Wine RVLT

The founders would rather you didn't call it a natural wine bar. Order the nuggets and let it slide.

Wine RVLT is for people who want wine made with care and no lecture to go with it, and the last third of the year is the time to go: the kitchen turns meat-heavy from September. It suits a second date, a catch-up with the friend who brings wine to dinner parties, or a solo glass at the counter after work. The compromise is the room – a little grungy, stemless glasses, no client-lunch polish – which is also the point. Book, sit near the wall and order the nuggets.

Why it works

It has been pouring on Carpenter Street since around 2017, long enough to count as one of the pioneers of Singapore's low-intervention wine scene. The founders, sommeliers Alvin Gho and Ian Lim, would rather you didn't call it a natural wine bar; the house line is "the art of wine, down to earth". The wine wall dominates the room, with around 150 labels on display, under cheeky prints by the Italian artist Gianluca Canizzo. The by-the-glass list changes daily, usually a white and a red, sometimes a pét-nat or an orange, and each week a Vigneron of the Week gets the spotlight by the glass, bottle or flight.

The food is not an afterthought. Chef Sunny Leong runs a seasonal cycle: seafood-led early in the year, vegetable-themed in the middle and meat-heavy from September. One dish has survived every change since at least 2020: homemade chicken nuggets with a house-fermented sriracha. They became enough of a calling card that a 2025 tasting event at the bar billed itself as Big Nugget Legends versus Big Bottle Legends, which tells you most of what you need to know about the sense of humour here.

How to do it well

Tell the staff your budget and what you usually like, and let them choose; a list that changes daily is built for exactly that conversation. Order the nuggets whatever else you get. Plenty of CBD wine bars feel like an extension of a client lunch; this one feels like a friend's flat where the friend happens to have very good contacts in the Loire, so come as you are and don't ask for a stem. The bar marked its sixth anniversary in 2023 by signing a fresh four-year lease. It opens from 4pm, Monday to Saturday, and is closed on Sundays. Clarke Quay is the MRT.

Good to know Walk from Clarke Quay MRT. Open Monday to Saturday from 4pm and closed on Sundays; call +65 6909 5709 or check the official site to reserve. Prices in the facts box come from an older review, so check them when you book.

Wine RVLT | #01-01, 38 Carpenter Street, Singapore 059917 | Nearest MRT: Clarke Quay