In just over a decade, Lion City of Singapore has propelled itself to become one of the leading beverage destinations worldwide, hosting the World’s 50 Best Bars gala in 2023. Despite slowed growth Singapore in recent years due to the government’s strict quota system for hiring food and beverage professionals, the city state continues to innovate, with several original concepts launching recently. Below, Bargionale will take you on a bar tour of the latest exciting openings in Singapore.

FURA

We start our bar tour at FURA on Amoy St, a bustling street which is also home to Native, Staygold and Employees Only. FURA, which aims to shape the future of drinking and eating through sustainability and creativity, was launched in late 2023 by couple Christina Rasmussen (ex-Noma Copenhagen) and Sasha Wijidessa (ex-Operation Dagger Singapore). FURA translates to pine in Swedish and was inspired by the symbiosis between pine trees and fungi, which rely on each other to survive. In the same way, FURA believes that we all need to closely collaborate to flourish in the future.

FURA’s menu is called Journal of Future Foods and gives an experience of what our diet could look like in the future due to climate change. One example of FURA’s view of tomorrow is New New Yuck, which showcases seaweed as a future food item. Rich in protein, seaweed is a probiotic packed with vital minerals and nutrients; seaweed farming also has a low impact on the environment as it does not require farmland, freshwater, or chemical fertilizers. In addition, seaweed sequesters carbon, meaning that it can remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

Sasha Wijidessa explains how she developed this fresh and bright yet savoury sour-style drink: “We do a pineapple flesh and bourbon infusion and separately vodka infused with kombu and hijiki. We also do a distillate of grapefruit peels and then we make a 1:1 syrup with shio kombu and raw sugar. All components are blended together as our pre-mix and fresh lemon juice is added à la minute. We then shake the ingredients and serve in an Old Fashioned glass with a block of ice. For the garnish, we wanted something contrasting to the drink and decided on a vegan grapefruit white chocolate foam that is served warm.”

Although the drink preparation is complex at FURA, relying on modern laboratory equipment such as a sous-vide and rotovap, Rasmussen and Wijidessa strive to make the experience approachable by fostering meaningful conversations with their guests. FURA has been an immediate success and last year was awarded the the Ketel One Sustainability Award at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024.

Cat Bite Club

Cat Bite Club is an independent cocktail bar which opened in the Duxton neighbourhood in June 2023 by Jesse Vida (ex-Black Tail New York, Atlas Singapore) and his childhood friend Gabriel Lowe (ex-Bourbon and Branch San Francisco, Paradise Lost Bangkok). Cat Bite Club celebrates the founders’ love of two terroir-driven spirit categories: agave and rice. Discovering the beauty of agave early in their bartending careers in San Francisco, Vida and Lowe saw similar potential in Asian spirits such as soju and shochu when they moved to Asia in 2018.

The obvious question arises, how can one develop a concept that fuses agave and rice spirits, which come from vastly different parts of the world? As Vida explains: “Spirits from agave and rice share many common threads. From a culinary perspective, in Mexico and Southeast Asia, there are many flavour and ingredient crossovers - from coriander to rice, citrus to chilli. Agave and rice spirits also have a strong cultural significance, with a deep history in Mexican and Asian culture, respectively.”

Blending cultures and flavour profiles, the cocktail menu tells the story of each spirit’s origin and amplifies its unique character. Standouts on the menu include the agave-based Cat Bite Margarita with 40ml Blanco Tequila, 10 ml Siete Misterios Espadín Mezcal, 10 ml Cointreau, 30 ml two parts lemon to one part lime juice citrus blend, 15 ml agave nectar, 5ml Amontillado Sherry and 3 drops saline solution, as well as the rice-based Soju Sprint with Tokki Soju, Peach, Honey, Mint, Fresh Citrus Blend, Sherry, Absinthe and Soda.

A popular part of the menu are the reinterpretations of classics through the lens of agave and rice. For example, the Espresso Martini can be enjoyed as the classic recipe, a rice version with Imo Shochu, Veritas Rum, mango lime leaf cordial, Cointreau, fresh citrus blend, yogurt and cold brew coffee and agave version with Espolon Añejo Tequila, Mr Black Coffee liqueur, banana cordial, vanilla cream, Sherry, aromatic bitters and salt.

From their latest menu, Cat Bit Club offers a creative spin on the classic Rattlesnake — a cocktail famously described in Harry Craddock’s 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book as being “able to cure a rattlesnake bite, kill rattlesnakes, or make you see them.” Their version features Monkey Shoulder Scotch, maple, cinnamon, Peychaud’s bitters, a citrus blend, Aer, and a splash of Worcestershire. An agave-forward twist, the Shiso Foine, blends Blanco Tequila, Sotol Vibora, Sloe Gin, Maraschino, shiso, raspberry, citrus blend, grapefruit bitters, and Aer. Meanwhile, the 24 Karrot highlights rice spirits with a mix of Tokki Gold Soju, Moutai Yingbin, Kirsch, pecan, carrot, bitter orange, a citrus blend, and a touch of apple cider vinegar.

