Abode
A sixth-floor rooftop above Clarke Quay with a Marina Bay view, table lamps instead of a DJ and cocktails built on local flavours. The quiet one.
- Where: Clarke Quay
- Price: S$30–60
Rooftop bars
Bars with a view from above the street: the skyline ones, the quieter ones and what a drink costs at each.
Mr. Stork
Around ten teepee huts in a rooftop garden on Level 39 of the Andaz, with arrack cocktails and two house beers. The most relaxed sundowner in Bugis.
- Where: Bugis
- Price: S$30–60
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Photo: celebrityabc, CC BY-SA 2.0, via FlickrCÉ LA VI
Spago's louder neighbour on top of Marina Bay Sands. Go late on a Saturday for house and techno with the bay below, dress properly and budget for the cover.
- Where: Marina Bay
- Price: S$30–60
Nova
Singapore's highest rooftop bar, 63 floors above Raffles Place under a glowing steel star, with tom yum fries to soak up the altitude. Clear nights only.
- Where: CBD
- Price: Under S$30
Southbridge
Five floors above the Boat Quay menu-wavers, a shophouse rooftop with the river bend, Parliament House and a half-dozen dressed-up oysters. For two, not for a birthday.
- Where: Boat Quay
- Price: S$30–60
Lantern
A rooftop at The Fullerton Bay Hotel named after the red lamps that once lit Clifford Pier, with the bay switching on in front of you. Go at sunset, book ahead; the pool is for hotel guests.
- Where: Marina Bay
- Price: S$30–60
LeVeL33
A working brewery on the 33rd floor of Marina Bay Financial Centre, hoisted up by crane and now in the Guinness book. Ask for the terrace; the beer is the reason to go.
- Where: Marina Bay
- Price: S$30–60
More bars collections
Bars for conversation
For a night of talking rather than shouting: grand rooms, bars with a local story, music or wine. Choose the mood, book one bar and stay put.
- 6 picks
How to choose
These rooftops are not interchangeable. For Marina Bay itself, go to Lantern at sunset, to CÉ LA VI late on a Saturday for the DJs, or to LeVeL33 after work, which is a brewery with a view and not a hushed room. Abode at Clarke Quay is the quiet one: go early for a terrace table, and go elsewhere if you want a DJ and a crowd. Nova in the CBD is best at opening on a clear evening; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are its late DJ nights.
Southbridge at Boat Quay and Mr. Stork in Bugis are entirely open-air, so check the sky before you set off. Mr. Stork runs timed seatings, and the first one is the one to book.
Three things save an evening. Arrive at opening, because the sunset seats go first everywhere. Look at the weekday offers on each page, since several of these bars run a happy hour in the late afternoon or early evening. And read the door rules before you dress: CÉ LA VI turns away sandals and singlets, and under-18s after 10pm.