SINGAPORE – A good cocktail can set the tone for a fun night out or enhance a delicious meal, but it is more than just the sum of its ingredients, be they rum and lime juice or vodka and vermouth.
In fact, much of its power can be attributed to the charm of the bartender pouring it into the glass.
Like Ted Danson’s Sam Malone in American sitcom Cheers (1982 to 1993), standout bartenders are not just competent mixologists. They also serve as friends and informal therapists while ensuring that the bar is always well-stocked and patrons are never thirsty. As a bonus, they may even be easy on the eye.
With Singapore’s bar activity ramping up again after two years of pandemic-induced curbs, The Straits Times hunts down six bartenders who are winning over customers with both their personalities and skills – and who are as appealing as the drinks they serve.
Attila Esze, head bartender, Anti:dote (@attila.esze)
Mr Attila Esze is a fresh face in Singapore’s bar scene, having arrived from London in June, before starting work at Anti:dote the next month. But the 33-year-old already had a positive impression of the country from a visit in 2020.
“My girlfriend and I had decided to travel to Australia that year and we had a four-day stopover in Singapore. We immediately fell in love with the culture and cocktail scene,” he says.
The Hungarian’s previous bartending stints include Homeboy Battersea and Gong Bar at Shangri-La The Shard, both in the British capital. Though very different venues, they both informed his approach to bartending.
“Gong Bar has a high volume of guests, so I took on more of a leadership role, creating menus and managing the bar staff. Homeboy was quiet during the weekdays, so we had the time to focus more on the guest experience and build connections with the regulars,” he says.
He has been bartending since the summer of 2016, when he started work at the Dalmunzie Estate castle hotel in Scotland.
“I picked up bartending from Google – I was self-taught and learnt on the job, making classic cocktails with familiar spirits like gin and whisky. But I loved being able to create meaningful conversations and engagement with guests,” he says.
Mr Esze’s current big project is creating a cocktail menu for Anti:dote, which is likely to be ready early next year.
Meanwhile, he is enjoying Singapore’s weather – “amazing” after the dreary climate of London – and spending his free time visiting other bars here, as well as meeting the people who run them.
He cites Atlas at Parkview Square and Papa Doble in Keong Saik Road as two places that have made an impression on him. “They are both astounding bars and I enjoy trying different cocktails from their menus. But, overall, Singapore’s bar community is so welcoming and supportive, which is something I haven’t experienced before.”
Bar Info: Level 1 Fairmont Singapore, 80 Bras Basah Road; open daily from noon to 2.30pm, 3 to 5pm, 6pm to midnight. Go to instagram.com/antidotebar.sg
Niza Treechanasin, bar manager, Eclipse (@niza___________)
Ms Niza Treechanasin’s stint as the bar manager at Eclipse in Chinatown – which began last December – marks her first time working outside her native Thailand.
But she has fallen in love with everything Singapore has to offer, especially the food.
“After I tried ondeh-ondeh for the first time, I knew I had to craft a cocktail based on it,” she says.
The resulting cocktail, also named Ondeh-ondeh, is a lightly sweet and moreish take on the glutinous rice balls with palm sugar syrup and coconut. The tipple even comes with a small choux pastry garnish, which Ms Treechanasin, who is in her 30s, makes herself.
But, even as she learns more about Singapore, Ms Treechanasin is passionate about representing her own heritage. “I’m very proud to be able to represent my country – whether here at Eclipse, during guest shifts at other bars in Singapore or on my travels. It’s very important for me to bring our culture and hospitality to the world.”
She has been bartending since 2014, having started as a barback at 1881 by Water Library in Bangkok.
“I just thought bartenders looked so cool and wanted to learn how to make amazing drinks too. But I quickly realised that bartending is not just about making drinks. We have to listen to customers, connect with them and entertain them. They are paying for an experience, and it’s up to us to make sure it’s a satisfying one.”
