Aggressive facebook advertising had sublimely seduced us to B28, a jazz bar, we are such suckers. Opulently decorated, not at all like the dark, underground speakeasy we expected, there are two ways to enter B28: through The Club Hotel or walk to the side of The Club Hotel, turn into a dark alley with a heavy wood (oak?) door. The second way is more fun, mysterious and secretive.

There was a live performance when we were there with guest jazz musicians, Rick Smith, Kailin Yong and Navin Kumar. Pretty easy to guess who’s who, right? The musicians’ prowess were quite uneven, with Yong outstripping the other two, causing the music to be quite unbalanced. But they played rather good renditions of jazz classics like “Autumn in New York.”

When Mr NGFL was there on a weekday night, the clientele was mostly local. But when we were there on a weekend with the trio was playing, mostly angmohs. We didn’t have quite a good vibe of the bar because a couple was touching each other all the time (hey, there are hotel rooms upstairs!) and a customer shouted at the band, “Play something original. I didn’t come here to hear old lousy classic shit that other people can play better.”

Many different kinds of whiskey. But we four ordered cocktails, which were made very potent but you should still taste the delicious textures of the cocktail. One of us took a sip and said she cannot drink anymore. Huccalily completed a cocktail within minutes and slurred, “I need to go home. OMG I’m so dizzy, I want to puke.” And we had to put her in a cab.

But the service wasn’t immaculate by any standards. We couldn’t get the attention of the two waitresses who were also bartenders. They kept talking to a man at the bar. And when we made reservations, we were not told that a night with event has a cover charge of $15. No water was served so we had to order still water. When Mr NGFL was there on a weekday, there were bar grub (from the hotel) but when we were there, there was only chips.

Including two bottles of water, chips, four cocktails, and entrance fee for four, we paid about $50 each.

B28

Basement 28
Ann Siang Road, The Club Hotel
Singapore 069708
T: 9026 3466
Website

M-F: 6pm-2am
Sat: 8pm-2am

Rating: 3.313/5 stars