Cool Cats

It looks like a secret bar. The secret is that the music is the point.

Cool Cats is a better date than most bars in town, because it gives you something to talk about, something to stop talking for and a natural end to the evening when the last set finishes. Book a table, arrive before the first set and plan to listen. The compromises: it is a weekend room, open Friday and Saturday nights, some shows are ticketed, and if you want to talk over the band you are in the wrong place.

Why it works

It sits behind an unmarked wooden door in the NCO Club on Beach Road, a 1950s heritage building that once served as a clubhouse for the British army's non-commissioned officers and now also houses the Cantonese restaurant Madame Fan. The door suggests another secret bar. The stage says otherwise: since it opened in 2019, this has been one of the more dependable rooms in Singapore to hear a proper band, and the hide-and-seek is the least interesting thing about it.

The room seats around 60 in plush chairs under low lighting, with a sunken salon behind the main room for anyone who wants to listen without being seen. That size is the point. Sixty people who came for the music will keep a room quiet in a way a bigger bar never manages.

The music

The programme leans jazz, blues and R&B, with Latin, soul and the occasional curveball, and mixes local players with international names; in its early days it brought in the Australian trumpeter James Morrison for a two-night run. Line-ups change, so check what is on before you book, and whether that night is ticketed. The club puts the first set at 9pm, which gives you time for dinner nearby and a drink before the band.

The bar

The opening cocktail list named every drink after a music legend, from Billie Holiday to Duke Ellington, which tells you how seriously the place takes its theme. Order something you can make last a set; this is not a room for rounds of shots.

How to do it well

Book through the official site, check the line-up and whether a show is ticketed, and arrive before the first set so you are not shuffling to your seat during a ballad (everyone notices, and the drummer definitely notices). It suits a couple who want a night out that isn't another dinner, a visiting parent with good taste in records, or a solo seat at the bar. Esplanade and City Hall MRT are both a short walk.

Good to know Book via SevenRooms on the official site; check the line-up and whether a show is ticketed. Opening days have been listed as Friday and Saturday only, though past line-ups have included weeknight shows, so confirm before you go. Esplanade and City Hall MRT are a short walk.

Cool Cats | Level 1, The NCO Club, 32 Beach Road, Singapore 189764 | Nearest MRT: Esplanade, City Hall