Over the years, Ms Treechanasin, who is single, has developed a loyal base of customers who follow her from bar to bar. “That there are people willing to fly from Bangkok to visit me in Singapore, or that customers from Europe and America make a point to visit me if they’re stopping in Asia – that’s how I mark my success in this career.”
Bar Info: 06-01 Yue Hwa Building, 70 Eu Tong Sen Street; open daily except Mondays from noon to 2pm and 6.30 to 10.30pm. Go to restauranteclipse.sg
Arathorn Grey, head bartender, Tippling Club (@arathorn.grey)
At 28, Singaporean Arathorn Grey is the youngest bartender on this list and also the newest to the world of cocktails, having started out at rooftop bar Loof just four years ago, in 2018.
He has had a swift rise to the top, being appointed head bartender at Tippling Club in July, almost two years after he first joined the team.
Mr Grey says his co-curricular activities from his school days – marching band in secondary school and cheer team in polytechnic – prepared him well for the bar setting. “I learnt how to perform, especially within a team. And being behind the bar is a performance in itself. People are watching you – you have to be in control of the situation, to be able to get back up if you fall or mess up.”
He refers to the bar as his safe space. “It’s my bubble and I try to ensure that everyone who comes into the bar feels comfortable as well.”
While he is aware that some customers may appreciate his boyish looks, he is cautious about how he takes the attention. “I do enjoy the limelight, and it’s nice to have people enjoy and appreciate what you do. But I don’t necessarily want people coming here just to see me. I’m more interested in making sure they have a good experience,” he says.
Mr Grey, who is single, says that the bar eats up most of his time. “I don’t have much time to do things outside work. I’m focused on building myself as a brand because I’m newer to the scene. I want to get to know people in the industry, and for them to get to know me.”
Bar Info: 38 Tanjong Pagar Road; open daily except Sundays and Wednesdays from noon to midnight. Go to tipplingclub.com
Thomas Sobota, group bar manager, Lime House Caribbean (@sobotathomas)
Slovakian bartender Thomas Sobota is perhaps the most charming bartender on this list – no easy feat, given that all of them are outstandingly warm and friendly. But the moment he sees this reporter and The Straits Times’ photographer entering Lime House’s Jiak Chuan Road outlet, he greets us with a smile and effortless hospitality that immediately puts us at ease.
Mr Sobota, 32, has been part of the Lime House team for three years, managing the bars and bar teams of both Lime House outlets in Keong Saik and East Coast. Despite his managerial position, he still takes shifts behind the bar and makes regular rounds on the floor.
He has lived in Singapore for eight years, moving here after a friend dropped him an e-mail raving about Singapore and its robust and colourful bar scene.
“It’s very normal here to go out and get a cocktail – people in Singapore know their drinks,” he says.
The food and beverage industry has been his home ground since the age of 16, when he enrolled in a hotel academy in Slovakia. There, he kicked off his bartending career by learning how to mix mocktails.
Though he misses the seasonal weather of his homeland, he has put down strong roots in Singapore. His girlfriend, a Russian expatriate, has lived here even longer than he has.
“I’m happy in Singapore and happy with the work I get to do with Lime House – meeting new people, staying in touch with regulars, developing new drinks and making them behind the bar. I enjoy the mix,” he says.
A junior bartender at Lime House says that Mr Sobota is very much the draw for many of Lime House’s regular customers, who enjoy the fun and friendly atmosphere he creates.
So it is unsurprising that, when asked what he believes to be a bartender’s most important trait, Mr Sobota says immediately: “Personality. People are not going out to specific bars because of the drinks, they’re going for the people.”
“To be able to smile to a customer and always give top-notch hospitality, to deliver what they came for, even if you’re not having a good day yourself – that’s a superpower in this line of work,” he adds.
Bar Info: 2 Jiak Chuan Road and 47-49 East Coast Road. Go to www.limehouse.asia for full opening times.
