Origin Bar

Origin Bar is the rare hotel room that feels like a destination rather than a lobby afterthought. The gold, deep blue, and dark wood interior reads as a vintage railway lounge, most seats face a back bar stacked with rums and spirits, and each new menu arrives as a complete argument rather than a seasonal tweak. The X list makes that case most clearly yet: drinks cross Japan and Korea, North Africa and Sichuan, or a Hanky Panky and duty-free chocolate in a single glass. After reaching No.32 in 2024 and slipping to the extended list in 2025, the bar's return to No.44 in 2026 feels earned by the current programme rather than nostalgia for an earlier ranking.

The bar sits at lobby level in the Tower Wing of Shangri-La Singapore on Orange Grove Road, a short taxi ride from Orchard MRT through the hotel's garden estate. Dress is smart casual, smoking is not permitted, and the room stays calm early before filling with hotel guests and Orchard Road diners later in the evening. Service is polished in the Shangri-La manner, with bartenders happy to walk you through the X menu's cultural references before they build the drink. Bar snacks, from onion rings to a cheeseburger, are available if you want food between rounds, though most visitors come for cocktails first.

The current X menu lists sixteen cocktails, each built where two references meet and become something new. Start with Respect The Martini, a stirred serve of gin, muscat, Junmai Daiginjo sake, and dry vermouth that arrives with a bow before the first sip, for the bar's courtesy-meets-craft style in one glass. DJ Pepper rebuilds Dr Pepper from distilled sour cherry, a house cola hydrosol, and vitamin C over force-carbonated vodka poured across two ice spheres. For savoury depth, Shake Shuka pulls North African shakshouka through Sichuan mala on tomato, basil, and gin, while Duty Free routes a Hanky Panky through pistachio, chocolate, and bitters over whisky like an airport detour.

Origin Bar is at Shangri-La Singapore, Tower Wing, Lobby Level, 22 Orange Grove Road, Singapore 258350, near Orchard MRT on the North-South and Thomson-East Coast lines. It opens daily from 17:30 to 01:00. Reservations are recommended by calling +65 6213 4398 or emailing originbar.sls@shangri-la.com, though walk-ins are accepted when seats are free. Budget for mid-range hotel bar pricing, marked $$ on the hotel's dining pages. Weekend nights and post-dinner hours fill first, so book a day or two ahead if your dates are fixed, or arrive near opening for a quieter counter seat.

Director of Beverage Adam Bursik opened Origin in 2017 after leading bars at Nutmeg & Clove and The Library, and the team has torn down and rebuilt the full programme roughly every year since. Rather than one head bartender working alone, the whole bar gathers around a single idea for each list, which keeps the menus restless and gives each volume a clear story. The X menu extends that travel ethos into cross-cultural pairing: force carbonation, distillation, and house hydrosols turn references like Dr Pepper or shakshouka into finished cocktails rather than garnish. Head bartender Niza Treechanasin leads the floor team credited by first name across the menu.

Origin Bar re-enters Asia's 50 Best Bars at No.44 for 2026 after placing No.32 in 2024 and appearing at No.60 on the extended list in 2025, one of four Singapore bars ranked that year alongside Jigger & Pony, Nutmeg & Clove, and Offtrack. Jurors highlighted the travel-inspired room, a spirits back bar with more than 600 labels including around 150 rums, and a menu philosophy that rebuilds completely rather than iterating quietly. The X list, written under Bursik's direction, gives the clearest case yet for why the bar keeps returning to the ranking: each drink is a finished cultural intersection, not a novelty garnish on a hotel classic.