This venue closed on 31 Dec 2014.
What: The popular Esplanade watering hole Sauce Bar launched an entirely new concept last August, a “more mature setting” they’ve named Marvelous Vintage Bar.
Hot: If your drinking buddies are into cocktails, definitely take them here for The Cocktail Soiree. Buy a bottle of Hendricks Gin ($195), Reyka Vodka ($190) or Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum ($170)—heck, buy them all if it’s a large group—and receive free “mixing potions” that are as tasty as they sound. There are eight of these potions—and we say try them all—but our favourites are 2 (pandan, lychee, lemon), 3 (Ribena, lemon) and 7 (apple, apple sour, rosemary). Another crowd-pleaser is Old School Punch ($50; rum, blood orange liquor and citrus wheels), which they serve in a gathering bowl fit for three to four people. If you’re feeling peckish, get into their meatball-focused food menu, which we hear the Sauce business development director Sandra Sim has a hand in. You choose the balls you want (beef, chicken, crab, pork or vegan; $14-16), mix them up with some sauce (six types, but the “pink laksa” stands out for us) and add on some sides like potato gratin ($5) and toast with homemade hummus ($6). We haven’t tried them, but the $24 set meals (available daily 5-8pm), which can consist of meatballs on spaghetti or meatballs with their Green Madness salad, plus a glass of beer, wine or cocktail, sound good.
Not: Visually it still gives off a fun Alice in Wonderland vibe and we suppose fantastical gilt-framed paintings and heavy wooden furniture do make the bar more vintage than retro, but we wish they’d kept the astro turf platform and overall layout of the alfresco area. The one now with the loose metal chairs, “floating umbrellas” and skinny candy cane pillars looks like it’s a wolf’s breath away from getting swept up into the sky.
Verdict: Hot. Sauce Bar may no longer be the go-to spot for el cheapo drinkers ($5 Asahis? You guys are spoilt!), but it’s still a novel option for after-work drinks and or even just dinner, if you’re the adventurous sort.
Hot or Not is a regular category on Coconuts Singapore that reviews all the new stuff that’s being rolled out in the city. It can be just about anything—bars, books, food items, restaurants, even government regulations! If you know of something we should cover, email singapore@coconuts.co.
