Bartenders of Pony, Singapore review: generous and inventive

Uno Jang, the creative force behind Singapore’s cocktail-bar specialist the Jigger & Pony Group, has turned a fin de siècle Tras Street shophouse in the city’s Chinatown into a new bar, BOP – Bartenders of Pony. On every metric, it is the Korean-born bartender’s most personal venture yet. The name works three ways: Bartenders of Pony is a nod to the team behind it; the acronym is close to ‘bap’, the Korean word for rice; and it’s also a wink at Jang's obsession with K-pop.

Jang’s buddy, the consultant chef Jason Oh (who has featured in Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars), has shaped a pint-sized yet muscular menu that powers through the evening at speed, while Jang’s cocktails prove far stronger than their bright, approachable flavours suggest. Tables occupy every possible nook, including tight corners between columns, the preppy varsity-jacketed staff stepping nimbly through the crowds that pack in at the weekends to snack and groove to 1980s and 1990s vinyls.

Wallpaper* dines at Bartenders of Pony, Singapore

The mood: youthful energy

Gabriel Tan (shortlisted for a Wallpaper* Design Award 2026) of local design studio Antimatter worked Korea’s traditional obangsaek colour palette – white, black, blue, red, yellow, representing the five elements and cardinal directions that run through Korean culture – into three distinct zones without falling into literal reproduction.

At the front of the Kki Bar, where Jang often holds court, dark timber meets a red ceiling. Further in, the Skylight Green section opens up with verdant floor tiles and ochre accents. The rear lounge wraps diners in crimson sofas framed by modern interpretations of jogakbo – traditional patchwork wrapping cloths – now reimagined as a door curtain. Mood lighting keeps everything intimate, and the obangsaek palette, when layered across surfaces, shifts into unexpected secondary tones that lend the spaces a luxe, sexy mood.

The food: generous, fast, inventive and delicious

Jason Oh’s influence delivers hefty portion sizes and flavour in equal measure. Perilla oil noodles arrive blanketed in crisp seaweed shards and sesame, hitting pure umami. The muchim salad balances tender squid, shatteringly crunchy cucumber and radish beneath basil leaves, with real chilli bite and satisfying more-ishness. Tuna gimbap presents as neat discs of California rolls stuffed with crab and daikon, and topped with thick, sweet tuna slabs.

Fried chicken pieces snuggle in a dainty basket, their golden crust adding an addictive, unctuous crunch. Pair it all with Iced Somaek – draft beer crowned with shaved soju ice that is dangerously easy to drink despite its potency. The Perilla Smash, built on Korean mint sharpened with gin, lemon, perilla oil and vinegar, shows Jang’s touch for brightness tempered by complexity. A single dessert closes things, and it’s a triumph: banana milk tiramisu, thick and fragrant, delivering creamy comfort with just enough cheek for the road.

Bartenders of Pony is located at located at 76 Tras Street, Singapore 079015

TOPICS

Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.