S’pore’s nightlife isn’t dead yet: A nightlife reporter’s 6 favourite places to drink

SINGAPORE – The afternoon sun blazes overhead at 2pm as I step into a party in Duxton Hill.

Inside, dozens of mostly Gen Z partygoers are getting sweaty to house beats, clutching $10 coffees instead of $20 cocktails. It is a raucous atmosphere that would not be out of place in a nightclub at 2am.

After a year of reporting on Singapore’s nightlife, scenes like this “coffee clubbing” party by Beans&Beats have convinced me that the after-dark culture is not dead, but evolving.

Part of why the “Singapore is boring” refrain feels inescapable is because the Republic’s nightlife sector is genuinely struggling.

In 2024, there were

3,047 F&B service business closures

– the highest figure in the past decade – according to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. 

Already, 1,724 more closures have been recorded in 2025 through July, with high-profile casualties

including Wala Wala

, 1939 (formerly Potato Head Folk), Smoke and Mirrors, and Junior The Pocket Bar.

Amid this string of closures, changing drinking habits, fading late-night culture and the ever-increasing cost of drinks, it would be easy to write off local nightlife.

But that assessment would be wrong. Beneath the surface turmoil, innovative venues and entrepreneurs are carving out new niches.

After interviewing the city’s nightlife insiders as part of the

Your Favourite Bar’s Favourite Bar

column, here are recommendations that show Singapore nightlife is not dead yet.

For drinks that are truly local

The most memorable drink I have had in 2025 is perhaps 1925 Brewing Co’s Musang King Ale, a durian- and mango-flavoured pale ale with surprising sweetness and complex lingering notes.

A divisive drink? Absolutely, and likely the reason the brewery busts it out only seasonally.

Still, it perfectly captures how local craft brewers are incorporating hyper-local flavours into their craft and delivering their own takes on beer styles popularised elsewhere.

Singapore’s craft brewing scene has alternated between growth spurts and contractions over the past decade, brewers tell me.

Part of this stems from the very nature of craft brewing, which goes for premium ingredients and smaller batch sizes than imported commercial brands.

To me, one of the best things about these hyper-local drinks is that they can be found in similarly hyper-local Singapore venues.

You may have already encountered a selection of local and imported craft brews at Maxwell Food Centre (Ren Min) or Chinatown Complex (Smith Street Taps) or in Haji Lane (Good Luck).

If you are curious about where to start, try Locality, a small underground pub in Changi Road serving a rotating selection of local brews.

This cosy venue is fronted by Mr Dennis Yeo, who takes the time to get to know you before serving up a few sips to suit your taste profile, along with an explanation on the style and story behind each batch.

There is a reason many of Singapore’s craft beer enthusiasts have become after-work regulars of Mr Yeo – and why this spot should be on the itinerary of any beer enthusiast visiting Singapore.

Drinks on a budget

When was the last time you saw someone so moved by the music that he or she had to get on a table and dance? For me, that was during a visit to Essen @ Anchorvale, a bar-foodcourt in Sengkang, when a five-year-old jammed to local band O.K Ready! as the crowd sang along in five languages.

Such a scene, though, can play out only in the heartland, where people show up in tank tops instead of club outfits and pints cost $14 (or $10 during happy hour).

Complaints about expensive drinks in Singapore are valid, compounded by the steep cost of late-night transport and remote work killing off the spontaneous after-work drink. Nightlife business owners say a more international drinking culture, drawn towards experiences and events, has come to replace the casual drinks and supper culture of old.

Enter

the heartland bars

, growing in number and keeping the casual drinking spirit alive. 

Where licensing and zoning restrictions once confined such drinks to kopitiams, alternatives now dot the island for those seeking a no-frills drink in a lively atmosphere – from Ang Mo Kio and Clementi (Get Some) to Punggol (the Punggol East Container Park) and Choa Chu Kang (Paradise Now).

The real hidden gems

“Hidden gem” might be the most overused descriptor when discussing bars and restaurants in Singapore. As one netizen puts it: “Is Singapore a diamond mine? Everywhere also hidden gem.”

