Why is Drinking in Singapore So Expensive?
The reason alcohol in Singapore is so expensive is because it is heavily taxed. The average price of a pint is around S$12 after service fees and GST, which would deter most people you’d think. But shockingly at some places, particularly around Marina Bay Sands, this can go up to S$25 a pint! But don’t worry, we’ve gone out and found all the cheaper places so you don’t have to.
Top Places To Go
As people who love to go out for drinks and a dance with friends, we’ve seen our fair share of bars. And as young broke students, we like to do this as cheaply as possible. Now when we say cheap we don’t mean Thailand or Vietnam cheap, because you simply won’t find those prices here. Our cheap is below the average Singapore prices. Below we’ve put together a list of our favourite cheap bars in Singapore.
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Georgetown
Georgetown is a great little outdoor bar located along the water. It is right at the end of the lively Boat Quay and has a pretty view over the city and the river. Georgetown is always busy and we really like the atmosphere here. If you’re a student, you’re in luck! They have student discounts where you can get a 3L tower of beer for S$50. In general, buying towers anywhere in Singapore is cheaper than pints but average price is between S$70-100. So Georgetown is a perfect spot to have a drink with some friends!
Stickies
Stickies has 3 bars spread out through Singapore, but the most central one is Stickies @ Keng Cheow. You can get great drink specials here with especially good deals on weekdays. These include 3 pints of Guinness for S$21 or 4 bottles of soju for the price of 3. Coming here with some friends is great fun. It is a nice bar that turns into a little bit of a dancing, but it is more suited for younger clientele.
Chimi’s Marina Bay
Chimi’s is a little Mexican bar right near the Marina Bay. Even though Chimi’s is located a little further from the more lively bar streets in Singapore, it is a great spot to have a drink. We really liked their happy hour specials on weekends. You can buy a cheap bucket of beer and still have a view over the water, which is normally very expensive in Singapore. They have a lot of outdoor seating and play good music so get down there on the weekend and check it out.
Skinny’s Lounge
Located along Boat Quay, is a tiny bar that feels like a unique cross between a house party a little club. To get in you’ll have to pay for a drink as entry, which is around S$9 for a beer. They have a beer pong and pool table outside which is a lot of fun. You’ll need to buy their drinks to play the beer pong though. There isn’t much seating inside so it’s a great place to meet new people or have a good time in a larger group while moving around a bit. We often went to Skinny’s after having a tower of beer at Georgetown, as they are right opposite each other.
Nankin and Pekin street
These two walking streets are full of great bars so take your pick. The streets will especially be lively on weekdays after working hours. However, for the best deals it is a good idea to come here relatively early, as you will find that many bars offer happy hours then. You can find buckets for a good deal and even beers by the hour promotions, which means that at 4pm a pint costs S$4 and goes up in price every hour. However, do note that these promoted prices often do not include GST yet.
Yen Bar
Yen bar was one of our all time favourite bars to go to. It is a small bar on the corner of Club street and Cross street, right near Chinatown. They have indoor and outdoor seating and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. Yen bar sells very cheap prices, all cocktails are only S$12 all day everyday. And for an added bonus, if you order any drink before 7pm you get free curly fries! They play funky music and can get pretty crowded on weekends. It is the perfect bar to go to before you go out clubbing.
Tiger Beer Brewery
Tiger is the most popular locally brewed beer in Singapore and its not hard to see why. The brewery is located on the far west side of the island and is a great spot to spend the afternoon. For only S$20 you’ll get a tour around the brewery and a tasting in their “Tiger Tavern”. After that you can enjoy the cheap pints (S$5) direct from the source. During the tour you’ll even have the opportunity to win a free pints so make sure you listen to the explanation! Even though it’s a bit further away from the main attractions, It is a lot of fun to go here with a group.
For NTU students: the Tiger beer brewery is only 15 minutes away from Nanyang Technological University! So a tour is the perfect chance to get to know your fellow students. Do you want to read more about NTU in Singapore? Check out our post here!
Our Favourite (More Expensive) Places
Even though we spent most of our time at the cheaper places, we still liked to check out the more high end places in Singapore. Sometimes you got to treat yourself, right? We also made a list or our favourite not so budget friendly bars, but these all have something special in our opinion and are worth checking out if you have the time (and money).
Southbridge
Right along Boat Quay, above Skinnies, you’ll find the Southbridge rooftop bar on level 5. It is quite a small rooftop, so we advise to book a table in advance. Views are really nice. You can see Marina Bay sands, the city skyline and Boat Quay below you. Drinks are slightly more expensive but the atmosphere and look of the bar are really nice and worth paying a little more for.
Blu Jaz
Right in the middle of the lively Haji Lane you’ll find this very funky bar. It is a colourful place with paintings on the walls and cozy seating area. We recommend going here as the sun sets and the neon colours of the bar come to show. This place will definitely be one of the more busy places in Haij lane. It’s not the cheapest, but the atmosphere and decorations are great!
Ce La Vi Rooftop Bar
Located at the very top of the Marina Bay Sands, this bar offers amazing panoramic views over Singapore.The rooftop bar is right above the observation deck and has the best views over the city. We recommend going here for sunset as it is absolutely phenomenal. The entrance is S$30, but this is fully redeemable for food and drinks, which is a good deal. It does get very busy particularly around sunset so get there early to secure a table as there are no reservations. Enjoy the live music, atmosphere, views and a cold beer or famous Singapore Sling on Singapore’s most famous building.
Ce La Vi Club Lounge
Our all-time favourite club, located next to its rooftop bar. The Ce La Vi club is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10PM until early hours. Besides an open dance floor you can enjoy the views of the city at night. The songs that are being played are the standards, but they get the whole dancefloor going. During ladies night (on Wednesdays) all the ladies get free entrance. For boys a tickets costs S$30 which includes a beer. Even though this is pretty pricey, we think you should definitely check it out when in Singapore.
Marquee
This is a very fancy club inside the Marina Bay Sands mall. It has multiple stores, a little ferris wheel, and slide inside the club. Even though it is cool to experience, going here once is enough as the entrance is pretty expensive – S$50. Also the music played is mainly house and techno, if this is not your thing you can better go elsewhere. We saw Meduza here once and had a blast.
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