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1 Nite Stand Comedy Club
Belly laughs aplenty at this big, carpeted bar, with mostly overseas stand-ups hamming it up for an appreciatively drunk crowd. An energetic house band keeps the masses entertained in-between acts.
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Actors
Gay-friendly Actors is more like an effeminate version of Cheers than an out-and-out gay bar; bartenders mete out vodka shooters and sympathy to queers and straights as required. Expect a relaxed vibe, a 25-to-35 crowd, impromptu musical jams and the odd game of pool.
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Alley Bar
Sky-high ceilings, dark timbers, candlelight and slick stylings paint this alleyway bar with restrained melodrama. Yuppies and expats converse in shadowy, cushioned nooks, quaffing wine and on-tap Belgian beers.
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Altivo & Glass Bar
Part of the small complex atop Mt Faber Hill that sucks in the cable car and spits it out towards Sentosa, the Altivo outdoor lounge and impossibly hip indoor Glass Bar are both magical spots to watch dusk slide into night over the sea below.
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Archipelago
Hopping merrily on the Singapore microbrewery bandwagon, Archipelago has embarked on an aggressive campaign to sell its Asian-accented beers in other bars across the island, but this, its flagship pub on a Y-junction in mildly seedy Circular Rd, is still the best place to enjoy them.
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Asylum
In a town where everyone's working some kind of mad angle or gimmick, Asylum is refreshingly sane. It's a fold-back the windows and watch the world go by kinda joint, with casual dining on the deck.
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Attica
Attica has secured a loyal following among Singapore's notoriously fickle clubbers, modelling itself on New York's hippest clubs but losing the attitude somewhere over the Pacific. The outdoor section is mostly colonised by 30-something expats, who find all the noisy dancing kids inside a bit too much. A cover charge of around S$25 includes two drinks.
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Backstage Bar
The balcony at this cosy men's pub is a great spot to chat, flirt with local lads and otherwise play Rapunzel. Don't be put off by the 'PLU Members Only' sign downstairs - friends of the rainbow flag have automatic membership. The entrance is on Temple St.
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Baden
If you're a German beer fan, there's more Grolsch, Heineken and Erdinger in this low-ceilinged beer-cranny than is probably wise. Finger food might keep you sober long enough to make it home to bed.
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Bar & Billiard Room
Forget the Long Bar, this is the quintessential Raffles drinking hole. Gentle lighting, genteel service, the clack of billiard balls and a breezy veranda next to the spot where Somerset Maugham used to set up his typewriter.
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Bar Opiume
Opiume's gleaming glass bar fuses industrial chic with polished floorboards, oversized chandeliers and big-ass couches (not that the skinny clientele command any respect in that department). Seductive river views extend from painted wicker chairs on the terrace.
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Bar Sá Vanh
Sá Vanh's soft candles shed light on dusky shadows as gorgeous svelte things flit by the fishpond and the water wall, expats sink into sunken lounges, platters of Asian tapas make the rounds, and ambient tunes snake into the night - all under the heavy-lidded gaze of Buddha himself.
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Bark Café
A relaxed, easygoing café right next door to the Changi Chapel, the Bark stays fairly low-key even on weekend nights, with a friendly crowd of mainly local residents enjoying the outdoor breeze, pool table, ample beers and excellent local (and international) food. Their 'red plum soda' is evidently of some repute.
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Barrio Chino
Across the street from Union, BC's is an unpretentious Spanish bar with just enough 'This is Barcelona' interior design. Cheese boards and dip platters are best drowned with some peppery rioja or sangria.
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Beaujolais Wine Bar
A tiny, raffish bar in a barely renovated shophouse, Beaujolais is the perfect antidote to the large corporate entertainment venues that are consuming the city. The upstairs lounge is a gem.
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Bedroom Bar
Yes, you read it right: this narrow Canadian-owned hole-in-the-wall stays open until - a magnet for hardcore drinkers. Gloomily decorated with Chinese lanterns and a pink-lit fish tank, it has a certain dingy charm. Happy hours run from to .
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BQ Bar
This quayside box fills with phone-wielding businessmen having one-way conversations about selling photocopiers. The amazing concrete bar and lilting jazz give it the edge over its Boat Quay brethren. Marathon happy hours run from to daily.
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Brewerkz
The first among Singapore's crop of microbreweries and still among the best - and certainly the biggest. Some might prefer the more intimate surroundings of its rivals, but Brewerkz manages to combine large scale with great service - something of a rarity in Singapore. The beers are uniformly superb, and lunchtime boozers will find the S$5 pints from noon to an invitation to dispense with other plans for the day.
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Café Del Mar
Café del Mar evidently objects to the idea of a quiet day at the beach, but at night after the deafened day-trippers in the vicinity have crept home this Ibiza-inspired bar comes into its own. Day beds and pastel pouffes on the sand, a poolside bar, Saturday bikini foam parties, DJs...you get the picture.
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Charlie's Corner
Absorbing the languid Changi Village vibe, Charlie's has been around forever, dishing up Western food to the residents in this hidden corner of the island. The food isn't fantastic, but the huge range of beers can detain you for hours. Pop in after a visit to Pulau Ubin.
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Chijmes
Perennially popular Chijmes is a high-density collection of bars and chilled-out patio areas. Liberté is a sassy joint attracting expats and tourists. Can't sleep? Insomnia (open to ) has occasional live bands and affordable bar food, with 10 happy hours. The unutterably Irish pub Father Flanagans offers courtyard tables, soccer on TV and a steady supply of Guinness. Table 108 is a classy alternative with a red and dark-wood fit-out.
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City Space
Deep armchairs, light jazz, Cuban cigars, fortified wines and stunning nighttime views over the island - this is the kind of place that makes you wish you owned a velvet smoking jacket.
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Clifford Beer Park
For a sniff of old Singapore, head to this seedy, bayside beer-nook where cheesy local bands bang out miniskirted girl-pop, cheap meals cluster on plastic tabletops and you can get a beer without haemorrhaging your wallet.
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Colbar
Something of an institution, Colbar attracts a loyal crowd of weekend regulars drawn to the bare-bones decor, friendly service, wanton Sunday drunkenness and hangover-friendly fry-ups and curries.
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Cool Deck
The solution for anyone who wants a seafront drink but doesn't feel like a lychee martini on a sunlounger in the company of DJ Deckster feat. Bassdamania further down the beach. The perfect spot for a beer and a moan about today's youth.