Of all the “hidden gems” here, however, the most deserving of the title is cafe-bar Mama Diam and Lou Shang, which share a two-storey shophouse in Prinsep Street.

Stashed behind a mamak shop facade, Mama Diam evokes a familiar nostalgic aesthetic. 

Meanwhile, Lou Shang (Mandarin for upstairs) lovingly recreates the design and atmosphere of an early Housing Board estate. Stepping into the venue through HDB lift doors that open to the press of a button, it is hard to not admire the effort that has gone into recreating this era of public housing design in Singapore.

Co-founder Sebastian Ang says the hidden exteriors were designed to create a sense of discovery, “like stumbling upon a secret from the past”. “We wanted guests to feel like they’ve unlocked a piece of local heritage, tucked away in plain sight,” he adds.

There are practical reasons “hidden gems” are so common in Singapore, as hidden bars (also known as speakeasies) have long been a natural compromise between the city’s high rents and a desire for an elevated experience.

Since the early 2010s, when nightlife entrepreneurs behind establishments like The Spiffy Dapper realised that there was potential in the city’s less desirable rental units, hidden bars have become a defining feature of Singapore nightlife.

These bars – like

28 HongKong Street

, Sago House and Nighthawk – are among the most lauded in the local scene, and this is because they are more than just bars. The successful ones tell a story with their menus and design, from finding the secret entrance to getting that Instagram-friendly cocktail.

The best place for impressing your date

One might argue that rooftop venues or opulent hotel bars make for the most romantic date nights. One of the best ways to surprise a date is by watching magic unfold before your eyes.

When I was at

The Magic Bar

, one startling trick by resident magician Kai Emmanuel had me blurting out: “Witch!”

This live prestidigitation plays out in a cosy bar setting, where the tricks unfold on the same bartop where drinks are enjoyed, creating an unusually close-quarters vibe.

Previously located in an industrial estate in Ubi, The Magic Bar has since moved to its new home in Havelock Road and seems set to become the new heart of Singapore’s small but growing magic scene.

Mr Emmanuel, who has been performing magic since “he was in diapers”, says the spot is a popular date-night attraction. “The intimacy of the experience makes it a more meaningful shared experience between couples.”

The party scene now

“Coffee clubbing” is gaining ground with younger generations as an affordable and more sober “daylife” alternative to nightlife.

“Is 2pm the new 2am?” might well be party collective Beans&Beats’ mission statement, with daytime events thrown at an eclectic mix of venues, from cafe Common Man Coffee Roasters to cocktail bar Behind the Green Door.

Day-centric party collectives like Ice Cream Sundays and 5210PM feel like the future of partying in Singapore, primarily because of how they address the barriers to a good time: the cost of alcohol, an increasingly sober clientele, late-night licensing restrictions and the prohibitive cost of trying to book a Grab ride at 2am.

These parties are great both as a prelude to a bigger night and standalone experience.

A party most people don’t know about

Singapore’s queer scene hosts a constellation of bars and party collectives that is always in flux. While Dorothy’s Bar in Trengganu Street and Tantric in Neil Road are long-time venues that have existed for over a decade, most others last for just a few short years, or even months, before shuttering.

But there are a few venues that are carving out a space for safe and inclusive partying in the Republic, open to everyone – and not just those within the LGBTQ community.

Fomohomo is my go-to party collective for inclusive electronic and underground raves, open to all. My favourite bar is Salud, a favourite of the city’s after-work crowd – and is now the lone late-night venue in Keong Saik Road.

My top recommendation goes to the monthly Baby Boy Party, an R&B and hip-hop event for “all shapes, colours, genders and sexualities” – one of the few places to dance to good R&B music, still a rarity in the city’s party scene.

Those visiting it should also check out the monthly drag show Riot!, which typically takes place at the same venue.

Hosted by local drag queen legend Becca D’Bus, the show celebrated its 10th anniversary in February and is the de facto heart of Singapore’s growing drag scene – known for its campy humour and dazzling performances. Just do not sit near the stage if you are not ready to be ribbed mercilessly by the local drag queens.