Amrith Bar: Cocktails inspired by classic Singapore dishes served with Michelin-starred bites

In a sea of new bars and revamped menus, we confess: it can sometimes be hard to get truly excited or blown away by a new bar concept. However, we’re not mincing our words when we say might have found our new favourite watering hole.

Located in the glasshouse space just outside The Song of India is Amrith by Barsmiths, the bar extension of the one Michelin-starred restaurant. With its sleek glasshouse interiors and open ambience, Amrith’s vibe couldn’t be more perfectly poised for a bar whose approach to its drinks is so refreshing – yet remains absolutely delicious even to the average cocktail-drinker.

Its premise is simple: the cocktails are meant to showcase both local and global flavours, reinvented using modern techniques and fresh ingredients. At the helm of the bar is Head Bartender Edwin Poh and Mark Tay. The dynamic duo has managed to distil classic Singaporean and Asian dishes like the Hainanese Chicken Rice, Katong Laksa, and Tom Yam into savoury cocktails that fuse gastronomy with mixology.

CLASSIC SINGAPOREAN FLAVOURS DISTILLED INTO COCKTAILS

Katong Laksa is a cocktail based on Ng’s original family recipe. He pairs rice noodles, vodka with shrimp essence (it’s a lot more promising and palatable than it sounds), with a laksa broth reduction that is topped with a homemade quail egg – all served in a little bowl for a final presentation that looks so convincing we almost forgot it was a cocktail.

There are also personal touches to the menu. The Peranakan, an ode to Tay’s grandmother, is a spin on a gin sour using pandan syrup, gin strained through ginger and a delightful rose mist (which he creates himself using rose petals).

The cocktails are affordably priced as well (SGD24 for the Katong Laksa)  – which we think it’s worth the buck considering you’re getting quite the multi-sensory experience as well.

MICHELIN-STARRED BAR BITES FROM THE SONG OF INDIA

Just when we thought the drinks blew us away, we learnt that Amrith serves its bar bites from the neighbouring The Song of India. You heard it here first: if you haven’t had creamy Michelin-starred cheese naan and fragrant chicken tikka skewers with your alcohol, you’re missing out.

It might seem like a strange pairing – i.e. Indian food and cocktails. But it surprisingly works, perhaps owing to the flavour palate of the Asian-inspired drinks.

These drinks are part of its World Journey collection on its main menu, which will be updated quarterly, each time shining a line on different regions in the world. (For this season, the spotlight’s on Thailand and Netherlands.)

Verdict

We get it: the likes of tom yam cocktails and nasi lemak concoctions aren’t necessarily new anymore.

But it’s rare to find a bar that genuinely ticks the boxes on everything you want out of a bar: a fresh and fearless approach to mixology, great vibes and ambience, yummy bar food (peanuts or fries just don’t cut it for us anymore!), and also how every sip of its concoctions are bursting with familiar local flavours.

Amrith, which actually translates to “nectar of the gods” in Sanskrit, might certainly be setting the bar for itself at divine-high standards. Some bars are a one-hit wonder – you pop by for a drink or two, just for the sake of it.

But boy, these are some cocktails we’d readily come back for.

Amrith is located at 33 Scotts Road and is open Monday to Thursdays (5 pm to midnight), and Fridays and Saturdays (5 pm to 1 am). 

Sarah Khan

Photos: Amrith

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