Sago House (37 Duxton Hill in Singapore) has had a helluva year. From the highs of many grand awards and raucous parties, to the lows of needing to change locations very suddenly, calling 2023 eventful would be an understatement. Still, I’m excited to see them get set up in their new digs, and keeping an eye out to make sure they maintain their awesome vibes from the old location.
It’s all about the vibes after all. It’s that ephemeral combination of atmosphere, service, drink quality, decor, and je ne sais quoi that really brings an entire venue together. And Sago House has always had vibes out the ass (or rather vibes out the monster butt in this case). To jump right to the end, though, I’m stoked to say that Sago House has well-maintained their awesome monster-butt-vibes in their new spot. Not that any of us had any doubt they would.
The original Sago House (photo on the right), was basically a converted apartment that the bar founders treated as a crash pad during the build out of the bar a few years back. And despite it being a three story walk up to the spot, it was always jam packed. From the street you would never know it was there. I do sometimes wonder what the neighbors thought though.
Adding to the madness (as if there needs to be more madness), Sago House publishes a new menu every week. To save on the menu printing costs, though, you’ll find the selections written in wax marker on the windows. Six choices each week following this format: one daisy, one sour, one up drink, one on the rocks/old-fashioned style, one highball, and one tiki drink. Given those options, and the quality of the drinks, most people can find at least one thing any given week that they’ll enjoy (and just in case not, there are a few standbys that they always have at the ready). Some example menus:
Sago House got started during all of the 2020 covid lockdown madness in Singapore (remember covid? It used to be all the rage) as a project of Desiree Jane Silva, Jay Gray, and Abhishek C George, all stalwarts of the Singapore cocktail scene. Essentially, they rented themselves an apartment, and renovated it to be a bar. Through the emergence of the world from the memory of disease, they were there serving up drink after drink to help us all dull the pain. And they got so good at it, that they got some kind of award… or something… It’s hard to see the trophies amidst all the monster butt artwork.
The awards:
- #10, Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award, Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- #32, World’s 50 Best Bars 2023
All of that is a long way of saying that Sago House is hands down one of my favorite bars in Singapore. I’m loving their new location. They’re going to completely ruin that neighborhood, and I’m here for it. Definitely go out of your way to stop in there sometime. Here’s some monster butts for you.
