The Best Places in Singapore

Wall-mounted fridges packed with sake stretch the length of the room at this tiny stand-up bar, Singapore's sole Japanese-style sake joint. It's a sibling to a Tokyo original, which shows: the range runs deep into plum wines and shochus, and the snack menu leans into proper otsumami, the kind of thing you'd actually eat alongside a pour. Staff know the list cold, which helps when you're choosing between fifty-odd plum wines.

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide

There's no menu at this compact cocktail bar tucked into a Haji Lane shophouse, just a conversation with whoever's behind the bar. You describe a mood or a flavor and they build something around it, often with fresh fruit pounded to order, which is why the wait can stretch. The retro furniture downstairs drifts upstairs, giving the room a faded, unhurried charm that sits a little awkwardly with how in-demand the place clearly is.

1. Difford's Guide 3 stars · Difford's Guide

A tequila bar at Riverside Point leaning hard into the theme, with mariachi on the speakers, agave-themed memorabilia covering the walls, and a menu listing over a hundred 100-percent agave tequilas alongside thirteen mezcals. The Margaritas come from a machine, except the premium ones, which arrive by hand (a meaningful distinction). Burritos and tequila prawns keep things grounded in Tex-Mex territory if you need something to eat.

1. Difford's Guide 3 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide

A cocktail bar on the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands, Kudeta earns its reputation on the view alone: the infinity pool stretches out at eye level, Singapore sprawls below, and the elevator ride up leaves your ears ringing before you've ordered anything. The interior is a maze of angular spaces that don't quite flow, which gives it an oddly furtive feel for somewhere so high up. Come for a drink at sunset, then let someone else figure out the poolside situation.

1. Difford's Guide 3 stars · Difford's Guide

A long bar anchors one end, burgundy club chairs and reading lamps fill the middle, and a glassed-off smoking room with cigars and international newspapers occupies the other, which tells you most of what you need to know about this hotel cocktail bar tucked behind the restaurant on the Grand Hyatt's mezzanine. The 50 fruit martinis on the menu are less alarming than they sound; order around them and the bar does its job quietly and well.

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide 3 stars · Difford's Guide

A classic British post box, lacquered red, sits dead center in the bar as a nod to the General Post Office that once occupied this colonial waterfront building. Post Bar is the main hotel bar of the Fullerton, all marble, gilding, tall flowers, and long drapes, with a champagne bar tucked to one side. The crowd has largely migrated to the flashier sister property next door, which leaves this one feeling pleasantly unhurried.

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide

A U-shaped granite bar anchors the ground floor of a heritage art deco building in the CBD, where the after-work crowd files in for beer, wine, and a whisky list long enough to cause decision fatigue. The cocktail menu is short, leans whisky-heavy, and runs a little sweet. Upstairs, the Powder Room has the more atmospheric lounge setup if you're staying past the first round.

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide

The smell of leather and Cuban tobacco announces this whisky and cigar bar before you're fully through the door. The Pacific Cigar Company, the sole formal distributor of Cuban cigars across Asia Pacific, runs the place, so the humidors are serious and the back bar holds around a hundred bottles, nearly all single malt Scotch. Members keep their bottles in dedicated lockers, which tells you the kind of crowd it draws.

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide

A microbrewery bar in Clarke Quay where the decor seems to have taken a sharp left turn: black velvet, glitter balls, chandeliers, and silvered glass surround a large angular bar, and live bands fill the room most nights. The house brews run from lager to porter stout, with a rotating cast of guest beers alongside. The patio does respectable rattan-and-river-views if you prefer your pint al fresco.

1. Difford's Guide 3 stars · Difford's Guide

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1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

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