Handlebar
If you have ever harbored dreams of living it rough and tough like a Hell’s Angel, throw on the leather jacket and boots and ride on over (or just flag a cab) to Handlebar. This unpretentious biker bar has, for the last 11 years, been serving out ice cold beers and hearty burgers, steaks and our personal fave, the Blossom Onion. It’s one of the rare places here where petrol-heads can get up close to the Harleys parked out front. Be quick though as the bar will be riding off into the sunset in February.
1 Lock Rd., Gillman Village, 6475-9571. Open Tue-Thu 5pm-1am, Fri 5pm-2am, Sat 3pm-2am, Sun 3pm-1am.
Scruffy Murphy’s Irish Café & Pub
The best Irish snugs offer mysterious dark corners, knick knacks and the smell of Guinness, but an Irish bar by the beach is truly a cut above. There’s just something about chilling out with your mates with an ice-cold pint while the sea-breeze blows through your hair or caresses your bald head. Very local, charitable and ensuring good times for all, Scruffy Murphy’s great specials and gastro food make it a favorite. Sadly, it’ll be closing—along with the other inhabitants of Marine Cove—later this year.
B7 Marine Cove, 1000 East Coast Park, 6449-7717. Open Mon-Fri 4pm-1am, Sat 9am-1am; Sun 9am-midnight.
Kha
Why bother flying all the way up to Phuket or Krabi for some resort-styled chilling when you can just hit up HortPark’s Kha (you can even breeze over to the equally lush Villa Bali just down the road—itself closing down by mid-Feb). This lush restobar is known for its modern take on Thai cuisine and classy sips with an Asian twang. Kha is moving into fresh new digs at 38 Martin Road at the end of February so hurry over to kick back over a couple of its signature Sawasdee Thai cocktails and killer martinis amid nice leafy surrounds.
33 Hyderabad Rd., 6476-9000. Open Mon-Sat noon-3pm, 6:30pm-midnight; cocktail lounge 6pm-1am.
