Pour Decisions: The Best Bars in Singapore for Craft Beers and More

Walking through the humid streets of Singapore at dusk, you can feel the city transforming. The tropical heat fades into neon lights, and the clinking of glasses begins to echo from narrow shophouses and towering skyscrapers. Singapore boasts a dynamic bar scene that rivals any global metropolis. From opulent destinations like to the laid back charm, the choices are wonderfully overwhelming.

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1. SG Taps Restaurant: Laid-Back Craft Beer Among the Best Bars in Singapore

Location: 13 Duxton Hill, #01-01, near Tanjong Pagar MRT
Price Range: $$; prices vary by craft beer and dish

SG Taps is the sort of bar where one drink can easily turn into dinner. Tucked into Duxton Hill, the restaurant brings Japanese-Singaporean food together with serious craft beer, giving it more personality than a straightforward taproom. The laid-back atmosphere is the point: casual tables, cold pints and the warm hum of friends talking over plates meant for sharing.

Among the many bars in Singapore, SG Taps makes the most sense when you want something unfussy rather than a night of formal mixology. The room isn’t chasing luxury or dramatic decor. You come to grab a pint, eat properly and settle in. That ease is why I’d keep it on a casual bars list, particularly around Duxton and Tanjong Pagar.

Eat

The Laksa Pizza is the dish that best explains the kitchen: a crisp, cheesy base carrying the aromatic heat and creamy spice associated with laksa. Mentaiko Spaghetti goes in another direction, coating noodles in a savoury, briny creaminess, while pork gyoza, karaage, katsu curry, smoked cheeses, mussels and beef dishes give the table plenty to pass around. I would head toward the Japanese-Singaporean combinations first; they’re what give the menu its identity.

Drink

Beer remains the reason to visit. Draft and packaged choices can move through lagers, pale ales, IPAs, wheat beers, sours and darker styles, each changing the taste of the food beside it. A bright, bitter IPA can cut through fried chicken; something crisp and clean works better when the plate gets spicy. Tell the staff what flavours you like rather than ordering blind.

Field Note: Ask what’s pouring before committing to a full glass. The changing craft selection is more interesting than chasing one permanent label.

2. Upward Taproom: Singapore Hot Evenings and Craft Beer on Club Street

Location: 8 Club Street, #01-06 Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre, near Chinatown/Telok Ayer
Price Range: Around S$10–20+ per beer

Upward Taproom sits at Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre, giving this small beer bar a useful base on Club Street. The mood is simple and calm rather than theatrical, with indoor and alfresco seating that works particularly well once a Singapore hot afternoon begins easing into night. The hotel itself describes Upward as a tranquil escape from the surrounding bustle.

It’s the kind of place I prefer when I want to talk to the person behind the bar rather than spend the evening taking a photo of every glass. Craft beer is the focus, and the current operation continues to promote changing breweries and styles rather than one fixed house pour. Hotel guests can currently receive 10% off with their room key card, adding a useful perk if you’re staying upstairs.

Eat

Food remains secondary to the beer, so I wouldn’t treat Upward as a full gastropub dinner. Bar snacks make the most sense: salty, crisp bites that reset your palate between different brews. If you’re planning to spend the whole evening here, eat properly beforehand or treat the food as accompaniment rather than the main event.

Drink

This is where the fun starts. The selection can move from a hazy IPA with a soft, juicy body to a sour that lands with a tart citrus snap. Upward’s current online shop features breweries such as Wild West Brewing, YE Brewing and Fidens, reinforcing its emphasis on exploring different producers. For me, that element of surprise is more interesting than finding the same lager every time.

Field Note: Ask for a recommendation instead of choosing by name. A rotating craft selection rewards curiosity.

3. Good Luck: Local Beer, Cocktails and Haji Lane Night Energy

Location: 9 Haji Lane, near Bugis MRT
Price Range: Around S$12–30

Good Luck has been part of Haji Lane since 2016, evolving from a hole-in-the-wall taproom into a broader showcase of Singapore drinking culture. The shophouse gives it immediate character, but the atmosphere remains playful rather than precious. By night, the street gets louder, the tables fill and the neighbourhood takes on the loose energy that makes Kampong Gelam such an easy stop with friends.

Next door, Fatt Choy Eating House at 10 Haji Lane expands the food side of the operation. Good Luck itself runs from morning until midnight, shifting from coffee early in the day to beer, sake and cocktails as the evening builds. That all-day rhythm separates it from many dedicated cocktail bars.

Eat

Fatt Choy’s kitchen draws on Singapore’s diverse food culture, reworking familiar flavours rather than settling for generic pub food. Expect sharing dishes with enough spicy, salty and savoury character to stand beside beer. The pleasure is communal: hot food in the middle, cold glasses around it and everyone reaching for another bite.

