106 Best Bars in Singapore

This bustling bar alongside Emerald Hill has been rocking for more than 15 years. It has a nice outside seating area—great for people-watching—and a cozy interior where live bands play every evening. The artists tend to be up-and-coming, so the music can sometimes be hit or miss, but it's a good place for a few drinks and dancing. It tends to be quite noisy, so don't come if you're looking for a quiet conversation.

This laidback bar is on the same strip as Coq & Balls, so if one is full you can try the other. The beer is cold, and there is a decent selection of bar bites. Keep your eye out for regular promotions: generous beer deals often make Al Capone’s one of the cheapest places to drink.

Tucked between two heritage Peranakan shophouses on Emerald Hill, this low-key cocktail bar has atmospheric lanterns hanging from its ceiling and gold and copper decorations dotting its 15m-long brass bar. The excellent daily happy hour (5 pm to 8 pm) makes it a popular after-work haunt with locals. Prices are very reasonable given the Orchard Road locale. On Wednesday, women can enjoy free-flowing bubbly from 7 pm to 9 pm during the Singaporean tradition of Ladies Night.

This laid-back pub and beer garden on Cherry Avenue is a popular meeting spot for locals and expats in the Bukit Timah area, mainly because the drink prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is lively. There’s a market-style set up for the food, with a mix of cuisines to order, including Indian and Thai stalls.

One of the first mixology bars in Singapore, this hole-in-the-wall still turns out some of the more surprising concoctions on the island. While there’s no formal menu—a bespoke cocktail is created based on your flavor profile—you can rest assured that your drink will be to your liking. Reservations are highly recommended as it is a small space. There's also a full food menu and omakase offering

Beers are cold and there are decent screens for sports watching at this roadhouse-style bar. The kitchen serves a full menu (burgers, pizzas, steaks), but there are better options to eat nearby.

An institution of the Kampong Glam area and Singapore's live music scene, this lounge-bar fills three floors and has a spacious outdoor seating area. Known as a hub for stand-up comedy acts, live music (especially jazz), and international DJs, it always has a lively vibe. The bar menu is a mix of Eastern and Western dishes. The owners also own the nearby Mexican restaurant Piedra Niegra, on the corner of Beach Road and Haji Lane, and have a second outpost on Pekin Street. 

Sentosa’s resident blue-and-green peafowls are regularly sighted at this unforgettable spot—the perfect place for sunset drinks. The cocktail menu is extensive with libations like the tropical rum-based Palawan Fizz and the gin and prosecco-based Pandan Spritz. To try something uniquely theirs, order a drink containing Navegante, a rum made exclusively for the bar. Time your session to coincide with the daily "Bosum’s Call" at 6 pm, when the staff hand out tasting portions of rum and canapes.

This Aussie hangout is one of the more popular weekend spots on Robertson Quay, often with a lively expat crowd enjoying cold beers and live Australian sports. The evenings can get a bit raucous (the pub stays open until 3 am) but is often a laid-back place to drink. The restaurant is open all day and is a nice spot by the river for a brunch or afternoon bite.

Expect to find a lively atmosphere on the deck of this neighborhood bar in Sunset Way, as patrons enjoy cheap beer and fried snacks. Quite unusually for Singapore, house drink prices are based on the clock: turn up at 2 pm and you can get a $2 beer. There are better food options around Sunset Way, so stick to the cheap drinks.

The Tasting Room on the upper floor is a great place to try Singapore-made gin straight from the source. A tasting flight features all the gins made in-house, including the signature Singapore Dry and Butterfly Pea gins. There’s also a small menu of bar snacks and pizzas, as well as a pet-friendly gin garden open for food and drinks from Friday to Sunday.

Beer lovers congregate at this large open-plan brewery, which brews its own beers, bitters, and ales. The most popular brews are the Golden Ale and India Pale Ale. Brewerkz also serves English-style "real ale" (aka cask ale), which is a rarity in Southeast Asia. The kitchen serves a typical American menu.

