Your favourite bar’s favourite bar: Atlas’ Yana Keller on the drink all bartenders should master

SINGAPORE – After six editions of Your Favourite Bar’s Favourite Bar column, one establishment consistently appears on the lists of industry professionals’ favourite watering holes in Singapore.

Located at the Art Deco-style Parkview Square in North Bridge Road, Atlas has established itself as one of Singapore’s most decorated venues since it launched in 2017.

It has placed in every iteration of the World’s 50 Best Bars annual industry ranking, except in 2022. The bar even appeared in Season 3 of HBO’s hit sci-fi series Westworld (2016 to 2022).

When asked why Atlas draws praise globally, the bar’s beverage director Yana Keller says it comes down to a combination of stellar service and a distinctive character that makes it stand out – even among Singapore’s high concentration of luxury-minded venues.

“When you walk into Atlas, you’re immediately awed by the space,” says the 35-year-old, who worked her way up from barista to head bartender to running the bar’s drinks programme. “Even for me, I’ve been here for eight years and it never gets old.”

Some of the bar’s iconic and frequently Instagrammed features include extensive brasswork – evocative of the Roaring Twenties, or what Ms Keller calls “the golden age of drinking” – and a 15m-tall gin tower containing the bar’s collection of over 1,400 gin bottles.

“When we started, there were only about 60 to 70 locally available gins in Singapore, so our target was to bring it up to 900,” she says. “Sourcing 800 bottles of gin from around the world wasn’t easy.”

The team at Atlas created what it called the “gin mule”, enlisting travelling friends to bring back bottles from around the world to expand the bar’s collection.

Each potential addition undergoes a gin tasting panel, which Ms Keller describes as her favourite part of the work day.

“I always tell my team not all gins are made equally,” she adds. “Some gins look great on the website, but when you taste them, you think: ‘Okay, this will be someone’s farewell gift.’”

Ms Keller also leads the Juniper Society, a membership-based gin appreciation group of around 500 who convene at the bar.

Parkview Square, completed in 2002, was property developer C.S. Hwang’s final masterpiece.

In 2016, his granddaughter Vicky Hwang transformed part of the building into Atlas, envisioning a social venue that would also pay homage to her grandfather’s architectural legacy.

“There are so many hidden gems people don’t know about this place. We have several Salvador Dali artworks in the building,” says Ms Keller. 

“When we were renovating the space in 2016, we wanted to include a token of hospitality, so we subtly incorporated pineapples into the brasswork. This is one of the fun facts we share with new team members – and we make them find them.”

Another lesser-known detail is the ceiling-mounted system of pulleys that once allowed “gin fairies” to soar through the air, retrieving bottles from the tower.

For those unfamiliar with Atlas, Ms Keller recommends either a classic martini ($28) or Let’s Misbehave ($25), a cocktail featuring American gin, sloe gin, bitter bianco, spiced liquor and honey. “It’s bright, a little rebellious and finished with a torched cocktail onion,” she says.

The bar’s current menu – designed by Ms Keller and launched in April – is inspired by the early 20th-century French fashion magazine Gazette Du Bon Ton, also known as the “journal of good taste”.

It is not just the drinks that separate an excellent bartender from an average one, however. For Ms Keller, the secret sauce at Atlas and other venerated bars comes down to instinct.

“It’s not something you can necessarily teach, but it’s being able to anticipate your guests’ needs, even before they ask for something,” she says. “It’s the ability to gauge body language, read the room and change someone’s mood with what you say.”

“I’ve been to a lot of bars and most of the time, my interactions with the bartender affect whether I want to stay or not. There are times when I have a bad day – days when I’m just going to have one drink, smash it and go home.”

“But I have a conversation with a great bartender and it becomes five drinks and a hangover. I think that’s what really separates a regular bartender from a great one,” she says.

With that, The Straits Times asks Ms Keller about her favourite spots in Singapore’s bar scene – and the one drink every bartender should be able to make well.

Is there a date night spot you think is underrated?

It would be Spanish restaurant Asador in Joo Chiat Place. What a lot of people do not know is that it has a hidden bar called 60ml. 

You can start your night in the speakeasy, but most of the time, you go to the speakeasy with the intention of having one drink before your dinner and wind up just staying at the bar.

It serves Spanish tapas-style food and the drinks focus on the classics and reinterpretations of the classics. I really like that because it’s straightforward and no bull****.

What would you recommend to a first-time visitor to Singapore?

I recommend

28 HongKong Street

, one of Singapore’s “OG” (original) bars. It was one of the reasons I wanted to be a bartender in the first place. The energy there is fantastic and I love how hidden it is from the outside.

What’s the one drink every bartender should be able to make well?

A martini. Something that stuck with me is a conversation I had with Atlas’ former head bartender Jesse Vida. You can tell whether a bartender is good when you order a martini and he or she asks follow-up questions like: Do you want it with gin or vodka? Do you want it dry or dirty? What garnish do you want? Without these, you can already tell that your bartender has questionable skills.

My top three places for a martini in Singapore are Atlas (you need to get a Yana martini), Gibson in Bukit Pasoh Road (it is named after a martini variation and makes really good martinis as well) and Origin Bar at the Shangri-La Hotel.

I have been told I make one of the best martinis in the world. It took me 10,000 hours to perfect it, and my martinis have travelled with me around the world during my guest shifts.

A martini is actually one of the hardest drinks to make. It is just three ingredients (typically gin or vodka, vermouth and an olive or lemon twist garnish), but you need to nail the dilution and temperature.

What’s a new bar that’s caught your eye?

Fura in Amoy Street

. It focuses on unusual ingredients and I did not really appreciate my vegetables as much until I went to Fura. It pushes the boundaries of what you can use in drinks, which are not the typical ingredients that the rest of us use.

For example, there are drinks with crickets in them, which can sound “ew” at first, but are interesting to try. It is a place that forces you to go out of your comfort zone.

What would you recommend to someone who’s grown bored of Singapore nightlife?

Puffy Bois in Duxton Road. I feel like it strikes the right balance between being high-end and super chill. It focuses on the craft of making food (pizza) and pairing it with good drinks. It limits the menu to a small number of things done very well.

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

I like Offtrack in North Canal Road. I think it has a very cool concept of being a music-centric bar. I like how the people behind it are part of this DJ collective who do festivals, and they bring that energy to their venue. You know that whenever you go there, you’re going to have a great time.

Do you have a go-to spot for drinks on a budget?

If I wanted drinks on a budget, I would make the drinks myself. I’m the kind of person who likes to splurge, so I would go to Republic at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore because I don’t mind dropping a bomb there on a vintage martini or a really nice bottle of champagne.

What’s your favourite bar in Singapore?

Cat Bite Club in Duxton Road

. Jesse, the bar’s co-founder, played such an important role in who I am. He used to bust my a** when I was his assistant head bartender, before he eventually passed the torch to me.

What I love about Cat Bite Club is that it is such a different space from Atlas. At Atlas, I have to present myself as proper and professional, but when I go to Cat Bite Club, I feel like I can let my hair down. I love the music there and the drinks make for an easy good time.

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that Fura focuses on vegan ingredients. This has been corrected. We are sorry for the error.