One thing everyone loves about a good dive bar is the lack of price-gouging. No one’s trying to charge you what you’d pay for a bottle of vodka at the liquor store in exchange for a single martini. Allow the Dive Bar Tourist to welcome you to Singapore! Things are expensive here. There’s no avoiding it.
Located in Raffle’s Place on Boat Quay, Skinny’s Lounge is an ideal pit stop for jet-lagged travelers. It’s also the closest thing to a dive bar you’ll find during your stay. This joint is open until 4am, so you can grab a drink and a hot dog, even if your flight doesn’t land until the early hours of the morning.
The bar is owned and operated by an ex-pat, making it a hot spot for fellow ex-pats and tourists. That’s right; The Dive Bar Tourist is recommending a tourist bar! (Note: not a tourist trap.)This is the place you’ll want to go for an American dive bar feel rather than a taste of Singapore culture.
A main feature of Skinny’s Lounge is the soundproof karaoke room (KTV), which DBT thinks should be renamed “the shit show room”. The karaoke machine is controlled by the patrons, so don’t expect to finish a song. Since there are four or five microphones available, everyone battles it out to be heard above the noise—and no one really wins.
In short, if you’re into karaoke because you have dreams of sharing your gift with the world and hope to be spotted by some big-wig music exec, do not enter!
If you like to get drunk and sing along to (parts of) popular songs at the top of your lungs, definitely enter!
(Alternatively, you and your party can have the room to yourselves for an hour with a mere $200 purchase.)
You won’t find a lot of seating inside Skinny’s—there are maybe seven seats max at the bar—but there is plenty of exterior seating available. Be sure to play a round at the outdoor pool table!
You can get all the typical American beers here, including PBR, a dive bar classic. Bottom-shelf cocktails start at $15, but you can upgrade for just $3 more. Again, for the notoriously-expensive country of Singapore, these prices are more than fair.
Check out the list of happy hour specials for some fun and unique ways to save a few bucks!
Expect the bare minimum (barminimum?) in the way of glitz and glamour, just as it should be in a place that favors its patrons over popularity. You’ll find that the booth seating has seen better days, the floor is worn, and the décor is particle board-chic. But you’ll also find a warm, friendly atmosphere and service that can’t be beat.
You know you’ve made the right choice when you find out some of the folks you’ve been drinking with are actually bartenders from otherbars!
If you’re feeling stuck in Singapore and need a dive bar away from home, Skinny’s Lounge is the place to go.
