Cocktail Bar Near Me at Clarke Quay: Inside Offtrack's Music-First Room

Offtrack prices every drink on its main cocktail list at S$25 and pours them from a ground-floor shophouse at 34 North Canal Road, about 150 metres from Exit A of Clarke Quay MRT. The music-led bar opened in January 2022 and now sits at No. 16 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026. On the Clarke Quay edge of Chinatown, the cocktail bar near me that books a DJ every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through October is this one, with weekend sets running from 9pm to 1am.

Come out of Clarke Quay MRT on the North East Line, take Exit A and the walk to 34 North Canal Road is roughly 150 metres along the shophouse row. Unit #01-01 is at street level, so there is no hidden staircase or unmarked door to hunt for. The World's 50 Best guide points to the giveaway: a shop window built from retro 1980s glass bricks.

Inside, the same guide describes mid-century wood, terrazzo, spaceship-like light fittings that glow orange and vinyl artwork on the walls. When Her World visited a month after launch, it noted that the room had been a seedy disco before Offtrack took it over, and that a DJ console sits in the main dining area with records lining the wall behind it. Paintings by artists from Singapore and the region rotate through as exhibitions.

Asia's 50 Best Bars credits entrepreneurs Dean Chew and Daniel O'Connor, who planned the project during the pandemic and opened it in January 2022. Time Out Singapore ties the founders to two local music collectives, Ice Cream Sundays and Darker Than Wax, which explains the priorities. The bar's own site describes a carefully assembled sound system and an acoustically treated room, built so the music is never an afterthought behind the drinks.

The playlist changes constantly, but 50 Best notes it never drops jazz, soul and forgotten Asian records from decades past, and the official site says some of those regional finds hang on the walls as part of the vinyl display. The rankings followed. Offtrack was No. 23 on Asia's 50 Best Bars in 2025, climbed to No. 16 in 2026, and Time Out reports it debuted at No. 89 on the extended World's 50 Best list this year.

Head bartender Joash Conceicao runs a list that the bar describes as an equal split of classic and contemporary styles, and Time Out notes the drinks run from light to strong. Start at the gentle end with the Lychee Royale, which mixes lychee and white port with Código Artesanal mezcal, elderflower and sparkling sake. The Fire Drill pairs Volcán De Mi Tierra tequila with dry grenadine, ancho chile and grapefruit soda.

Further down, the House Espresso Martini adds orange blossom and dry curaçao to Belvedere vodka, Mr Black and espresso, which 50 Best calls a fruitier edge on the classic. The Rum & Raisin Manhattan uses Bacardí Reserva Ocho, PX sherry, hazelnut and sweet vermouth. Low & Slow stirs Woodford Reserve with hojicha, blackcurrant and aromatic bitters, and the Penicillin layers peated single malt over Monkey Shoulder, ginger and honey.

Food is served family style, and the printed menu suggests that two people order one dish from each category. The Dashi Mascarpone Dip at S$15 comes with sourdough roti, ikura, perilla oil and chives, while a plain Housemade Sourdough Roti with kombu butter costs S$8. Eggplant Fries at S$16 are glazed with Szechuan peppercorn and sweet and sour sauce, and the Kampong Karaage, chicken thigh in a Thai-style glaze, is S$18.

Among the larger plates, the Spice Rubbed Iberico Collar uses a Mission Chinese spice rub and costs S$40, and the Ah Hua Kelong Golden Snapper with butternut lemak sauce is S$39. Skip the Tamarind Glaze Black Angus Short Rib if there are only two of you, because it is sold at S$20 per 100g on a 500g to 700g cut and leaves little room for cocktails. The Coconut Ice Cream with sago pearl and black rice pudding closes the meal for S$10.

The Leisure Times menu runs until 7pm every day, with five cocktails at S$16 each, among them an Aperol Spritz, a Honey Bee with Havana Club 3 rum, a Moscow Mule on Tito's vodka, a Whiskey Sour made with Buffalo Trace and brown butter, and a Negroni built on Fords gin. Wine by the glass drops to S$14, a bottle costs S$70, and a 330ml Sapporo Premium is S$12.

At the other end of the night, a short late menu is served on Fridays and Saturdays from 9:45pm to 11pm, after the main kitchen's last call. It keeps the crowd favourites: the S$8 sourdough roti, the S$16 eggplant fries, fried cauliflower at S$19, karaage and the SF Style Garlic Noodles at S$16. That window overlaps with the first hours of the weekend DJ sets.

Tables are booked through SevenRooms from the bar's website. Her World reported that within its first month Offtrack was booked out every weekend, so treat a Friday or Saturday walk-in as a gamble. If the door is full, 28 HongKong Street, about 75 metres away behind a 1960s shophouse front, opens at 6pm daily.

Thursdays run 8pm to 11pm, with JED, DJ Crayola and Colourful Pandas among this month's names, while Fridays and Saturdays go from 9pm to 1am. Bongomann of Ice Cream Sundays plays tonight, 16 October, Naida follows on the 17th, and Daryl Knows of Darker Than Wax returns on the 23rd and 30th. Bongomann closes the month again on 31 October.

On Tuesday 20 October, Bangkok's Bar Us, No. 6 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026, takes over the bar from 7pm to 11pm, and the event poster already marks it sold out. 50 Best calls Offtrack a favourite of Singapore's creative community, and the bar names its own crowd: creatives, music lovers following the collectives' DJs, and culinary enthusiasts who come for the plates.

The address is 34 North Canal Road, #01-01, Singapore 059290. Official hours are 6pm to 12am from Monday to Thursday, with last call for dinner at 9:45pm and drinks at 11:30pm. On Friday and Saturday the bar opens at 5pm and closes at 1am, with last drinks at 12:15am. Email hello@offtrack.sg for events.

Payment is by card only, and bills carry a 10% service charge, which the bar says supports employee benefits, plus 9% GST. The menu marks vegetarian, nut, dairy and crustacean dishes, and staff can steer vegans to suitable plates. A non-alcoholic list of mocktails and alcohol-free beers covers anyone not drinking. For a cheaper start, Hong Lim Food Centre and Market at 531A Upper Cross Street is about 250 metres away for dinner first.