Drink

Locally brewed beer is central to Good Luck’s identity, alongside sake and cocktails. This is where I’d start with something cold and local before moving into the wider drinks selection. You don’t need to overthink it; part of the charm is finding a beer you like, ordering another plate and letting Haji Lane provide the music and movement around you.

Field Note: Don’t stop at the first beer. Ask what’s local or less familiar before moving on to your next Haji Lane stop.

4. Druggists: A Heritage Bar with a Laid-Back Atmosphere and Serious Taps

Location: 119 Tyrwhitt Road, Jalan Besar, near Lavender MRT
Price Range: Around S$12–30 per drink or plate

Druggists occupies one of those rooms where the decor already tells half the story. Its heritage setting, associated with the Singapore Chinese Druggists Association, brings together old tiles, timber and signage with a slightly worn-in warm character. Nothing feels excessively polished, and that’s precisely why the room works.

Craft beer remains the heart of the experience, supported by natural wine and non-alcoholic drinks. Long communal tables create a welcoming, almost clubhouse quality, especially once the room gets packed. Of the more casual bars in Singapore, this is somewhere I’d choose when the plan is several rounds rather than a single drink before moving to other places.

Eat

The food understands beer. Har cheong gai arrives crisp and salty, carrying the funky aroma of fermented prawn paste before a squeeze of lime brightens the whole bite. Battered squid, deep-fried silver fish with laksa mayo, dim sum and cheese platters offer the same combination of crunch, fat, salt and spice. Beside a cold IPA, the chicken can be absolutely delicious.

Drink

The attraction is variety. Depending on what’s pouring, the taps can stretch across IPAs, fruit beers, lambics, lagers, Belgian styles, cider and darker ales. Don’t dismiss the alcohol-free choices either. A good taproom should work for the whole table, and having proper alternatives makes Druggists easier to highly recommend for mixed groups.

Field Note: Tell the staff what you’re eating. A sour can sharpen something fatty, while a bitter IPA can cut straight through fried food.

5. Night Hawk: One of the Best Cocktail Bars in Singapore

Location: 43 Tanjong Pagar Road
Price Range: Most cocktails S$26++; selected cocktails from S$28++

Night Hawk feels like a scene you have accidentally walked into. Inspired by Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, the compact room glows under amber light, with curved forms and futuristic nostalgia creating a cinematic sense of isolation. It’s unusual without being cold—the bar describes itself as an unpretentious, hospitable space inspired by the painting’s sense of urban alienation.

That tension carries into the cocktail menu. This isn’t another entry among cocktail bars in Singapore relying on a Negroni, Manhattan and Martini to do all the work. Current drinks explore celery, onion, pickle brine, beef fat, cheddar, silkworm, miso and other ingredients that sound more like a chef’s prep list than conventional mixology. Most signature cocktails are currently S$26++.

Eat

The current food menu includes Wagyu cheeseburger sliders, shrimp po’boy sliders, buffalo hot wings, loaded fries, chipotle mac and cheese, chicken and waffles and flatbread pizzas. The Wagyu sliders are particularly well matched to the bar’s savoury direction: juicy beef, melted cheese and sweet caramelised onion make a rich, sticky counterpoint to a complex drink.

Drink

This is where Night Hawk earns its place among the best cocktail bars for adventurous drinkers. Current builds combine familiar spirits—gin, tequila, mezcal, Cognac and whisky—with ingredients ranging from green spice and citrus to chocolate and seasoned silkworm. The drinks can sound confronting on paper, but the point is balance: savoury, bitter, sweet, acidic and aromatic notes meeting in the same sip.

Field Note: Come with an open palate. Night Hawk is more rewarding when you let the bartenders lead you somewhere unfamiliar.

6. ATLAS Bar: Gin, Martinis and Grand Luxury Among Singapore’s Best Bars

Location: Parkview Square, 600 North Bridge Road, Bugis
Price Range: Around S$25–40+ per cocktail

ATLAS Bar is unapologetically grand. Inside Parkview Square, soaring Art Deco architecture, dramatic lighting and the monumental bar create a sense of luxury before you’ve taken your first sip. Yet the philosophy behind the room is surprisingly welcoming: ATLAS describes itself as elegant without pretence, drawing inspiration from the great Art Deco lobbies of Europe.

This is a place to slow down. The collection spans gin, spirits and more than 250 Champagne labels, while full dining, afternoon tea and late-night menus mean a quick drink can become an entire evening. Among the best bars in Singapore, few rooms deliver such an immediate sense of occasion.

