[category]
[title]
Seven years and six menus in, this trusty cocktail bar remains a loyal favourite for many along Tanjong Pagar Road. The Elephant Room, run by former Smoke & Mirrors head bartender Yugnes (Yugi) Susela, has long since been regarded as Singapore’s love letter to Little India, capturing the neighbourhood's sights, scents and stories.
Its latest menu marks the bar's biggest overhaul in two years, with 17 drinks that are either completely new or new iterations of old favourites. If previous menus leaned unapologetically bold and spice-heavy, this one is intended to be "more approachable" for the younger, 25 to 30s crowd. But before we could cast our assumptions, Yugi assures us that the team doesn't plan to abandon the same DNA that made the bar a mainstay on Asia's cocktail circuit.
Long-time fans might remember when The Elephant Room's drinks demanded your attention, and sometimes your tolerance for spice. Now, the flavours are still layered with Indian spices and references, but with a noticeably lighter, more refined touch. You don't need a wildly adventurous palate or a vehement love of curry to enjoy these drinks. Even the menu, styled like an Indian wedding card, reads like a warm, welcoming invitation to those who might be new to the world of cocktails.
Start with the All-Star ($27), which is, in our books, everything a paloma wished it could be. The tequila-forward cocktail adds complexity to the usual one-dimensional taste of a classic paloma, with a black lime rim and black cardamom. And the characteristic grapefruit flavours are still given space to shine through a house-made grapefruit soda. The Buffalo Road ($27) – a mainstay on the menu since day one – also returns, though not quite as you might remember it. This iteration is lighter on the gin, heavy on the pink guava and just the right amount of sweet. The best way to enjoy this is to dip the guava garnish into the cocktail, take a sip, and repeat.
Things get a little more interesting with Mr Samy's Curry ($29), which takes cues from none other than the crowd-favourite Samy's Curry at Dempsey Hill. The popular banana leaf institution doles out bubbling pots of fish head curry, and this is Yugi's spirited attempt at recreating the iconic dish. Except that the clarified pour with tequila, curry spices, tamarind and a fish skin garnish might be a tad too savoury even for fans of such profiles. We can't help but think that a citrusy lift at the end would do wonders for the drink.
Interestingly, it's the dessert-style cocktails that take us by surprise. The Rajini ($28) is an Old Fashioned-style drink inspired by Indian cinema legend Rajinikanth. It's built on Chivas Regal and elevated with a house-made jackfruit distillate. Jackfruit is notoriously cloying, but here it is fully stripped of its syrupy character, leaving pure aroma and fragrance. A crack of black pepper ties it all together. There's also Thicc ($28), which recreates soan papdi, a traditional Indian dessert, with equal restraint. The result is a clear, spirit-forward drink with whiffs of white chocolate and a whisper of madras curry.
Of course, it wouldn't be a visit to The Elephant Room without trying its signature Briyani cocktail ($29) – our winner of the evening. This year's version incorporates plum (a nod to Mumnai-style biryani), a blended basmati brew with milk, and a pani puri-esque garnish, cracked open and piped with an excellent homemade butter chicken foam.
The kitchen has taken an obvious backseat this time. Instead of a full food programme, the bar team now runs a lean setup with three to four simple bites just to line the tummy. Say goodbye to those pizza naans, but say hello to freshly toasted garlic ghee buns, hot dogs (from $13), and some of the best spiced fries we've ever had ($8 per basket). Sink your teeth into four kinds of hot dogs (pork, chicken, lamb and tofu), all customisable with lip-smacking sauces ($3 each or $6 for three) like curry aioli, madras mustard, butter chicken sauce, masak merah chilli aioli and pineapple achar ketchup.
Another welcome addition is the happy hour, running from 6pm to 7.30pm, where selected cocktails go for $17. Other than that, it's business as usual at one of the best bars in Singapore – in our books. The spices are still there, so is the storytelling. And yes, even the recognisable spice cabinets, lined with an array of Indian spices, still remain in their rightful corner.
The Elephant Room is open from Sunday to Thursday, 6pm to midnight and Friday to Saturday, 6pm to 2am at 33 Tanjong Pagar Road, #01-02, Singapore 088456. Find out more about The Elephant Room and book a table here.
READ MORE:
Modern Australian-Italian restaurant Cenzo is now open for seven days a week with a new menu