Lafer @ Maxwell Market, Singapore
Beverages

A trove of bespoke signature cocktails

A tribute to the literary luminaries who have graced Raffles Singapore for over a century, Writers Bar is an alluring and sophisticated space with a gleaming brass counter, tucked into the front corner of The Grand Lobby. Take a moment to browse our curated trove of inventive cocktails, many of them inspired by these writing greats and handcrafted for your pleasure.

Hours
Dinner
  • Sunday to Thursday 5.00pm – 11.00pm (last order)
  • Friday & Saturday 5.00pm – 11.30pm (last order)
Dress Code: casual chic. Gentlemen are encouraged to wear collared shirts, trousers and appropriate footwear. Dress shorts are permitted during lunch. Ladies may be dressed in dresses, skirts or trousers with appropriate footwear. Slip-ons and flip-flops are not permitted.

EXPLORE OUR menus

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Meet our Beverage Manager

Nicholas Alexander

A qualified bartender with almost a decade of experience at numerous prestigious bars and restaurants in New York City, Nicholas brings a wealth of knowledge and mastery to Writers Bar. He hopes that his concoctions will not only truly delight cocktail aficionados but also inspire renowned and budding writers to reach greater literary heights. More than just a man of mixology, Nicholas is also an earnest fan of literature, making him the perfect fit for his role at Writers Bar – a place born as a tribute to the illustrious authors who have resided at Raffles Singapore for over a century.

Palm Terrace by Writers Bar

Relish a curated selection of refreshing highballs and tipples at our new alfresco bar, located at the eastern portico of Raffles Hotel Singapore adjacent to Writers Bar. With the serene Palm Court as a verdant backdrop and surrounded by our authentic colonial-style architecture, discover a destination of charm and refinement for your handcrafted cocktail of the day.

Lafer @ Maxwell Market, Singapore
Writer's Residency

Raffles literary heritage continued...

Esteemed men of letters, such as Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad, inaugurated Raffles’ legendary literary tradition which continues to this day. Raffles Singapore has long played muse to writers whose creativity was sparked by our majestic and timeless setting. As we write the next chapter of our rich literary history, the Raffles Writer’s Residency programme aims to support and inspire the art of the written word and the storytellers of today.

Our most recent writer, Madeleine Lee, has published 11 books of poetry in English and one bilingual with translation into Chinese. Her work is widely anthologised and has been translated into Bahasa Indonesian, Vietnamese, French and Chinese. Four of her books have been adapted into full-length theatre performances, and several poems interpreted into dance, short films, visual arts and digital NFTs. Madeleine has been invited to literary festivals in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Jakarta, Palembang, Taipei, Melbourne, Adelaide, Paris, Leeds, York and London. She has been on the Advisory Panel of Singapore Writers Festival for National Arts Council. She was Poet-in-Residence with Singapore Botanic Gardens, National Gallery of Singapore, The Nature Society Singapore, and is currently Writer-in-Residence at Raffles Hotel Singapore. To purchase a copy of her book How to Build a Lux Hotel, visit Raffles Boutique.

Raffles Singapore - Singapore

The pioneer in the Writer's Residency Programme, Pico Iyer is the author of more than a dozen books, translated into 23 languages, including such long-running readers’ favourites as Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk and The Global Soul. For more than a quarter-century, he has been a frequent contributor to Time, The New York Times, Financial Times and more than 200 other periodicals worldwide. In recent years, he has also given four talks for TED, which have received more than eight million views so far. Born in Oxford, England, he graduated from Eton, Oxford and Harvard, and in 2019 was Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton. To purchase a copy of This Could Be Home, visit Raffles Arcade.

Aspiring New Zealander author Vicki Virtue, coming in second in the Writer's Residency Programme after Pico Iyer, is a seasoned travel journalist having journeyed to over fifty countries and currently contributes to a variety of leading newspapers and magazines. The former senior executive in the advertising industry has always been drawn, through a sense of mystique and adventure, to travel where few tourists dare to tread. Alongside her love of travel and adventure, Vicki’s other great passion is literature. Inspired by her childhood memories of reading detective masterpieces and Golden Age mysteries, Vicki aims to capture the glamour and elegance when one dressed for dinner and journeyed in style, embracing a modern take on the classic whodunit that is light-hearted and glamourous.

Cocktail menus inspired by literary greats

Lafer @ Maxwell Market, Singapore

A new chapter

In conjunction with the Raffles Writer’s Residency Programme, Writers Bar presents a new series of handcrafted cocktails inspired by the literary greats who have passed through the hotel’s doors.

Discover refreshing highballs inspired by Somerset Maugham; elegant wine cocktails under the Rudyard Kipling section; Joseph Conrad’s showcase of bold spirit concoctions; spirit-forward cocktails in salute to André Malraux and his sharp, multifaceted personage; a colourful series of negronis as a nod to Pablo Neruda; and polished post-dinner cocktails as a toast to Noël Coward’s poised and witty disposition. Delectable blends of spirits from all over the world reference James Michener’s zest for adventure and his celebrated epic novels set in foreign lands, while the menu also features a new Reserve Classics Collection in honour of Pico Iyer, the first Writer-in-Residence in the Raffles Writer’s Residency programme. You can also take a tipple from the five handcrafted cocktails inspired by How to Build a Lux Hotel, a book of poems by Madeleine Lee, the current (and first-ever Singaporean) Writer-in-Residence. 

 
Drink

Drink

Rediscover the Million Dollar Cocktail, a classic concocted by Ngiam Tong Boon who also created the Singapore Sling. Made with Raffles 1915 Gin by Sipsmith, pineapple, Mancino Rosso, lemon, egg white, grenadine and Scrappy's aromatic bitters, this cocktail shot to fame when it was featured in The Letter, a short story by Somerset Maugham.

Inspiration

Inspiration

The literary greats who have resided at Raffles for over a century provide intriguing and richly layered inspiration for our Writers Bar cocktail menu and our continued Writer's Residency.

Design

Design

Enjoy craft cocktails, champagnes, spirits and wines served across a solid brass counter, surrounded by charming mementos and books, illuminated by a chandelier whose pearls of light shimmer with sophistication.