The luxurious and illustrious Taiga Dining has just opened a new sister outlet called The House Bar right across the hall, with identical hidden entrances! If you’re just walking past, you might mistake the entrance as an artwork or wall decor, but pull the concealed handle and you’ll find yourself in a moody and intimate space—perfect for light day drinking, romantic dates and after-work tipples!
While The House Bar poses as a bar, it’s really more of a restaurant-bar as they offer so much more than just light bar bites to accompany their drinks. You can basically have a full-on meal here, with how substantial their menu is, so you definitely won’t have to worry about going hungry.
The ambience is spot-on and matches the elegant feel you get at Taiga Dining, with the dark decor and furniture creating an intimate vibe that’s made more pronounced with the dim lighting. The bar itself is definitely the centerpiece of the whole place, with a facet-edged feature wall that illuminates the space, allowing you to see the silhouettes of the bartenders while they work their magic.
We visited The House Bar in the late afternoon, and there is certainly an alluring charm about the place when you can see the sunlight streaming in through the sheer dark blinds. As for the food, be forewarned that much of the menu features raw fish and sashimi, so if you’re someone who can’t eat sashimi, you mind find yourself with not many options to choose from.
Wasabi Mayo Kani Hand Roll, $28
Miyazaki Beef Takaki, $78
Uni Soba, $48
Signatures from the menu include the likes of Mentaiko Ebi Monaka ($28), with a tartness that balanced out the creamy mentaiko ebi and salmon roe combination, all enveloped between crisp wafers for a delightful symphony of textures in your mouth—make sure to eat this before the wafers get soggy, though!
Mentaiko Ebi Monaka, $28
Nokke Roll, $78
Another popular menu item is the Nokke Roll ($78), basically sushi rolls piled high with luxurious toppings like snow crab, uni, chopped fatty tuna and salmon roe. While the price point of this dish is on the high side, this will definitely please uni lovers out there as they didn’t hold back in heaping the fresh uni atop the sushi rolls. The uni was also perfectly creamy, with no pungent or fishy smell at all.
Moving on to drinks: cocktails at The House Bar all feature a Japanese spirit or flavour, with a total of 11 specially curated cocktails unique to the bar. There’s sure to be a cocktail to suit any palate—whether you prefer lighter, fruity cocktails; or heavier, spirit-forward drinks, and anything in between! We especially enjoyed the more refreshing, fruity drinks like the Sake Bramble ($24) and the Passionfruit Martini ($28) as they were easy to drink during the day and complimented the sashimi items nicely.
The Passionfruit Martini even had a fun theatrical aspect to it: garnished with a smoke bubble that you can pop and watch as the smoke cascades down—super IG-worthy! If you prefer more serious, spirit-forward drinks, you can go for the Japanese Old Fashioned ($28), a twist on the classic Old Fashioned with a nutty coffee aroma; or the Divine Kamikaze ($26).
All in all, our experience at The House Bar was pleasant—despite the very small and cosy space, the staff are perceptive to every detail without being overly attentive. The food might not be for everyone (especially given the price point), but the drinks are definitely worth trying. If you’re looking for a place that’s intimate and private, this is the place for you; though we can imagine that it could get pretty rowdy at night if it was a full house, since the seats are placed quite close to each other.
The House Bar
Ambience: 4/5
Food: 3/5
Drinks: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Price: $$$$
Worth a visit: Yes, for the vibe and drinks.
Address: Regent Singapore, #01-02, 1 Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249715
Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday, 12pm-3pm & 5.30pm-1am
