Your Favourite Bar’s Favourite Bar: The Elephant Room’s Yugnes Susela gives thumbs up to The Store

SINGAPORE – Ever wondered where your favourite bartenders go to unwind? That is the question The Straits Times posed to The Elephant Room’s Yugnes Susela.

The answer: hidden gems well known in the industry but not to the public, an iconic rooftop bar where he had a memorable first date, and a bar that makes you think.

Mr Susela, who is 36 and known to his friends as “Yugie”, is the co-founder of The Elephant Room. It was on the Asia’s Best Bars list in 2024, coming in at No. 65.

He believes that the bar in Tanjong Pagar Road has made its mark on the local bar scene by drawing deeply from Indian culture and the history of Singapore’s Little India with its spice-infused cocktails.

Signature drink Briyani ($28) is a spiced vodka cocktail inspired by the beloved dish. The menu also features Buffalo Road ($25), his take on the classic gin and tonic – a cocktail originally from India – infused with pink guava and vetiver, and named after the street in Little India.

The bar’s offerings take a darker turn with Missing Since 1984 ($26), a cocktail that blends Johnnie Walker Gold, jackfruit vermouth and miso, paying homage to Singapore’s infamous and unsolved “curry murder” case.

“If you want to know about Indian culture, you usually ask: What’s your favourite Indian food?” says Mr Susela. “That’s why we’ve taken some famous Indian foods and transformed them into cocktails, so people can understand the flavour and know what to expect.”

Mr Susela’s journey in the bar industry began at 16. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to being a bartender – a job he describes as his 18th birthday present. That led to him opening The Elephant Room in 2019 at its first location, Teck Lim Road.

When asked what makes a good bar, Mr Susela says his tastes run towards the plain and simple: cocktails that are approachable and require little explanation.

With that in mind, ST asked him to share some of his favourite spots around Singapore.

What’s your favourite bar in Singapore? 

It is The Store in Neil Road, which is run by power couple Hirman Asnadi and Joanne Kok. The two of them are magical behind the bar and I love to see them work.

They’ve got really tasty cocktails and make you feel at home – like going to someone’s house and having a drink. That’s the reason it’s been my No. 1 for the past few years.

There have been some dark moments in my life, when I’ve been able to go there and have a drink, share with them and feel good about it.

If you were to ask me why something is my favourite bar, I would say that it’s never about the drinks. It’s about the people and the service. Drinks are always secondary.

What’s your favourite spot for drinking on a budget?

For someone who wants to drink on a budget – and that’s important especially because of the times we’re in right now – I would say Pocket Rocket in Keong Saik Road.

On Mondays, it does $15 espresso martinis all day. A usual gin and tonic is about $16, and if you want a slushie cocktail, it’s usually around $18. It’s not just about budget, but it’s a dollar-to-dollar thing, where you get what you want without feeling the pinch.

Is there a hidden gem that most people have yet to discover?

Maybe the public doesn’t really know about it, but the industry and the bartenders know. It’s this bar called Naga House in Boat Quay.

It has good cocktails that are quirky and funny, and the classics as well. You can get a Long Island iced tea for $16 and that’s a steal. It’s very nostalgic. Nobody orders Long Island iced teas now, but the bar has daringly put that on the menu.

That’s somewhere I think more of the drinking people of Singapore should go check out.

Where’s your go-to date night spot?

Potato Head in Keong Saik Road because that’s where my wife and I went for our first date.

You should go onto the rooftop on a Sunday, enjoy the sunset and the view, have a couple of gin and tonics and mojitos. Trust me – after that, you will definitely have a second date.

Where do you unwind after work?

With my team, I like to head to two places. Skinny’s in Boat Quay is a well-known spot for the industry, where you can get a nice hot-dog bun and a simple drink like a gin and tonic. If we want something with louder music, something to groove to, we go to Barbary Coast in Boat Quay.

Is there a bar with a concept that stands out to you?

Analogue Initiative at Chijmes. When you sit down, you’ll understand why it is innovative. Even the bar tops are made with recycled plastic bottles and the food menu is vegan and plant-based.

I love to eat chicken nuggets, but I finished its vegan nuggets easily. It’s not just about drinking, because the bar is imparting knowledge about sustainability at the same time.

Which bar has the best food?

Hands down, it’s Brooklyn Bar at Ann Siang Hill. The owner, Mark Graham Thomas, knows how to deliver a good food menu, and actually does the cooking himself.

Having tried the birria tacos, I would say it’s one of the best tacos I’ve ever had. Food menus in a bar can go two ways. Some can be really predictable, but these guys think out of the box.

Where do you take someone who’s a first-time visitor to Singapore?

I would say it’s not a bar, but a restaurant: Samy’s Curry Restaurant in Dempsey. It’s the oldest Indian banana leaf restaurant in Singapore. It’s not been modernised, it’s very traditional. If you want to understand what Indian culture is, that’s definitely the place.

For me, it shows the beauty of Singapore because it’s an Indian restaurant where you see people from different cultures going there to enjoy a good pot of fish head curry. And it shows what Indian food is all about.

That’s why whenever we have guest bartenders at The Elephant Room, I take them there.