Vijay Mudaliar, founder and owner, Native (@vijaymgp)
Mr Vijay Mudaliar is an elusive man, probably because he is busy running two successful bars: Native in Amoy Street and Analogue at Chijmes.
When The Straits Times finally catches him over Zoom, the 33-year-old Singaporean speaks eloquently about everything from rising talent in the industry – “I really like how Yugnes Susela is using Elephant Room (in Teck Lim Road) to showcase Little India culture through cocktails” – to his philosophy as a boss – “I believe in creating an environment where people have the space to make mistakes and learn from them”.
The wide-ranging conversation may leave an overly cerebral and serious impression. But, during the photo shoot, Mr Mudaliar is generous with his jokes and smiles.
Despite his role as a business owner and manager, he is at ease behind the bar as he mixes up Native’s famous Antz cocktail – which contains a chemical distilled from real ants – and talks us through it.
“Good drinks with bad service will always lose out to great service with average drinks,” observes Mr Mudaliar, who is married to a teacher. They have a 10-month-old daughter.
“A good bartender doesn’t have to be loud and brash and shouldn’t just be obsessed with the cocktails. I always tell the younger staff, try to make an honest connection with the customers. It can be as simple as asking them how their day was.”
Though he is now respected in the bar scene as a veteran – he started Native almost eight years ago, at the age of 26 – it was not a line of work he had always envisioned for himself.
“I actually studied business process and engineering in polytechnic, and had a very short-lived corporate career. I just found it too repetitive,” he says.
“What I love about working with cocktails, on the other hand, is that it is ‘live’ – the customer interaction and feedback are immediate. Each day is a chance to be creative, express yourself and serve people,” he adds.
Bar Info: 52A Amoy Street; open daily except Sundays from 6pm to midnight. Go to www.tribenative.com
Shelley Tai, general manager, Nutmeg & Clove, Last Word (@kankantai)
Ms Shelley Tai has a larger-than-life presence on Instagram, with nearly 20,000 followers. But, during the photo shoot at Nutmeg & Clove, located on the ground floor of a Bugis shophouse, the Hong Kong native is soft-spoken and unassuming.
Her personality is reflected in her preferred drinks too. She says that these days, she is more interested in stirred and classic cocktails over exotic ingredients or newfangled techniques.
“As I’ve grown as a bartender, I find that I like being able to do the classics well and, fortunately for me, I get to focus on those at (sister outlet) Last Word, which opened earlier this year.”
Ms Tai joined Nutmeg & Clove in November 2020, at the height of the pandemic, after a decade or so of honing her craft in Hong Kong.
“I started at the age of 20, almost 13 years ago now – I was fresh out of school, I had just moved out and I needed money to pay the rent,” she says.
She cut her teeth at restaurants and nightclubs, but had the opportunity to hone her craft at Quinary in Hong Kong, which specialises in molecular mixology.
In 2019, while still at Quinary, she won the Diageo Reserve World Class Hong Kong & Macau bartending competition, and made the top eight in the global finals, which she says is her proudest achievement yet.
“I worked very hard for that – I had to go into Quinary as early as 9am so I could practise without disrupting the bar’s operations.”
Such discipline, she notes, is crucial for anyone who wants a long-term career in the industry.
With the win came an explosion of new followers on Instagram, though Ms Tai says she never set out to become a social media influencer. “I’ve tried to put more effort into maintaining it since then, but mainly I’m just trying to be myself there.”
Ms Tai, who is in a relationship, says it is not uncommon for followers to drop by the bar for a visit.
“They often tell me, ‘I’ve followed you for a while and wanted to come try your drinks.’ It’s very nice to have people interested in the work I do, and I like that they want to try my drinks even more than they want to come see me,” she says.
Bar Info: 8 Purvis Street; open daily except Sundays from 5pm to midnight. Go to www.nutmegclove.com. Last Word is located on the second floor at the same address.
