Did you meet someone you really like on a dating app and want to take them somewhere nice for your first date ? Or maybe you want to treat your long-term partner to a snazzy night out, because it’s all about keeping the spark alive.
Whatever it is, these romantic bars are sure to serve as an excellent backdrop for good conversation, some people-watching, and quenching your thirst for a good tipple.
1. Barbary Coast
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Inspired by San Francisco’s red-light district in the mid 1800s, Barbary Coast boasts two fascinating bars in one venue, flaunting a rough-and-tumble face on the first floor and oozing sensual sophistication upstairs.
The dive-bar-styled Deadfall has a makeshift charm that resembles the sort of establishment that would have served miners during the gold rush; for a more high-end experience, the Ballroom on level two is classy, with elegantly presented cocktails.
Try Deadfall’s Mr Black ($20), a coffee cocktail sure to have you fired up, or Ballroom’s Three Graces ($24), a delightful pisco cocktail with sage and vanilla.
Barbary Coast is located at 16 N Canal Rd, Singapore 048828, p. +65 8869 4798. Open Mon-Fri 3pm-10.30pm, Sat 4.30pm-10.30pm. Closed Sun.
2. No Sleep Club
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This cosy Keong Saik Road bar is a relatively young one but has gained plenty of traction, partly to its quick scoop up of international bar awards. They serve not just inventive cocktails but coffee in the day, and food from morning to night.
You might as well start your evening early with them since their current happy hour promotion saves you big bucks. Their interior is cosy and atmospheric as well, making it a romantic place to drink.
Try their signature Hay and Apple cocktail or their 20 Hour Braised Beef Short Rib with Wild Mushroom Barley Risotto .
No Sleep Club is located at 20 Keong Saik Rd, Singapore 089127, p. +65 8838 0188. Open Tues-Sat 4pm-10.30pm, Sun 12pm-6pm. Closed Mon.
3. Live Twice
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Inspired by 1960s Japan, Live Twice evokes minimalism and zen in every way. Architecture is one of the stars here. Its interior is dimly-lit, warm, and intimate, creating the perfect atmosphere to put your head together with someone and savour a good conversation.
Its 14-cocktail menu ($25 each) features inventive numbers drawing on Japanese produce like Spring Riot – a floral medley of roku gin, sakura soda, and grated daikon – and Little Bell , a calvados-based tipple with a tinge of bell pepper honey. Don’t forget to order one of their delicious sandos , then soak in the atmosphere and create your own romance.
Live Twice is located at 20 Bukit Pasoh Rd, Singapore 089834, p. +65 9011 8304. Open Mon-Sun 4pm-10.30pm.
4. Smoke and Mirrors
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This stunning, stylish bar perches right at the top of the National Gallery, showcasing Singapore’s skyline at its best and boasting an impressive menu to accompany its stellar views .
Snag a sky-high seat and buy your date a sustainability-focused cocktail to win yourself those climate consciousness points.
Try the art-inspired twist on a Negroni that is Bananas In A Glass ($26) or the creamy, comforting Got Milk? to get the most out of this innovative menu.
Smoke and Mirrors is located at 1 St. Andrew’s Road, #06-01 National Gallery Singapore, 178957, p. +65 9380 6313. Open Mon-Sun 3pm-11pm.
5. Atlas Bar
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Set on the ground floor of the stunning Art Deco-inspired Parkview Square, Atlas is known as much for its decor as for its tipples. The bar utilises its grand space to house one of Asia’s best collections of gin, champagne and spirits.
Its gilded, soaring ceilings are bound to impress, and it’s number 8 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list! It’s especially well-known for its gin, so if you happen to be a gin aficionado , this is your time to shine.
Atlas Bar is located at 600 North Bridge Rd, Parkview Square, Singapore 188778, p. +65 6396 4466. Open Mon-Fri 10am-10.30pm, Sat 12pm-10.30pm. Closed Sun.
6. Operation Dagger
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Want to impress your date with some novelty? This basement bar (also on The World’s 50 Best Bars list) is absolutely the place to go.
This speakeasy-style watering hole is so secretive that it doesn’t even have a name on the door, and upon entering you’ll see its centrepiece is a massive art installation of recycled lightbulbs.
Even the rows of mad chemist-like bottles behind the bar are labelled only with cryptic codes. The whole experience will be an adventure, and everybody knows adventure is the best spark for romance.
Operation Dagger is located at 7 Ann Siang Hill, #B1-01, Singapore 069791, p. +65 9395 6690. Open Tues-Sat 6pm-10.30pm. Closed Sun-Mon.
7. RPM by D.Bespoke
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Into vinyl? This bar is the place for you. Sit and enjoy as handpicked jazz, soul, funk and rock are played to you through a vintage audio system. This approachable Japanese-style bar created by D.Bespoke is an ideal haunt for record collectors and fans of sake, shochu, and Japanese whisky.
Try a shochu tasting flight or one of their incredible shochu-based takes on the classics, from the Shochu Martini ($23) to the RPM Dark & Stormy ($23).
RPM by D.Bespoke is located at 16 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089482, p. +65 8359 1334. Open Tues-Fri 4pm-10.30pm, Sat-Sun 3pm-10.30pm. Closed Mon.
This article was first published in City Nomads.