In a metropolis that practically straddles the equator, it only makes sense that the trendiest bar and club scene is found along the river; after all, this is where the coolest breezes tend to be found. Though the area is a bit too popular with tourists (say some in the know), and too yuppified (claim others), the three Quays (Clark, Boat and Robertson) and further west along the Singapore River is where you’ll find some of the most up-and-coming (and richest) clubs and watering holes in Singapore.
BAR OPIUME (Bar)
6339 1720; www.indochine-group.com; 1 Empress Pl; h5pm-2am Mon-Thu, 5pm-3am Fri & Sat, 5pm-1am Sun; Metro: Raffles Place
Very posey, Bar Opiume is next to its sibling restaurant Indochine Waterfront, facing Boat Quay. The expensive, slightly mismatched decor features a huge chandelier and large standing Buddhas. Not surprisingly for a location like this, the drink prices might have you sipping slowly, but the quiet spot next to the river is priceless. Check out the website for links to other Indochine Group–managed properties, all of which are worth a visit for the ambience alone.
BREWERKZ (Bar)
6438 7438; 01-05 Riverside Point Centre, 30 Merchant Rd; hnoon-midnight Sun-Thu, noon-1am Fri & Sat; Metro: Clarke Quay
One of Singapore’s gems, this sprawling microbrewery and restaurant offers a variety of superb beers brewed on site and varying in strength from 4.5% to 6%. The India Pale Ale is apparently the most popular, but the dark beer and the Golden Ale are also excellent. Those with adventurous palates will want to try the fruit beers, brewed from whatever happens to be in season at the time.
ESKI (Bar)
6327 3662; 46 Circular Rd; 2pm-1am Sun- Thu, 2pm-3am Fri & Sat; Metro: Clarke Quay
The name is derived from the word ‘Eskimo’, and with good reason; Eski is Singapore’s first sub-zero bar, complete with a solid ice bar for downing frozen shots of – what else – vodka. Singapore visitors foolish enough to have forgotten to pack ski parkas needn’t worry, though; loaner winter clothing is available, and a good thing too, as temperatures here plummet to a testicle-shrinking -10°C.
HARRY’S (Bar)
6538 3029; www.harrys-bar.com.sg; 28 Boat Quay; 11am-1am Sun-Thu, 11am-2am Fri & Sat; Metro: Raffles Place
Loaded with history for those interested in doomed finance, Harry’s is the onetime hangout of Barings’ bank-breaker Nick Leeson. It’s still a city-slickers’ favorite, with the suits flocking here for happy hour until 8pm. Later it turns into a good jazz venue (9.30pm to 12.30am from Tuesday to Saturday). The upstairs lounge is quieter and a comfortable place to contemplate busting a bank. It has a free pool table.
HIDEOUT (Bar)
6536 9445; 31B Circular Rd; 7pm-midnight Wed & Thu, 7pm-3am Fri & Sat; Metro: Clarke Quay or Raffles Place
The walk up three floors might put you off, but this tiny, ultratrendy place is worth a little legwork, with its deep red walls, hotch-potch furniture and indie and hiphop playlist. A little cliquey, so dress your coolest.
LOOF ( Bar)
6338 8035; 331 North Bridge Rd; 5.30pm-2am; Metro: City Hall
What’s the name all about? We’ll give you a clue – Loof is a rooftop bar, and they don’t serve ‘flied lice’. The view is superb and the space itself is ultracool, with secluded alcoves perfect for your more intimate moments. Happy hour lasts from 5.30pm to 8.30pm each weekday evening.
RAFFLES HOTEL (Bar)
1 Beach Rd; Metro: City Hall
Yup, it’s a cliché, but still, few visit Singapore without at least stopping off for drinks at one of the several bars in the famous Raffles Hotel. Bar & Billiard Room features live jazz and has a nice veranda for chilling out, Raj style. It was underneath this bar that a guest shot a tiger in his pajamas in 1904 (how the tiger got in his pajamas, he never did find out). The courtyard is where you’ll find the Gazebo Bar, which also boasts live music in the evening. The most popular bar with tourists is the plantation-style Long Bar on the Arcade’s second level, where you can throw peanut shells on the floor and enjoy a Singapore Sling for $16 (or $25 with a souvenir glass).
