The original Harry's, which grew from this Boat Quay corner into a Singapore-wide live-music chain. The bar opened in 1992, fed the after-work finance crowd through the nineties, and still does, only with a wider music programme and a slightly improved kitchen.
House bands play five nights a week, rock, R&B, soft funk, the occasional Top-40 set. The room is bigger than it looks from the river: a long bar, table seating along the windows, a small stage at the back. Cover is rarely charged. Happy hour from 5pm to 8pm makes the room one of the best after-work value drinks in the CBD.
The cocktail programme is more capable than the chain's reputation suggests. The Harry's Sour, the bar's house signature, is a genuinely good drink, bourbon, fresh lemon, palm sugar, egg white, and the Old Fashioned is correctly built. Most regulars order pints of house lager and that is appropriate to the room.
Harry's Boat Quay works best as the post-work first stop: drinks from 6pm, dinner from 7pm, band from 9pm, walk home before midnight. It has earned its place as the city's most reliable after-work room and shows no sign of giving it up.
Best time to visit: Weekday evenings before 9pm for the quieter version of the room; weekends after 9pm for the busier one. Reservations recommended where the bar accepts them.
What to order
- 01
Harry's Sour
- 02
House Lager
- 03
Old Fashioned
- 04
Espresso Martini
- 05
Singapore Sling