Best After Work Bars in Singapore

Transplant of the New York original. White-jacketed bartenders, absinthe drips, and pre-Prohibition cocktails in a space that has quietly become the CBD's most reliable after-work choice. The food programme is serious.

The name signals exactly who comes here: suits from nearby law firms and banks who want serious cocktails and no student crowds. Leather seating, low lighting, and a Scotch menu extending to 180 single malts.

A rooftop bar above Odeon Towers in the CBD that somehow stayed unpretentious. Loof serves hawker-inspired bar snacks, familiar cocktails, and open-air seating at prices that feel fair for the location.

A speakeasy-style bar known for its custom-built Gibson cocktail library and an atmosphere that is serious without being stiff. The space seats 40 and the cocktails are among the most technically accomplished in the city.

A colonial-era shophouse with an English pub soul. Cask ales, a wine list of genuine depth, and bar food that runs to proper pies and board meats. The outdoor tables on Ann Siang Hill are as good an after-work terrace.

A Middle Eastern restaurant and bar that stays open late and does both cocktails and food at a level that punches above its price point. The bar menu runs to shawarma, hummus, and cocktails built on arak and rose water.

A financial district dive bar in the best sense: functional, unpretentious, and serving cold beer quickly to people who need it. The pool table is occupied by 5:30pm on Fridays. Nobody is dressed to impress.

Singapore's most charming bar operates from a converted 1960s coffee stall on Haji Lane. Cocktails are unashamedly retro and priced at around SGD 12. The outdoor seating spills onto the lane, eclectic and interesting.

A cocktail bar that refuses to take itself too seriously, which is a sensible position. Cheeky's menu is built around playful riffs on classics and the bar team encourages experimentation. A counter seat on Thursday is ideal.

A cafe-restaurant-bar hybrid in the Marina Bay Financial Centre that catches the financial district overflow from 5pm. Reasonable wine pours, a bakery menu that doubles as excellent bar food, and a bay terrace.

A pharmaceutical-themed cocktail bar where the drinks are described in clinical terminology and the aesthetic is all amber glass and laboratory shelving. Better than it sounds. The Tanjong Pagar crowd has made this a regular stop.

A rooftop bar at the Esplanade with views of the Marina Bay skyline that would cost three times more in a hotel. Orgo is a reliable after-work choice for its open-air setting, fair prices, and proximity to the theatre district.

The Exchange anchors Asia Square Tower 1 in Marina Bay, a high-ceilinged bar and dining room built for the after-work CBD crowd. Floor-to-ceiling windows light the space, and the kitchen runs modern Australian plates beside the cocktails. Order: a signature cocktail at the bar after close. Best time: weekday evening, since it closes on weekends.