Watering Holes

Raise a Glass at Singapore's Best Lounges and Bars

by Elizabeth Butcher

I’d rather be in Paris.

In truth, I would not rather be in Paris at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, some of my best youth was misspent in Paris. But I have found early spring in that city to be of a particularly damp and chilling nature. However, if like me, you just finished watching Season 2 of Emily in Paris and are longing to sit outside a café and watch the world pass by, I know just where we should go.

Bar Gavroche

We need to arrive early in the evening and claim one of the two rattan bistro tables under the breezeway of the gorgeous Tras Street shophouse which is home to the delightfully authentic Café & Bar Gavroche. Like on Boulevard St. Germain, if we sit there long enough, all the world will pass by.

What should we drink? Whatever you would order at Les Deux Magot or on the Ile St. Louis. Kir royal, French martini, your aperitif of choice? They have it all and unlike some cafes, or “le tourist traps,” Gavroche has a carefully curated wine list.

Bar Gavroche Wine List

I will have a glass of their 2018 Cote du Rhone and you might try the Sancerre which I can also recommend. After we have chatted and caught up on the day, we could order La Planche des Fromages or La Planche de Canard and the Tapenade Olives with Tomatoes. As the sun sets and the shophouses along Tras Street begin to light up, let's stroll past the restaurants and shops, turn left on Cook Street and right onto busy Tanjong Pagar Road until we arrive at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. It isn’t Notre Dame, but it is just as exquisite in the moonlight. www.cafegavroche.com

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Elizabeth enjoys exploring Singapore from Pulau Ubin to St.John's and all the watering holes in between.