Origin Bar

Pepper plantations, teddy bears, Kellogg's, Lego. The menu has a short attention span; the drinks don't.

Origin is for a slow evening near Orchard when you want a bartender to decide for you. The menu is torn up every couple of years, and the drinks are carefully made, a little cerebral and generous to anyone who reads the list. The compromises are the room, handsome rather than theatrical, and the walk, about 10 to 15 minutes from Orchard MRT. Have dinner first, take a curtained booth and order two things you would not have chosen yourself.

The room

Origin opened off the Tower Wing lobby of Shangri-La Singapore in 2017, named after the hotel group's own origin story: dark wood, green tones and curtained booths, with something of a retro railway station about it. It is a room for conversation rather than photographs, which suits the drinks.

A menu with a short attention span

Under bar manager Adam Bursik, previously of The Library and Nutmeg & Clove, the first menu paid tribute to early Singapore districts. The house drink, also called Origin, nodded to Orchard Road's past as a pepper and nutmeg plantation with spice, charred pineapple and sugar cane, and one drink used silken tofu for texture. Despite the name, the back bar leans towards rum.

The 2021 menu moved round the neighbourhoods, with a crystal-clear mojito and a baked-pineapple Old Fashioned twist called Urban Jungle, made with salted, fermented Kampot pepper. By 2023 Singapore had been swapped for history's inventions: a whisky sour about the teddy bear, a cereal-milk punch for Kellogg's and a Lego-inspired toffee-apple drink. That year the bar appeared at number 95 in Asia's Best Bars.

X, the menu listed in 2026, has 16 cocktails built on the idea that "the journey begins at the point where ideas cross", pairing familiar flavours with unexpected ones from different cultures and rituals. Bursik, now the hotel's director of beverage, builds the drinks around local produce such as tropical fruit. In practice that is an invitation to say what you normally drink and let the bartender steer you somewhere new.

How to do it well

The 2021 menu included several non-alcoholic cocktails, so ask whether the current list has an alcohol-free option before assuming it has to be a strong night. There is a separate bar-bites and spirits menu if dinner was light. Dress smart casual, check the booking terms on the hotel's site, and bring curiosity rather than a fixed order.

Good to know Tower Wing, Lobby Level, Shangri-La Singapore, 22 Orange Grove Road, about a 10–15 minute walk from Orchard MRT. The official site listed 5.30pm–1am daily and smart casual dress; check the current menu and booking terms before you go.

Another round, another room: our bars for conversation.

Origin Bar | Tower Wing, Lobby Level, Shangri-La Singapore, 22 Orange Grove Road | Nearest MRT: Orchard