Eat

ATLAS serves modern European food, moving from lunch and afternoon grazing into dinner and late-night dishes. I prefer ordering something savoury between drinks rather than treating the room as a one-Martini photo stop. A salty bite resets the palate and makes the next cold mouthful of gin feel cleaner and brighter.

Drink

A Martini is the natural starting point, but the wider programme is worth exploring if you enjoy gin, Champagne and classic European drinking traditions. The best drinks here don’t need fireworks; the pleasure comes from temperature, dilution, aroma and the clean botanical hit of the spirit. This is polished craft in a room that understands ceremony.

Field Note: Dress for the room after 5 PM. Smart casual rules apply; shorts, athletic wear and casual open footwear aren’t permitted, while gentlemen need long trousers and covered shoes.

7. Jigger & Pony: Best Cocktails Without the Cocktail-Bar Stiffness

Location: Amara Singapore, 165 Tanjong Pagar Road
Price Range: BLOOM cocktails S$28++; selected happy-hour cocktails S$19++ from 6pm–7:30pm daily”

Jigger & Pony is one of the names that helped make Singapore’s modern cocktail scene feel approachable rather than exclusive. Some searches still flip the name into pony jigger, but once you’re inside, what matters is the hospitality. The Amara hotel setting feels polished, yet the bar itself is convivial: a place where the bartenders can talk technique without making you feel like you’re sitting an exam.

The current BLOOM menu contains 21 cocktails across four chapters—Hope, Growth, Beauty and Just Be. Instead of building everything around one famous signature, the menu treats drinks as evolving ideas, moving through different textures, aromas and moods. Jigger & Pony also currently offers daily happy hour from 6 PM to 7:30 PM.

Eat

Food works best here as part of the pacing of the night. Order savoury plates to share and let the table graze between rounds. Something crisp or rich gives your palate a reset before another drink, and it makes the experience feel more social—friends, food, conversation and cocktails—rather than a technical tasting exercise.

Drink

I’d start with BLOOM rather than ordering from habit. Tell the team whether you want something bright with lemon or other citrus, bitter and spirit-forward, aromatic with spice, or softer and refreshing. That conversation is part of what makes Jigger & Pony one of my favorite bars for people who want serious cocktails without losing the human side of drinking.

Field Note: Give the bartender a flavour rather than a cocktail name. “Bitter and strong” or “bright but not sweet” usually leads somewhere more interesting.

8. FURA: Sasha Wijidessa’s Post-Operation Dagger Cocktail Bar

Location: 74A Amoy Street, Level 2, within walking distance of Tanjong Pagar MRT
Price Range: Around S$12–24 per à la carte plate; S$24–28 per cocktail

FURA is one of the more unusual cocktail bars in Singapore, built around sustainability, fermentation and ingredients that question what food and drinks can look like in the future. Co-founded by chef Christina Rasmussen and bartender Sasha Wijidessa, the bar carries some of the experimental spirit Wijidessa developed at Operation Dagger, but with a sharper focus on lower-impact ingredients and waste reduction. The room itself stays relaxed, which helps when the menu is doing things that sound far more adventurous than the setting.

Eat

The food leans into abundant, invasive and locally sourced ingredients. Jellyfish Ceviche is cool and slippery, sharpened by aguachile, caramelised pineapple and mandarin, while other plates use Singapore-grown produce and fermented elements. Rasmussen’s background with foraged ingredients also informs the way the kitchen thinks about overlooked produce, even when the current dish itself is not literally foraged.

Drink

The cocktails are the main reason to visit. Get The Worm blends tequila, chilli, mealworm, lime and cilantro into something savoury and bright, while the Jellyfish Martini mixes gin, jellyfish, fish leaf, spirulina, vermouth and kombu oil for a briny, vegetal sip. There are also non-alcoholic drinks for anyone skipping spirits.

Field Note: Read the ingredient list, then order the drink that sounds slightly outside your comfort zone. That is where FURA is most interesting.

Raise Your Glass: Your Next Sip Awaits

The diverse offerings across the best bars in Singapore ensure that every palate is satisfied. From dedicated craft beer havens to sophisticated lounges, the city offers an unparalleled drinking landscape. You can easily spend an evening enjoying spirit forward drinks, exploring natural wines, or rediscovering classic cocktails enhanced with fresh local ingredients.

Regardless if you are seeking a quiet wine bar for an intimate conversation or a lively cocktail bar featuring the latest seasonal specials, Singapore has a stool waiting for you. I encourage you to explore these unique venues and immerse yourself in the rich flavors they offer. Go ahead and discover your own favorites among the best bars in Singapore, and do not hesitate to share your top bars and must try cocktails with fellow enthusiasts, you can also check on Izakayas in Singapore for more options!