4 sake bars where the food doesn't play second fiddle to the drinks | The Peak Singapore

With Japanese cuisine’s ever-mounting popularity within the global gastronomical zeitgeist, so too has the country’s favourite drink. That’s sake – which technically translates to, simply, alcoholic beverage in the Land of the Rising Sun.

What we’re thinking of when we say sake is actually called nihonshu in Japan. It’s been around for more than 2,500 years, though the foundations of a good sake haven’t changed much – high-quality rice grains, polished to varying degrees, and fermented with koji, yeast and water. As is customary for the Japanese, prefectures and townships have their own time-honoured twists, like the inclusion of local spring water, that pay homage to the sensibilities of their respective regions. Generally though, the more polished the rice, and the lesser the additives, the better.

While sakes are readily available throughout the island, including a growing collection of izakayas dotted around the CBD and beyond, sake bars are a little more austere (in a good way). Especially if you’re particular about what sort of sake you’re imbibing.

Tanoke
Newly opened Tanoke on Purvis Street looks to pair a varied selection over 40 artisanal sakes with confident Japanese gastronomia (and a shichirin binchotan grill), courtesy of Chef Rio Neo’s cuisine, honed in izakaya kitchens like Kinki, Fat Cow and Kabuke, one of Tanoke’s sister-concepts. The gastrobar’s sake collection is characterised by terroir, leaving plenty of wiggling room for Neo to flex his culinary chops. Libations between bites of white-charcoal-grilled Wagyu or Koji-aged lamb rack include in-house cocktail creations featuring said Japanese nihonshu - or, wait for the weekend, and sup on Singapore’s inaugural sake brunch. That means free-flow bubbly (sparkling sake, that is), junmai ginjo and Japanised takes on brunch classics, including kaarage and pancakes, foie gras and onsen benedict as well as classic sandos.

Level 2, 7 Purvis Street. Tel: 9106-3378
Boruto
Yet another veteran in the scene (and a familiar stomping ground for chef Chow of Sake Labo), Boruto’s expansive array of beverages include wine, whisky and of course, more than a hundred brands of sake, sourced from Japan and beyond. The sake bar, which is situated on the second floor of the premises, are complemented by new head honcho Jay Lee’s Italian-Japanese menu on the first floor. Make no mistake though - their sake’s the star of the show here, with a list of exclusive premium bottles. curated from across the country (and beyond - they’ve even stocked sake pours from New Zealand, which isn’t as sacrilegious as it sounds).

Level 2, 80 South Bridge Road. Tel: 6532-0418.
Bam! Restaurant
Bam! stakes its claim as one of the first joints in Singapore to adopt modern shudo dining, which refers to the contemporary way of enjoying sake, not as a beverage unto itself, but paired with food - in this case, chef Pepe Moncanyo’s Spanish fare, whose resume includes time at the now-defunct Santi. The restaurant has been on the scene since 2013, with an impressive collection of 80 labels in their centrepiece clear cellar that’s sourced from more than 15 breweries across Japan. If that wasn’t evidence enough that they take their sake seriously, they’ve also got three certified sake sommeliers among their service staff who’re more than capable of pairing Junmai daiginjos with Jamon (we know how that’s pronounced).

38 Tras Street. Tel: 6226-0500.
Sake Labo
Another new kid on the block is bar-dining-retail concept Sake Labo. It’s headed by chef Angus Chow, an alum of Les Amis and FOC with two decades of culinary experience - including some time in Japan and Spain, leading to Sake Labo’s tapas-inspired menu with a Japanese slant. To wash down Chow’s ‘japas’ as he’s coined them, there’s an exciting sake list comprised of small-batch, premium sake from craft Japanese breweries. Think bottles from across five regions of Japan and 26 breweries, including some mighty exclusive pours like the crisp Nifudasake Junmai Daiginjo, brewed and bottled by their partner Kamonishiki. Did we mention that there’s a retail section - with a promise of retail-only exclusives?

29 Stanley Street. Tel: 8764-6758.