Best bars in Chinatown.

Operation Dagger and The Old Man lead the field on World's 50 Best Bars history. Employees Only and Tippling Club are the special-occasion rooms. Tess, Cufflink and Potato Head run the working rotation.

Luke Whearty's basement laboratory below Ann Siang Hill. No labels on bottles; the menu is a 16-drink list of one-word concepts. Drinks SGD 28. The most experimental cocktail program in Singapore.

The Singapore branch of the New York classic, with a 30-cocktail menu split across speakeasy classics and tropical updates. Drinks SGD 24. The EO Manhattan is the call; the kitchen runs to 1am.

The Hemingway-inspired room that opened in 2017 and reached the World's 50 Best Bars list within a year. Drinks SGD 25. The For Whom the Bell Tolls is the call. Bar seats 12; arrive by 7pm for one.

Ryan Clift's tasting menu restaurant with a 30-seat cocktail bar at the front. The Sensorium menu is the call: 12 perfumes, each paired with a drink. Drinks SGD 28.

A 40-seat shophouse cocktail bar with a 50-drink menu and a kitchen open until midnight. Drinks SGD 22. The bar leans heavily on Asian botanicals; the Pandan Daiquiri is a regular pick.

An everyday cocktail bar with a tight 18-drink menu and a kitchen that does small plates well. Drinks SGD 18. Walk-in works through 7pm on weekdays; reservations after.

The Bali brand's Singapore four-storey shophouse, with a ground-floor burger bar and a rooftop cocktail garden. Drinks SGD 22. The rooftop is the best after-work room on Keong Saik on a Wednesday.

A second-floor cocktail bar styled as a 1980s Hong Kong nightclub. Drinks SGD 22. The bar swings between karaoke nights and DJ sets; the 11pm rule is karaoke in, DJ out.

An eight-seat pocket bar that swaps its menu and identity every quarter. Drinks SGD 22. Reservations 14 days out; the smallest serious bar in the city.

An Italian wine bar with an open kitchen and a 50-bottle Italian list. Glasses from SGD 16. The pasta is the food order; the wines are the room. Walk-in works at the counter through 7pm.

A basement cocktail bar two doors from Native, with a 20-drink menu that leans South American. Drinks SGD 20. Open late on weekends, when the queue at Native sends overflow down the steps.