‘The magic gets better the more you drink’: Inside Singapore’s first magic bar

SINGAPORE – Tucked away in an industrial estate in Ubi is one of Singapore’s most unusual watering holes: a speakeasy where illusion takes centre stage.

The Magic Bar, which opened in 2023 at Oxley BizHub, is Singapore’s first bar dedicated to magic performances.

The small 215 sq ft space accommodates up to 15 guests, though the venue’s weekly Tuesday to Saturday night shows are typically limited to fewer than 10.

“The magic gets better the more you drink,” quips magician Kai Emmanuel, who co-founded the Theatre of Wonder events group. He performs behind the bar two nights a week and his shows blend sleight of hand, cocktails and storytelling.

For first-time visitor Sathya Prakash, 29, who works in pharmaceuticals, the experience of crawling around an industrial estate to find a magic bar was odd, but intriguing.

“There was some whiplash when I wandered in from the industrial complex outside,” he says. “It’s a little far out, but it makes sense considering the price of rentals these days.”

Meanwhile, Mr Sri Sham Haran R Raja, 28, a software engineer who last watched a magic show when he was in secondary school, says: “I thought it would be a bigger audience, that I’d be seated further away, and that I’d simply sit back and watch the show.”

He was pleasantly surprised by how the magic unfolds less than a metre away, on the same countertop as his drinks, as well as the constant back-and-forth between guests and the magician.

This intimacy is by design. The founders, tired of being relegated to background entertainment at corporate events, wanted a space for magic to take centre stage.

“With a small space that seats only a few people, it allows us to interact with our guests more while trying to give more individual attention to everyone,” says Mr Tan Wei Xuan, 21, co-founder and head bartender of The Magic Bar.

Emmanuel adds: “Most people have experienced magic only at a show, with the magician far away from them.”

Up close, guests can get hands-on with the props, and magicians have less room for error with their illusions.

For Emmanuel, it also means being able to weave his story into his tricks. A portrait of his mother, a hobbyist magician, features as a prop on the bar.

“I started magic when I was just in diapers because my mum did it as a hobby. I was her little assistant when she performed for my kindergarten friends,” he explains.

Since opening, The Magic Bar has hosted more than 700 guests at its weekly events, which include performances by German magician Stefan Ebinger and mentalist Nique Tan.

Couples seeking unusual date nights are their most common clientele.

While Singapore magicians still frequently perform at corporate events, dedicated venues such as The Magic Bar and The Magic Attic (located inside a private residence in Lorong Salleh) suggest a growing local niche for this form of entertainment.

For The Magic Bar co-founder Alexander Yuen, 37, Singapore’s magic scene remains in its infancy despite the presence of a large number of hobbyists.

“We hope to be able to craft and share our magic in a way that can potentially define what a Singapore style of magic is,” he says.