Cat Bite Club Interior (credit Benjamin Sim)

Jesse Vida of Cat Bite Club (Cat Bite Club Interior (credit Benjamin Sim))

Tamba

The intimate restaurant bar Tamba launched in March 2024 and celebrates the vibrant spirit and rich flavours of West Africa. Housed in a two-storey conserved shophouse in Duxton, Tamba’s design, food and cocktails aim to envelope guests in the warmth of West African hospitality.

“Tamba has been a deeply personal journey that not only celebrates my childhood in West Africa, but also the life of my late adopted brother, after which Tamba was named” explains Kurt Wagner, founder of Tamba. “Tamba was effortlessly warm and generous, and I am proud to have created a space to celebrate his life and culture.”

General manager Joma Rivera (ex-28 HongKong Street Singapore) has developed a bar program with more than 60% African spirits. Each cocktail was based on anecdotes about Tamba’s life. One of the best sellers is Vita, named after Tamba’s soccer team. Rivera came up with ingredients based on the colors of the Vita jersey: yellow and white. He based the cocktail on Mhoba white rum, milk and sweet corn, an aroma which also is prominent in the South African rum. The cocktail is prebatched by infusing 700ml Hokkaido milk with 2 pieces of vanilla, 1 cinnamon stick and sweet corn overnight. This is combined with 700ml Mhoba white rum fat washed with cacao butter, 150ml lime juice and 150ml sugar syrup.

Side Door

Side Door is a hybrid pastry shop, restaurant and bar, the first of its kind, and was opened by the husband-and-wife, chef-and-bartender team of Tryson Quek and Bannie Kang in December 2024. The intimate 40-seat space on Neil Road is open from 3pm until midnight and gives patrons the possibility to have hand-brewed coffee and pastries from in-house pastry chef Jamie Lee, simple yet peculiar cocktails from 2019 World Class Global champion Bannie Kang, and delectable food by chef-bartender and 2025 World Class Global finalist Tryson Quek.

The drink that best represents Bannie's Korean heritage is Non Fruit Beer. The carbonated cocktail is inspired by somaek, a popular Korean drink combining soju and beer. Traditionally, somaek is made up of 30% soju and 70% beer, but Bannie’s creative twist takes a different approach by emulating the taste of beer with blended whisky, Fernet Branca, dry vermouth, lychee and Korean barley which are served in a tumbler with ice. The result is a drink with the profile of a sour ale - crisp, malty, fruity and refreshing, but with gentler carbonation compared to a beer.

The menu also includes five different tapas and cocktail pairings. For example, in the pairing Tropical x Ugly Duckling, Tropical features London dry gin, passionfruit, espresso, Campari, sweet vermouth while Ugly Duckling has truffle, foie gras, potato chip, sherry vinegar and braised leek. With sour acidity from the coffee, mild bitterness from Campari and fruity acids from passionfruit, the cocktail cuts through the fat of the rich foie gras. Extremely thin and delicate duck-shaped potato crisps hold together the fatty duck liver cooked in sherry vinegar and braised leek, perfumed by truffles.

Bannie and Tryson of Side Door

Wonder Room at The Singapore EDITION

In 2023, EDITION opened an outpost in Singapore in the thriving Orchard area, joining neighbors Conrad, Shangri La and Four Seasons, home to the well-known hotel bars Manhattan, Origin and One Ninety, respectively.

Wonder Room at The Singapore EDITION is part of the growing number of clubs in Southeast Asia that offer outstanding cocktail programs including Rim in Bangkok and Bae’s in Singapore. Opened in September 2024, Wonder Room is located on the basement level of the hotel, nestled behind the spiral staircase, which has become one of the most photographed elements in Singapore.

Guests enter through a bronze mirror tunnel which transports them into the glamorous micro-club. At Wonder Room, the bar program is run by Director of Beverage Giovanni Graziadei (ex-Jigger&Pony Singapore), who also manages the bar teams at the breathtaking Lobby Bar, highly-lauded FYSH restaurant and the intimate Punch Room within The Singapore EDITION.

At Wonder Room, Graziadei has designed curated list of classics like the Clover Club (40 ml London dry gin, 15 ml Cocchi Americano, 15 ml raspberry syrup, 15 ml lemon juice, 20 ml egg whites) and disco-friendly drinks like the Cosmopolitan, Espresso Martini and a caviar martini with an olive filled with Ossetra caviar. Guests are free to enjoy the drinks anywhere in Wonder Room including at the bar counter chatting with the bartender or while playing billiards on the vintage pool table. Guests who prefer a table can enjoy cocktails by the bottle so they can have an uninterrupted drinking experience with their friends.

The lively experience at Wonder Room is further amplified by live DJ performances with a state-of-the-art sound system, complemented by dramatic lighting and imaginative projections, creating a transformative after-hours vibe, all while savouring some of the finest classic cocktails in Singapore.

Although geographically smaller than London and New York, Singapore continues to impress international cocktail lovers with its wide range of imbibing options, from independent street bars pushing exciting new flavors and concepts, to its high-octane party bars but with high quality craft cocktails. With additional support from the local government, Singapore could once again return to its former glory as cocktail capital of Asia.

Singapore 2025

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