Lamplight opened in 2018 on the second floor of a restored shophouse on Telok Ayer Street, the old temple road in the heart of the city. We took a narrow room with high ceilings and pressed-tin tiles, hung a single brass lamp by the door, and started making cocktails for the people who found their way up the stairs.
The idea was simple. We wanted the grandeur of a proper hotel bar — the deco lines, the low light, the unhurried service — without any of the stiffness. A place where you could order a flawless martini or hand the choice to the bartender and trust it would be made with the same care either way.
What makes the room ours is the pantry. We build our own syrups and cordials from things that grow around here — calamansi from the five-foot ways, pandan, gula melaka, jasmine tea from a merchant two streets over. They give our classics a local accent without ever turning them into a gimmick.
What you can expect from us
A bartender, not a button
Every guest is read by a person. Tell us you want something lighter, drier or less sweet and the drink changes in your hand.
Honest pricing
Our signatures sit between $22 and $28, with the price printed plainly on the menu. No surprises land on the bill at the end.
Made for the occasion
A quiet first date, a work send-off, a milestone birthday — we have a corner and a package for each, and we will help you plan it.
Kind to the early round
There is always a genuinely good low- and no-alcohol option, made with the same care as everything else on the list.
Meet the bar team
Renée spent a decade behind bars in Hong Kong and Melbourne before coming home to open a room of her own. She writes every menu and still works the bar most nights of the week.
Darius runs the floor and the cellar, keeps the casks resting on schedule, and has an uncanny memory for what every regular drank last time they came in.
Wei Lin makes the cordials and syrups that give our drinks their local accent, and is the reason the pandan daiquiri tastes the way it does.
Come up the stairs
The door is unmarked, the lamp is lit, and there is almost always a stool at the bar.