Chilling out at Néktar Bar @ Scotts Road

31 Scotts Road, Singapore 228225

Tel: 68236 9185

Nektar Bar is a premium cocktail bar nestled in a lovely Colonial-style house along Scotts Road, offering an intimate, romantic and tranquil setting away from the hustle-bustle of city, a hidden gem that became my love-at-first-visit drinking place literally. It is named after the intoxicating drink that sustained the beauty and immortality of the Greco-Roman gods.

One could choose to sit indoors around the bar counter and watch the Mixologist at work, tossing and mixing his cocktails in a soothing, air-conditioned setting.

Or one could head outside where alfresco seating is located.  See the bottles lined up on the ledge of the windows? This serves as the unofficial "drinks counter" for the guests sitting outdoors.

I have been here several times, each time choosing to sit close to nature, surrounded by the plants and overlooking the skies (and Moon) overhead. The thoughtfully-planted spotlights and candlelights give the place a further aura of enchantment, like a tiny fairy groove.

The Beau and I both had Bar Chef Specials (SGD$28.00 each), meaning, drinks specially concocted by the Mixologist himself.

For him, it was a drink comprising of Gin with tropical fruits such as Lychee, Passionfruit, Pineapple etc - with a tinge of lemon sourness. The dash of gin was generous, and the refreshing drink was rather to our delight.

For me, my drink comprised of Gin, Grapes, Sake etc and had a fizzy feel to it. I would not say that it did not taste nice, because under other circumstances I might have liked this drink. The tiny umbrella was cute, and the sweet, bubbly drink was strong in alcoholic content, so I enjoyed the heady swoon.

What disappointed me greatly was because it is not my usual drink - the moment I sat down I informed the server what I wanted. When the Mixologist himself brought the drink out in the "jar" instead of the Martini glass as shown in this photo, I knew it wasn't right.

It turned out that the previous Bar Chef, Raveen Misra has left. I really loved the Gin, Rosemary and Grapes concoction he made for me everytime I came here - he always got it right. Once, he added a touch of lime to it but when I mentioned I did not like it, he immediately changed it and got me my favorite. Hence I always come back for that special drink (not found anywhere else!) and either brought friends or referred them here.

Not to say that the new mixologist last night wasn't good or what - but when the service crew passed along the info of a "gin, rosemary, grape" drink that I always had, he did not even bother to come out to introduce himself, inform me that Raveen has left, clarify the contents of the drink - before simply concocting something that included lots of other things I did not state. When I mentioned that the drink tasted different, he did offer to change, but also added that different mixologists have different styles etc of making drinks in a rather defensive tone.

I know that, right. But oh well, now that my favorite drink ain't here anymore, Nektar also does not serve complimentary light snacks like how they used to (not that I eat them, but...) and the service standard seems to have dropped, I guess I won't be back for a long time now, despite its enviably gorgeous ambience.