Bar Review: Night Hawk Brings Delicious Cocktails and Futuristic Nostalgia to Tanjong Pagar Singapore
PUBLISHED August 30th, 2022 10:00 am | UPDATED July 22nd, 2024 02:56 pm
Whether you’re looking for a swanky night on the town or more casual spots with great music and convivial hospitality, Singapore‘s thriving cocktail bar scene is here to serve. For a trip through time and space though, look no further than new kid on the Tanjong Pagar block, Night Hawk.
Inspired by the emotion of ‘urban alienization’ evoked by American artist Edward Hopper’s mid-century masterpiece, Night Hawk is created by Peter Chua, a familiar figure in the industry who also co-owns Junior The Pocket Bar and Nemesis. Portraying four people in a downtown diner late at night, as viewed through the diner’s large glass window that positions the viewer as a voyeur, the oil painting informs Night Hawk’s aesthetics as well as its drink and food programming.
Like Hopper’s painting, Night Hawk is a space that transcends time, where the past, present and future converges. For instance, the menu arrives looking like a midcentury matchbook, but menu reading is digital via scanning the QR code. Furniture, lighting, and interior touches of this 22-seater bar swing retro and futuristic at the same time, with the oddly matched chairs and lines of chrome in the space. We do enjoy the analogue flipboard advertising their offerings with witty comments, which unsurprisingly, is controlled with an app.
Using classic and modern techniques to extract flavours and colours, this philosophy of playing on time extends to the cocktails (all $25++ each) in this hospitality haven of futuristic nostalgia. With names like Nebulous Bloom and Solar Flare Solstice, cyberpunk fans will get a kick out of these monikers.
We get some of those futuristic vibes, mixed with a little bit of tiki, with our first tipple Gamma-Ray Holiday. A twist on the Midori Sour, this sparkling gin-based thirst quencher gets its colour and slight bitter finish from bitter gourd. Balanced with fruity notes of pineapple and citrus, you’ll want to enjoy the cherry syrup compressed pineapple garnish with it for the best experience.
More nostalgic is Chromatic Attack, taking us back to childhood days of slurping F&N’s ice cream soda. Slightly spritzy, this clarified rum milk punch recreates the flavour with ingredients like sarsaparilla, orange, bergamot, and tea. A tasty one, they’ve definitely nailed that lightly creamy aftertaste of ice cream soda.
If you’re peckish, it pays to order food early at Night Hawk as last food orders are rung in by 9.30pm. We highly recommend the Sriracha Mac & Cheese (S$14), with its al dente pasta soaking up a delicious mix of that beloved spicy sauce rounded out with three types of cheeses. For a lower-calorie alternative – no judgement here, because then you can have another drink, am I right? – that’s equally flavourful is the Grilled Baby Corn (S$12) topped with parmesan and paprika.
Night Hawk is located at 43 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088464, p. +65 9666 0928. Open Tue-Sat 5.30pm-12am. Closed Mon & Sun. Last food orders at 9.30pm.
