MO BAR

What this place is and who it is for

MO BAR sits in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Singapore on Raffles Avenue, five minutes on foot from Promenade MRT and a covered walkway away from Marina Bay Sands. The current room dates to a 2020 rebuild that moved the bar program from a hotel-standard list to a Southeast Asia botanicals programme led by Adam Bursik. It has ranked in Asia's 50 Best Bars every year since 2021, peaking at 13 in 2023.

The bar works for a 6pm pre-dinner cocktail before a Marina Bay reservation or a long late-night shift on a banquette with a hotel-stay group. Avoid if the goal is a budget cocktail or a hospitality-trade crowd: the room runs as a hotel lobby bar, which means a smart-casual dress code and a steady stream of guest check-ins. The Robb Report Singapore 2023 hotel bar feature called the Lion City Sour “the most identifiable signature cocktail at a Singapore hotel bar.

What the space feels like

A 90-seat room with a 14-seat counter on the east wall, low banquettes around three sides, and two private alcoves at the back screened by woven rattan. The interior is by Studio GASS in tropical Southeast Asia tones; rattan ceiling baffles, ironwood counter, brass detailing, and a botanicals shelf behind the bar with 90 housemade tinctures. Tatler Asia's 2022 Singapore best bars guide called the room “the most considered hotel lobby bar in Marina Bay and the only one where the cocktail list rivals the room itself.

What to order, what to skip

Order the Lion City Sour (28 SGD), built on a Singapore Distillery gin base, a coconut-and-pandan cordial, and a saffron foam; it is the build that landed MO BAR in the 50 Best list. Pair it with the satay-and-peanut small plate (24 SGD). Skip the off-menu requests; regulars on the Singapore Cocktail Bar Association Telegram channel flag the Southeast Asia tasting flight at 78 SGD for four pours as the strong first-visit move. The Pandan Negroni (29 SGD) uses a house-blended Mancino vermouth and is what the bartenders pour when guests ask for an Italian-leaning option.

Who shows up and when

Three shifts. From 11am to 5pm the room runs a hotel-guest and afternoon-tea crowd with about a 30 percent occupancy. From 5pm to 8pm the lobby fills with a CBD post-work crowd and Marina Bay hotel guests; this is the busiest shift. From 8pm to 1am the banquettes hold a long late-night dinner crowd from the hotel's restaurants and a small visitor crowd from the Marina Bay loop. The Drinks Business 2024 Singapore feature called the late shift “the calmest Marina Bay seat after 10pm.

When to walk in

MO BAR runs three shifts and the right one depends on the goal. The 5pm to 8pm post-work window catches the CBD crowd and a walk-in lands a counter seat about 40 percent of the time. The 8pm to 11pm window is the iconic MO BAR experience for the Lion City Sour and a banquette with a reservation. After 11pm the room runs at 50 percent occupancy and is the easiest late-shift walk-in on Marina Bay. Sunday and Monday are quieter; Saturday afternoon runs the afternoon-tea overlap. The Southeast Asia tasting flight at 78 SGD runs only at the 14-seat counter and is the right first-visit order; book the flight 48 hours ahead.

Three siblings in Singapore