Operation Dagger closed its Ann Siang Hill basement on 31 October 2024, after seven years as one of the most distinctive cocktail bars in Asia. The brand has not been wound up, but the bar described below no longer trades at that address.
What happened
The team closed the Ann Siang Hill room and moved into an experimental phase, partnering with Straits Clan to run a pop-up called The Dagger Lab from 1 December 2024. The stated purpose was to develop a new concept and format for a future relaunch rather than to end the project. As of July 2026 there is no reopened Operation Dagger to visit, so treat any listing showing the Ann Siang Hill address as out of date.
What it was
Operation Dagger ran one of the most research-driven cocktail programmes anywhere. The bar distilled its own spirits, infused its own bitters and fermented its own ingredients, and listed drinks on the menu by a single primary ingredient rather than by name: Pepper, Smoke, Acid. Founder Luke Whearty later left to open Byrdi in Melbourne, with Thomas Girard taking over as head bartender and creative director.
The name came from a 1956 police operation against secret societies in Chinatown, and the room played to it: a plain black door on Ann Siang Hill, a bare concrete stairwell, and a minimalist basement at the bottom. It appeared on both the World's and Asia's 50 Best Bars lists across its run.
Where to drink in Singapore instead
For the same ingredient-led seriousness, Nutmeg & Clove builds its drinks out of Singapore's own history and sits at No. 24 on Asia's 50 Best. Atlas is the opposite register, all grandeur and gin. The full Singapore guide covers the rest.
Sources: Companion Communications, Operation Dagger: The Metamorphosis; City Nomads; Time Out Singapore.
