Singapore’s a busy city. The people who call it home lead even busier lives. It can be difficult to find a spot of quiet, a neutral (indoors, naturally) location outside one’s home or workplace to take a beat—to let loose or relax, to gather with friends or simply have an intimate, one-on-one conversation.
Bars are a special take on this often elusive ‘third place’. Like any food and beverage joint, bars are driven by hospitality. As a concept, they are built from the ground up with people in mind. But while they might sell drinks, their real trade is in human relationships—offering a space for conviviality and community alike to take seed, bud and blossom.
Good bars will be happy when customers come back because that means more money to keep the business afloat. Great bars, though, will be happy to see repeat customers not just for the sake of their profit margins, but because they discern an authentic, human element at play.
Relationships, whether strange or familiar, are worth investing in. People, regardless of their background, deserve spaces that encourage the simple but brave act of coming together and building trust.
Leading the charge for watering holes the world over are the bartenders. Success in this arena demands an eye for creative, innovative recipe testing and hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of hard-won effort practising and honing their technical craft. However, the best bartenders also know that the drinks are, in some ways, merely a front. Instead of being an end in themselves, they represent an ongoing, vital need to practise and celebrate kinship. David Kim, principal bartender of Jigger & Pony, holds this sentiment close to heart.
“A great bar is more than a business. Bartenders don’t just mix drinks: they listen, remember stories and make everyone feel part of a close-knit community. The bar is a social anchor, a place where diverse individuals can come together, share stories, celebrate moments big and small, and feel a sense of belonging. That’s the magic of hospitality—creating a space where people don’t just come to drink, but to connect and feel at home.”
Kim is hardly alone in this conviction. Whether you’ve placed top three on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list six years in a row like Jigger & Pony or are new to the scene, great bartenders know the human stakes at the heart of the matter. To find out more, we asked some of the talent around Singapore to give us their take on what kinship means to them.
David Kim, principal bartender, Jigger & Pony: Bars are much more than a place to enjoy drinks. They are welcoming spaces for people to unwind and find comfort, forge friendships and feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. When the service is genuine, joyful and inclusive, that creates a truly special kind of atmosphere for our guests.
So while kinship might usually refer to family relationships, for me, it’s also used to describe a strong bond between people who aren’t related by blood. People who support you, understand you and make you feel like you belong. When guests come back, we share with each other how we have been. I feel excited to see them again. Sometimes that means remembering someone’s go-to cocktail or just sparking a conversation that turns strangers into friends.
Peter Chua, owner, Night Hawk: When guests are met with a great host (either in the form of a bartender or waiter), it creates a sense of belonging—you feel like you’re part of the club. To accomplish this, my team and I pride ourselves in always putting hospitality first. Cocktails are important, but the experience whilst having the cocktail is even more important. It creates something intangible but important—a memory.
Kinship extends beyond what guests experience, too. For bar staff, it’s about comradeship and community. Working a busy, stressful shift to provide a good time for guests is like being in the trenches with your teammates. But that’s how you create that sense of belonging behind the bar. You even enjoy each other’s company so much that you hang out outside work. And we’re lucky this bond transcends individual bars to apply to the entire community. Wherever you are around town, you can look forward to catching up with your industry peers.
Mel Chavez, bar manager, Bar Somma: It’s about belonging. It’s the way we remember your usual order after one visit or how a night of shared drinks with friends can dissolve the weight of the week. In a city where lives often move too quickly, bars slow things down just enough for connection to happen.
The drinks themselves echo this spirit. Many are built for sharing, sparked by Italian traditions of aperitivo, where the simple act of raising a glass is also an act of kinship. It’s less about formality, or even the cocktails, than about gathering, creating a space where people feel seen. The drinks are just the beginning. We may only see someone once a month, but when they walk in, we pick up right where we left off. That’s the beauty of bars—it’s like coming home, but with more ice.
