sommelier Jane Yoon.
Why open a restaurant?
Coach describes it as “Expressive Luxury”: the restaurant deepens engagement, creates culturally relevant moments, and extends the brand into lifestyle.
When is it open and where?
The restaurant operates for lunch and dinner at Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore. (Full address: #01-207, 78 Airport Boulevard, Singapore 819666.)
Footnotes & sources
¹ Gareth Wright & Lucy Maguire, “To Gen Z, food is the new luxury. What does that mean for fashion?”, Vogue Business, 2023.
² “Meet Generation Z: Shaping the future of shopping”, McKinsey & Company, 2020.