Singapore City Entertainment

  1. Brix

    If you make it past the goons at the door, you can spend the night lurching between the whisky bar (single malt heaven), wine bar (namesake brickwork and impressive wine list) and music room (bands, R&B/disco/soul DJs, and dancing).

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  2. 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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  3. Cake

    Singapore's more dynamic and contemporary theatre groups produce both edgy and more accessible works at various venues around town. They often struggle for audiences and funds, but their undoubted passion keeps them alive. Banners advertising shows are usually plastered around town, or check listings in local magazines and newspapers. Cake is a cutting-edge improvisational group.

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  4. 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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  5. 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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  6. Chinese Theatre Circle

    For a low-key introduction to Chinese opera, come to a teahouse evening organised by this nonprofit group. Every Friday and Saturday night at there's a brief talk (in English) about Chinese opera, followed by a short Cantonese opera excerpt performed by professional actors in full costume. The whole thing lasts around 45 minutes. Bookings recommended. Opera Karaoke also transpires.

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  7. 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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  8. 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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  9. 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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  10. 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.

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  12. Crazy Elephant

    If the remodelled Clarke Quay is a collection of eager-faced college kids, then Crazy Elephant is the crusty bloke in the corner watching them out of the corner of his eye and shaking his head. One of Singapore's oldest, trustiest live-music venues, this is the place to ditch all that electronic nonsense and listen to some serious, loud rock and blues.

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  13. Cuba Libre

    Follow the sound of trilling trumpet for a night of mojitos, live Cuban music and dancing, or alternatively sit at a table, get drunk and watch parades of eager Singaporean salsa students going through the motions. Raucous and fun.

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  14. dbl O

    An outrageous three-bar dance club, popular with young clubbers wearing very little and older people who like to look at them. Music ranges from Top 40 on Thursdays, house on Fridays and retro on Saturdays.

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  15. Dempsey's Hut

    Nestled among the trees, away from the Beamers and Mercs jostling for parking space at Dempsey Rd, long-time resident Dempsey's Hut is refreshingly unpretentious: a no-frills outdoor pub, crumbling at the edges, with a pool table, relaxed atmosphere, relatively cheap beers and some surprisingly good food (try the NZ lamb).

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  16. Discovery Pub

    Have a beer out at the marina.

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  17. Dragonfly

    Hugely popular Cantopop and Mandopop club, with live bands (featuring regulation sexily-clad girls and spiky-haired boys) and a curious PVC pipe ceiling design. Expect to be the only foreigner in here.

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  18. Dubliners

    Lousy Irish pubs filled with bellowing, beer-bellied execs are omnipresent in Singapore, but this white colonial heritage building is a cut above the rest. Choose from the rough floorboards and cosy gloom inside, or nurse a Guinness and brave the traffic noise on the veranda.

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  19. En Bar & Lounge

    Japanese restaurant En has expanded into a bar. The glam ambience of the outdoor area, mirrored music room and a retro lounge lure a lethargically 'money' crowd, all cigarettes and winks.

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  20. Eski Bar

    Inside this oversized refrigerator temperatures plummet to an invigorating -10°. They give you a ski jacket to wear, but frostbite is a genuine risk if you lean on the carved-ice bar. You might wish your wallet was frozen shut when you see the prices.

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  21. Esplanade - Theatres On The Bay

    Where to begin? In the outstanding Concert Hall, the world-class theatre, the host of smaller performance spaces? The Esplanade roused Singapore from its artistic coma and placed it firmly at the centre of the Asian arts world. There are more than 1,000 performances in here every year, so there's no excuse for missing a chance to visit.

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  23. Exposé

    It wasn't long ago that the concept of a regulation Singapore gay bar was too taboo to imagine, but that's exactly what Exposé is. Karaoke-phobes should stay away until after midnight when the mic shuts down, or run the gauntlet for the excellent Thai/Vietnamese dinner served here.

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  24. Fluid

    The deep, shady embrace of Fluid somehow seems more solid, but there's plenty of fluid in the beer taps. DJs blow the cobwebs out of the sound system on weekends, and there's a pool table upstairs.

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  25. Gallery Bar

    Ingeniously designed glass-walled bar offering views into the four main clubs but shielded from the noise of each. Great spot to retreat, relax and decide where to go next.

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  26. Gold Dust

    Never seen a drag queen in traditional Thai dress lip-sync to Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive ? Lose your cherry with veteran dragster Kumar who gyrates his way through everything from Canto-pop to Hindustani hits. Keep a low profile - things can get personal.

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  27. Guinness Theatre

    Part of the Substation experimental-arts complex, this small theatre (painted Irish stout black) promotes works by emerging local artists. Many shows are free, some have ticket prices. There are also regular workshops for poetry, painting and suchlike.

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