Essen Dining & Bar is a Singapore dining-and-drinking concept built around a cheerful formula: happy hours, live bands, and two fun locations. The Anchorvale branch — Essen @ The Anchorvale, at 59 Anchorvale Road, #01-06 in Sengkang — is the louder half of the pair. On the group's own site this outlet goes by the name 'Live & Loud Anchorvale', a nod to the live band sessions that give the room its evening energy.
True to its name — 'Essen' is German for eating — the Anchorvale outlet pairs its bar with a food menu of its own, published on the group's website separately from the menus for the Pinnacle outlet. Happy hours are a headline feature across both locations, with timings and deals kept on a dedicated happy hours page.
Reservations are handled the modern way: the team says it tries to take reservations and simply asks guests to DM them on Instagram or Facebook. If you're after a neighbourhood spot in Sengkang where the music is turned up and the drink deals are on the table, this is the Essen to aim for.
Essen Dining & Bar keeps its pitch short and appealing: happy hours, live bands, two fun locations. The Anchorvale branch — Essen @ The Anchorvale, at 59 Anchorvale Road, #01-06, in Sengkang — is the louder half of the pair. On the group's own site, this outlet carries a nickname of its own, 'Live & Loud Anchorvale', and that's the promise in miniature: a dining-and-bar room where the food and drinks come with the volume turned up.
'Essen' is the German word for eating, and the group has been running its easy-going formula since before it set up its Linktree hub in May 2022. The second outlet sits at The Pinnacle, and the two deliberately keep separate menus — what you eat at Anchorvale is its own line-up, published on the site's Anchorvale menus page.
Live bands are the signature here. The Anchorvale outlet's 'Live & Loud' identity is the reason many regulars pick this branch over its sibling, and it shapes the character of the whole room: later, louder, and more social than a quiet dinner spot. On band nights the place hums with conversation, rounds on the tables and a set rolling through the room.
If live music is the draw, plan around it. Essen posts its Live & Loud Anchorvale details on its website, so it's worth checking what's on before you pick your evening. Drop in early for a table you can still talk over, or arrive later and let the volume do its thing.
The other half of Essen's one-line pitch is happy hours, and the group treats them seriously enough to give them their own page. Exact timings and deals live there rather than in guesswork, so glance at the happy hours section before heading down — the timing of your visit can change the maths of the whole evening.
Between the happy hour promos and the bar-side setting, Essen works just as well as a wind-down after a long day as it does as the main event of a night out. That flexibility is a big part of its neighbourhood appeal.
This is a dining and bar, not just a bar. The Anchorvale menus are kept on the group's website, separate from The Pinnacle outlet's list, so you can scroll the food line-up before you arrive. The kitchen-and-bar pairing means groups with mixed plans — some in for dinner, some in for drinks and the band — can share one table without compromise.
Essen's reservations policy is charmingly direct: 'We try to take reservations. DM us!' In practice that means sending a message on Instagram or Facebook to lock in a table — a smart move on live band nights, when the room fills up. There's no phone line to chase; a direct message is the official channel.
You'll find Essen @ The Anchorvale at 59 Anchorvale Road, #01-06, Singapore 544965, in the heartland Anchorvale neighbourhood of Sengkang — close enough to home to become a default rather than a destination trek. Opening hours for the branch are listed on the group's opening hours page, so confirm the current times there before setting out.
Between the band nights, the happy hours and the low-friction DM reservations, Essen @ The Anchorvale does one thing very well: it makes a fun night out feel effortless — and close to home.