Nutmeg & Clove

More than a decade in, Nutmeg & Clove still reads as unmistakably Singaporean without feeling like a theme park. The room is compact and lively, the bartenders talk you through each Singlish name with genuine humour, and the drinks land as finished cocktails rather than ingredient lists. That balance is why the bar rebounded from No.24 in 2025 to No.13 in 2026 while holding a place on The World's 50 Best Bars list. If you want one bar that explains how Singapore drinks now, start here, and sit at the counter if you can.

The bar sits at street level on Purvis Street in Bugis, a short walk from Bras Basah or Bugis MRT, in a narrow room where the counter fills before the tables. Service is warm and fast once the night is underway, with staff switching easily between English and the local patois that names the menu. Most guests come for cocktails first, though the modern Singaporean small plates, from chong qing wings to rendang mac and cheese, are worth ordering between rounds. The menu unfolds like a comic book, so expect the team to walk you through the panels before they shake.

The current menu, Singapura, Oh Singapura, launched in January 2026 with twelve new Singlish cocktails plus a Hall of Fame of house signatures. Start with Heng Ong Huat, a festive milk punch of gin, sherry, kumquat, oolong, and citrus that toasts prosperity in a rock glass. Jialat turns tequila, mango, yellow pepper, coconut, and saffron into a bright fizz for rough days, while Alamak reframes the Singapore Sling with Roku gin, soursop, passionfruit, and pineapple at a fraction of hotel-bar prices. For the house style in one glass, order the namesake Nutmeg & Clove with rum, gula Melaka, lemon, and ginger beer, or Shiok for gin, sage, lemongrass, and sandalwood.

The address is 8 Purvis Street, Singapore 188587, near Bras Basah and Bugis stations. The bar opens daily from 17:00 to 00:00, with last orders thirty minutes before closing. Reservations are strongly recommended through the website or Bistrochat, with a S$25 credit card authorization per guest and a twenty-four-hour cancellation window. Budget about S$26 per cocktail, or arrive before 19:00 for social hour when six selected drinks are S$16. Tables are held for fifteen minutes past your booking time, and seating runs about two hours unless you arrange longer with the team.

Founder Colin Chia opened Nutmeg & Clove in 2014 to tell Singapore's story through drink, first on Ann Siang Hill where nutmeg and clove once grew, then on Purvis Street after the move to Bugis. Head bartender Yung, previously senior bartender at sister bar Last Word upstairs, builds menus around clarified milk punches, tropical fruit, tea, and spices that read as local rather than imported garnish. The 2026 Singlish list adds comic panels by Chow Social so each expression carries a narrative before you taste it, a format that suits a bar proud of heritage without freezing it in amber.

Our 2026 Asia ranking sees Nutmeg & Clove climb twelve places from No.24 in 2025 to No.13, one of four Singapore bars ranked that year alongside Jigger & Pony, Offtrack, and Origin Bar. Asia's 50 Best Bars highlighted the Singlish menu and Yung's team for reinterpreting Singaporean flavours into progressive cocktails with equal care for the food. The bar has held a spot on the Asia list since 2022, peaked at No.6 in 2024, and placed No.50 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2025, a rare combination of local identity and international jury recognition.