CHIHULY LOUNGE (Bar/Club)
6434 5288; 3rd fl, Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore, 7 Raffles Ave; h8am-1am. Metro: City Hall
With its distinctive blue arched roof and amazing Daly Chihuly glass sculpture on the wall (his work is also on display at the Singapore Art Museum), this refined hotel lounge deserves a bit of sartorial effort and is worth a visit for an early-evening loosener or a late-night wind-down cocktail.
CRAZY ELEPHANT (Bar/Live Music)
6537 7859; www.crazyelephant.com; 3E River Valley Rd, 01-03/04 Clarke Quay; 5pm-1am Sun-Thu, 3pm-2am Fri & Sat; Metro: Clarke Quay
The more things change, the more they stay the same at this Clarke Quay stalwart, which has remained consistently cool since it first opened a dozen years back (in the days pre-dating the area’s trendy reincarnation). The walls are still covered with graffiti, the music is still loud, and heavy on the blues and rock, and the stage is still made of wood. For this reason and others, Crazy Elephant is popular with tourists and locals alike. If the live music gets too loud, outdoor seating is available for pints in relative peace.
ATTICA (Club)
6333 9973; www.attica.com.sg; 3A River Valley Rd, 01-03 Clarke Quay; 5pm-3am Mon-Thu, 11pm-late Fri & Sat; Metro: Clarke Quay
One of the swankest clubs in town, Attica is where the bold and beautiful meet to dazzle and be dazzled. When it gets too hot inside, cool down in the chic courtyard and ogle the eye-candy. There’s usually a line to get in, always a sign of pedigree in Singapore’s club world.
BUTTER FACTORY (Club)
6333 8243; www.thebutterfactory.com; 01-03 Robertson Quay 48; Metro: Clarke Quay
Where whimsy meets chic, the Butter Factory’s interior is covered with cartoon graphics provided by ultra-hip Phunk Studio of Singapore; you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of an underground comic book (the kind your parents used to confiscate). The front room features a bar and comfy leather couches, both milk-white, and the darker back room has a dance floor and bar of its own. The weekend cover charge (cheaper for ladies) includes a free drink.
MINISTRY OF SOUND (Club/Live Music)
6333 9368; www.ministryofsound.com.sg; 01-07 Block C Clarke Quay; men $15-25, women free-$20; 9pm-3am Wed-Sat; Metro: Clarke Quay
Seven rooms, superb digital sound and light, a chequered dance-floor and a 20ft water curtain, not to mention hordes of the nation’s youth. Those all-conquering Brits have challenged the supremacy of Zouk and done a pretty good job of it, though the older beautiful crowd still prefer the latter. Women get in free on Wednesdays.
PAULANER BRAUHAUS (German Beer House)
6883 2572; 01-01 Times Square@Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Blvd; h11.30am-1am Sun-Thu, 11.30am-2am Fri & Sat; Metro: City Hall
A three-story wood-and-brass German microbrewery bar and restaurant serving up its excellent signature Munich lager and Munich dark brews. There are also special seasonal brews like Salvator Beer (March), Mailbock Beer (May) and Oktoberfest Beer (October). Beers are served in either 300mL, 500mL or 1L mugs! Tours of the brewery are available for $40, but you have to book well in advance.
MOLLY MALONE’S (Irish Pub)
6536 2029; 53-56 Circular Rd; Metro: Raffles Place
Just behind Boat Quay on Circular Rd, Molly Malone’s has moved from its old location to larger premises just down the road. Well-travelled drinkers will have seen the mock-Irish interior and the genuine Irish stew and fish-and-chip menu a hundred times before, but that doesn’t make it any less cozy or welcoming.
PENNY BLACK (Pub)
6538 2300; 26/27 Boat Quay; 11am-1am Mon-Thu, 11am-2am Fri & Sat, 11am-midnight Sun; Metro: Raffles Place
Fitted out like a ‘Victorian’ London pub (without the tuberculosis and dodgy gin), the Penny Black’s interior was actually built in London and shipped to Singapore, so it has some claim to authenticity. Specializes in hard-to-find English ales for the swathes of expat Brits that work in the area. The upstairs bar is particularly inviting.
RED LANTERN BEER GARDEN (Bar/Live Music)
50 Collyer Quay; Metro: Raffles Place
For a taste of old Singapore, head to the seedy, bayside Red Lantern Beer Garden where bands often play, cheap meals are served, and you can get a reasonably priced beer. It can get pretty rowdy late at night. There are so many bars, most with outdoor tables, that you can just wander along until one takes your fancy.
Singapore Drinking & Nighlife: Colonial District & the Quays
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