These "secret", mysterious, hideaway bars are all the rage now in Singapore. Also known as a 'speakeasy bar' these typically refer to bars that deliberately unnoticeable or even camouflaged from the outside! Some of them are so incredibly difficult to locate, that even our locals don't even know of their existence.
But well, because you want to be the 'cool kid on the block' too, so let us enlighten you now. We give you 4 great secret little hideaways for some intimate time with your friends and loved ones. Not only do these places have a great ambience, but they serve kick-ass drinks as well.
- Ah Sam Cold Drink Store
Photo from Travel And Adventure
This retro cocktail bar has the cutest name ever, making it sounds like a drink store in Maxwell Hawker Centre Or Lau Pa Sat. We love the retro looking signboard as well. But this is no typical Hawker drink store, instead it's a cozy little bar tucked away in the second storey of a shophouse. This bar serves a wide range of creative concoctions that infuse local elements into classic drinks. The drinks have pretty cool and retro sounding names as well! Food wise, they serve lots of local favourites like Kong Bak Pau and Hokkien Mee. Makes this place quite a non-typical cocktail bar indeed.
Photo from Chope
Bak Kut Teh Cocktail! With a cute little 'You Tiao' (fried dough fritter) to accompany the drink as well.
Photo from Burple
Gotta try their "Laksa Cocktail" with Laksa leaves! Definitely not something you could get anywhere else!
Address: 60A Boat Quay
Tel: +65 6535 0838
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat, 6pm – 2am
2. The Spiffy Dapper
Photo from Travel Muse
This place has a pretty nondescript exterior with a old signboard reading 'Dapper Coffee'. By day, The Spiffy Dapper is hipster coffee house, by night it completely transforms into something else- one of the most beautiful and stylish bars we have been into!
Head up the narrow flight of stairs after the signboard and a whole new world greets you.
Photo from Burple
Photo from Tumblr
This dark little bar has a vintage vibe and it's quiet enough to enjoy a good conversation with your loved ones. The drink coasters were made from cutout vintage table cloths. Cute enough to steal! The cocktails were pretty solid too. If you don't see anything that you like on the menu, the expert bartenders can custom make drinks for customers too.
Some people might call this place slightly 'pretentious' but we love it still!
Address: 73 Amoy Street
Singapore 069892
Tel: +65 8722 4953
Opening Hours: Mon to Thu, 5pm-1am, Fri, 5pm-2am
Sat and Sun: 6pm – 2am
3. 28 Hong Kong Street
Photo from Pinterest
This little hideaway, speakeasy bar is so easy to miss from the outside. We had such a hard time locating the place. A friend told us: 'Just walk through the doors.' And we thought: What doors? There are no doors! Where's the bar? I see no bar...There's this provision shop... But it's closed what! After searching around like Alice in Wonderland, we finally realised that the bar was hiding beyond those white doors. Ok. We thought it was a provision shop...#NOOB, forgive us for being so stupid. We now know.
Photo from Burple
We weren't sure what to expect. What lay beyond those doors amazed and impressed us. The low-lit booth-style seating and jazz soundtrack created an inviting and warm atmosphere, nothing like what it's exterior suggested.
Get their best seller, the "Old Fashioned" a complex, balanced classic, with an ice block hand-stamped with the bar’s logo. The bartenders here all come up bespoke concoctions guaranteed to please even the most discerning tastebuds.
Photo from Singapore Foodie
Dont't leave without trying the Truffle Mac And Cheese Balls. They might not be much to look at but they are pretty damn good. We could come back every week for more, we kid you not.
Address: 28 Hongkong Street
Singapore 059667
Opening Hours: Mon to Thu, 6pm-2am
Fri and Sat, 6pm-3am
4. Operation Dagger
Photo from World's Best Bars
Operation Dagger is truly a stab at greatness. This ultra secretive speakeasy bar was voted one of the greatest bars in the world. It is truly a concealed bar, shrouded away from public eyes, with no signage to speak of. Just a door, that leads to a dark stairwell, into a world of unmarked bottles, lightbulbs and a vintage-chic interior.
Photo from Pinterest
Their signature Hot and Cold ($23) cocktail is off the menu, but be sure to ask for one and the bartender will be able to accede to your request immediately.
Photo from City Nomad
Photo from The Pouring Tales
The entrance is so nondescript that even the building it's located in is nameless. But press on up the dingy and smokey staircase and we promise you won't be disappointed by what lies at the end of this 'tunnel'. This bar is truly the renegade child, with it's "too cool for school" vibe.
Address: 7 Ann Siang Hill, Singapore 069791
Opening Hours: Tue-Sat, 6pm – 12am
Go off the beaten track tonight and explore one of these secret hideouts with your friends!
Text By: Girlsdaily SG
