Bar Stories is Singapore's original artisanal cocktail bar & restaurant, tucked into a hole-in-the-wall space on Haji Lane in Bugis. It began in 2010, a year after A Thousand Tales — a cafe cum furniture store — opened on the same quiet, narrow street, borrowing that concept of customization and attention to the customer's experience and applying it to the craft of cocktail making. In the decade since, it has been admired and followed across the industry and, perhaps unknowingly, pioneered the city's craft cocktail scene, with many of its alumni going on to helm bars throughout the country.
There is no formal cocktail menu — there never has been. Instead, the friendly, knowledgeable team customizes each drink around your mood, taste and palate, working with the freshest ingredients, the finest spirits and an array of artisan bitters, infusions and extracts, all beautifully presented. Head mixologist Dave Koh, who first walked in as a customer in 2011 and became co-owner in 2017, was nominated for Bar Manager of the Year at the World Gourmet Summit 2019.
The setting is relaxed and minimalist, with an intimate bar in a vibrant, heritage-rich enclave of carpet sellers, quaint cafes, mosques and quirky shops, with modern skyscrapers rising just beyond. Bar Stories opens from 5:30pm to 10:30pm, Tuesdays to Sundays.
Tucked into Haji Lane — one of Singapore's narrowest and most characterful streets — Bar Stories has spent more than a decade quietly shaping the way this city drinks. Opened in 2010, it is Singapore's original artisanal cocktail bar & restaurant, and it still runs on the idea that made it famous: no menu, no presets, just a conversation between you and the bartender that ends in a drink made for you alone.
The story begins in 2009, when A Thousand Tales, a cafe cum furniture store, opened along a quiet, narrow street in the heart of town. The following year, Bar Stories opened its doors, borrowing the concept of customization and attention to the customer's experience — and applying it to the craft of cocktail making.
That idea proved ahead of its time. In the ten years since, Bar Stories has been admired and followed by many in the industry, and perhaps unknowingly pioneered the craft cocktail scene in Singapore. Many of the bar's alumni have gone on to helm cocktail bars throughout the country, and some have won accolades across the F&B industry.
Physically, little has changed. Bar Stories continues to operate as a hole-in-the-wall, nestled in a vibrant, heritage-rich enclave where carpet sellers, quaint cafes, mosques and quirky shops share the lane, with modern skyscrapers rising just beyond.
Here is what surprises first-time visitors most: Bar Stories has never had a formal cocktail menu — and perhaps never will. Instead, the bar's friendly, knowledgeable staff customize your drink order around your mood, your taste and your palate. Tell them what you feel like — bright or boozy, fruity or bitter, classic or adventurous — and they will build a serve around it.
What doesn't change is what goes into the glass. Bar Stories' original bespoke cocktails are created from the most curated elements: the freshest ingredients, the finest spirits, and an array of artisan bitters, infusions and extracts, all beautifully presented. The result is a drink you couldn't have ordered from a list — because the list doesn't exist.
The setting matches the drinks: relaxed and minimalist, with an intimate bar that keeps you close to the craft. That intimacy is the point. With a small bar and a focused team, there is room to talk through what you're in the mood for, watch the drink come together, and ask as many questions as you like about the bitters, infusions and extracts at work.
Head mixologist Dave Koh knows both sides of the counter. He first got acquainted with Bar Stories as a walk-in customer in 2011, then joined the team, worked his way up to manager, and finally became a co-owner in 2017. Nominated for the Bar Manager of the Year award at the World Gourmet Summit 2019, Dave continues to blaze a trail in the local craft cocktail scene — and to shape the experience regulars come back for.
Bar Stories sits at 55-57A Haji Lane, Singapore 189248, in the Bugis area, and opens from 5:30pm to 10:30pm, Tuesdays to Sundays, closing on Mondays. Because the space is small and intimate, reservations are a smart move; the bar's website links to an online booking page.
If you're making an evening of it, Haji Lane itself is worth the trip — a vibrant, heritage-rich enclave of quirky shops and quaint cafes tucked among the skyscrapers.
Come with an open mind rather than an order in mind. Whether you know exactly what you like or can only describe it as 'something refreshing', the team will ask the right questions and craft something around your answers. As the bar itself puts it: come on down and try the Bar Stories experience for yourself.