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Singapore’s late-night options have expanded in recent years to include more highbrow lounges with million-dollar views, mixologists shaking up the trendiest ingredients, and bars tapping into some of the beers from all over. After work, professionals and expats typically congregate at watering holes on Club Street and pubs in Boat Quay, as well as at some of the cocktail bars that have been popping up around Chinatown and Haji Lane.
Nightclubs featuring electronic dance music have a massive following here, and that's been true since the opening of Zouk, back in 1996. Additional clubs can be found around Clarke Quay and throughout the CBD.
First-time visitors should be prepared for the exorbitantly expensive prices that clubs charge. Beer guzzlers on a budget are best off sipping on a few at the hawker centers, one of the only places to find reasonable rates.
Be aware that although the once-bawdy Bugis Street has been sanitized, a seedy underworld still exists elsewhere in town. Red-light districts, which are mostly found in parts of Geylang, have buildings that really are lit by red lanterns. Soliciting for prostitution is illegal, but the deed itself isn't; it's actually tolerated, monitored, and contained, with most prostitutes registered and subject to regular medical checks. If karaoke is what you seek, keep in mind that it is common for "KTV" lounges to be a cover for prostitution.
Conceived in downtown New York City back in 2004, Employees Only has become one of the most iconic cocktail bars in Singapore since it opened here in 2016. Describing itself as a "neo-speakeasy restaurant and bar," this slice of the Big Apple has been ranked among Asia's best bars in the annual "Best Bars" awards every year since its inception. Enjoy classic small plates like steak tartare and shrimp cocktail as you drink the innovative NYC creations.
At this sophisticated cocktail lounge and restaurant, the drinks are designed around stories and cultures from around southeast Asia. Many drinks are made using ingredients foraged from nearby areas and include local alcohols such as jackfruit rum; there's a strong focus on in-house, seasonal fermentation. Enjoy bespoke cocktails with a full restaurant menu on level one, or head upstairs for a more intimate drinking experience.
Opened in 2019, this Hemingway-inspired bar was formerly an outpost of Hong Kong's Old Man bar (the Singapore outpost also used to share its name), which was deemed "Best Bar in Asia" by the World's 50 Best Bars. The cocktails live up to the hype, with high-quality takes on classics like old fashioned and sazerac, alongside inventive, delicious signatures.
Occupying a space on Level 2 of the Chinatown Complex Food Centre, this tiny bar is a hidden gem. It would be easy to mistake it as just one of the hundreds of food vendors that occupy the center if it weren't for the number of people drinking the excellent craft drafts at the tables that surround it. The friendly, knowledgeable staff will happily talk you through the tasting notes of each beer, many of which are brewed in Singapore. Grab some food from one of the many excellent hawker stalls around the bar and spend an evening watching the crowds throng through Chinatown below.
Moodily lit and uniquely designed, this lively bar is a great choice for an evening drink. Choose from one of the whiskeys or agaves of the month, or from the regular cocktail menu, which offers a twist on the classics. There’s also a rotating menu of draft beers, and a specials board centered around nose-to-tail dining.
The Chinese Theatre Circle (CTC) is a nonprofit organization that's been cultivating an appreciation of Cantonese opera since 1981. Check out one of their dinner performances every Friday and Saturday night from 7 to 9 pm and gain some insight into this particular art form (translations are provided). For S$40, you can dine on a set Chinese dinner with special-brewed tea while you watch, or for S$25 you can simply sit back and enjoy the show. There are daily karaoke singing concerts held in the afternoons, as well. The Theatre Circle is set up along a stretch of Smith Street that transforms into a pedestrian zone nightly and brings to mind the hustle and bustle of the street hawkers from the 1970s.
This casual cocktail and seafood bar comes from the team behind Jigger & Pony (another renowned Singapore bar), so you already know it's good. Their seasonal cocktail menu does a good job of highlighting southeast Asian ingredients such as passionfruit and pandan. Try the oysters along with their namesake cocktail, the Gibson, which incorporates a homemade Ginjo sake vermouth.
Part beer garden, part taqueria, part art café, this cool hangout is set in a former police barrack in leafy Pearl’s Hill Terrace—a stone’s throw from the bustling streets of Chinatown. The courtyard is a great place to chill with a beer or kultail (Kult Yard cocktail creation) while listening to some live music or checking out the local artwork on display.
Since moving to a new home on buzzy Keong Saik Road, this neighborhood bar-cum-restaurant has gone from strength to strength. Drinks are inventive, the atmosphere cool and welcoming, and the food always hits the spot, with the Sunday roast a highlight among locals.
This avant-garde cocktail bar, a regular in Asia's 50 Best Bars, delivers a proudly Singaporean-influenced experience. Drawing inspiration from Singapore's progression from colony to independent metropolis, the extensive cocktail menu uses herbs, fruits, spices, and flora in concoctions that reflect Singapore's history in every sip. Accompanying nibbles are as experimental (and delicious).
This raw, pared-back cocktail bar was built almost entirely with upscaled materials, lending a vibe to the place more akin to a friend's house rather than a smooth-operating business. There’s a weekly rotating menu of exciting cocktails that use local produce, and an accompanying menu of tasty bar bites. Climb three stories and look for the iron hand on the shophouse door.
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