Renowned for being one of the hottest nightlife destinations in Singapore, this hotel bar often has a line outside. Drinks are fairly standard—expect whiskey, wine, and beer—but the music is great, featuring everything from disco and soul to R&B and jazz. A live band usually begins playing around 10 pm each night, and the dance floor can get busy.

At this stunning restaurant-bar 57 stories above ground, you can take in Singapore’s late-night vistas while vibing to resident and celeb DJs. To make a full night of it, you can start with a mod-Asian dinner at Cé La Vi Restaurant, before enjoying a tipple at the Skybar and then hitting the dance floor at the Club Lounge.

This hip Mexican joint is the perfect people-watching spot, positioned right in the center of Holland Village. The well-stocked bar has a range of ice-cold beers on tap, a solid selection of classic cocktails, and a pretty generous happy hour. There’s also a substantial food menu of Mexican favorites, so grab a basket of tortilla chips and guacamole to munch on with your margaritas.

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.

Set amid the tropical trees that fill Dempsey Hill, this rustic bungalow bar (the acronym used for its name stands for Contemporary Melting-Pot and Bar) is a great place to spend an evening with good food, great drinks, and plenty of live music. A selection of tapas inspired by the flavors of Asia counterbalances a wide array of beer, ciders, cocktails, and alcohol-free mocktails, and a comprehensive brunch menu is offered until late afternoon on the weekends.

A part of the NCO club, the new concept in Singapore's haute bar scene blends sophisticated mixology with premium live music. From 8 pm, an international cast of musicians steps on stage to fire up the bar with performances ranging from jazz to flamenco, rumba, and other Cuban and Latin rhythms; soulful singers round out the mix.

Popular with Tiong Bahru locals, this cheekily-named bar is often busy on a Saturday night with revelers piling in for their draft beers, ciders, and ales. The daily happy hour runs until 8 pm, and the menu of bar bites includes grilled cheese sandwiches, truffle fries, and popcorn chicken.

This bar-club is a popular spot among younger Singaporeans who come to play games and dance until 6 am. The bar has a range of nostalgic table games, including Crocodile Dentist, Penguin Trap, and Pirate Roulette, as well as a large area dedicated to beer pong. The free-flowing alcohol packages make it an affordable place to dance the night away, listening to live bands.

House-crafted ales are the order of the day at this microbrewery in Jurong, which also serves a solid food menu of pub classics to live music. As it's located in Snow City, it’s a great spot to indulge in some Singaporean "après-ski."

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.

Drinking isn’t a cheap affair in Singapore unless you plan to guzzle beers at a hawker center, and sometimes not even then. That's exactly why Ginett deserves special mention for its extensive wine menu with affordable pours for both glasses and full bottles. There’s also a full (mainly French) food menu—items from the charcoal grill are recommended.

Inspired by the Himalayas, Going Om is a bit of a spiritual haven for the hippie community. Live music is often performed in front of the bar by buskers who show up most nights around 9 pm; small tables are set up for people to soak up the easy-going surroundings. You can tuck into standard bar staples like popcorn chicken and Parmesan fries, but even more interesting are the in-house services like card readings, holistic healing, and yoga or meditation classes.

Happily proclaimed as the first (and best) biker bar in Singapore, Handlebar is a cool beer garden slightly hidden down a hill in Gillman Barracks. Regular live music, house-brewed craft lagers, and a raucous clientele make this bar a fun place for evening and weekend drinks. There’s a menu of beer-snacking classics, including hot wings, nachos, and burgers.

For some good, clean, retro fun, head to this spacious lounge for darts, foosball, or pool. Singapore's branch of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) runs this club, along with several others.

Join the post-work throng at this long-standing bar by the water to watch sports and drink ice-cold beer. There's an eclectic menu of Asian and Western favorites served throughout the day, with fish and chips always a popular choice. Expats and business executives make up most of the crowd, which spills out onto the sidewalk on weekends.

The music takes center stage at this underground club, where you can dress down and party alongside a like-minded community to sub-genres like acid house, techno, and disco.