Orihara Shoten on Mohamed Sultan Road: A Sake Bar Near Me in Singapore

Orihara Shoten no longer sits on Unity Street. The sake house that has been pouring Japanese sake in Singapore since 2009 moved to 25 Mohamed Sultan Road #01-00, Singapore 238969, after Robertson Walk was slated for demolition, and the bar now opens Monday to Saturday from 3pm and Sunday from 5pm, with last orders at 11:30pm. If you are searching for a sake bar near me around Robertson Quay, this is the address to put into your map, not the one still printed on older listings.

Orihara Shoten describes itself as a wholly Japanese-owned purveyor of premium boutique sake. It is a subsidiary of Orihara Japan, a company with more than a hundred years of history supplying liquor and food to high-end restaurants in Japan, and SethLui notes that the Singapore shop was the parent company's first overseas branch. Since 2010 it has also been the official Singapore distributor of DASSAI, the Yamaguchi brewery whose polished junmai daiginjo became a global calling card for premium sake.

For years the business was known for a narrow standing bar inside its retail shop at Robertson Walk, where Time Out reported in 2014 that a team led by head sommelier Maria Satoh poured three-glass tasting flights from shelves of bottles. When the mall was earmarked for redevelopment, Orihara relocated a short walk away. City Nomads describes the new space as a contemporary sake house and grill built around seasonal oden and kushiyaki, a clear step up from the old stand-and-sip counter.

The range is the reason to come. City Nomads counts more than 200 sakes and around 60 shochu, alongside Japanese whiskies, craft spirits from small producers and Suntory beer on draft with the brand's perfect pour. The official site adds umeshu, Japanese liqueurs and limited-allocation releases. Every month the house picks a featured producer, and for October 2026 its Brewery of the Month is Kamotsuru, the Hiroshima brewery from Saijo, whose bottles sell in the online shop from S$49.05 to S$106.82.

Because Orihara is first an importer, the bar list mirrors what it sells retail, so the staff can tell you which brewery a sake comes from and how it was made. If you find something you like, the same label is usually available to take home. The online shop lists Dassai Junmai Daiginjo 23 at S$136.25, Takasago at S$41.42 and Eikofuji Kuma-san no Kagayaki Junmai Daiginjo at S$59.95, with free delivery on three or more bottles or orders above S$200.

Sparkling sake has its own corner on the list this season. For the Singapore race weekend the shop put together Dassai Sparkling 45 at S$38.15 and Bijoufu Yuzu Shuwa, a yuzu-scented fizz from Kochi, at S$37.06. If you prefer a guided route rather than browsing, the three-bottle Discovery Series sets bundle a theme, and the World Sake Day 2026 box is priced at S$137.78, a sensible way to taste across regions at home.

The restaurant side runs Monday to Saturday from 6pm to 11pm, with last food orders at 10pm and last drinks at 10:30pm, and it is closed on Sunday, when only the bar opens. A food blogger who visited the new site in January 2026 ordered oden in clear dashi, chicken liver with raw egg, shishito peppers on kelp and rice with chicken hearts, which tells you the kitchen leans toward izakaya snacks that sit well beside a cold glass rather than full set dinners.

Reviewers on Google, where the bar holds 4.2 stars from more than 200 ratings, single out the nankotsu karaage, crisp fried chicken cartilage, and the roast beef, and they often name two staff members, Angie and Mico, for patient recommendations. That matters at a bar with this many bottles. Tell them whether you like dry, fragrant or rich styles and let them choose, rather than ordering the most famous label by name.

Seating is split between an outdoor patio and an indoor corridor. The January 2026 visitor chose the patio because the corridor tables see a steady stream of foot traffic, and that is honest advice: the corridor is fine for a quick drink, but for a long session of tasting, ask for a patio table. You may also meet the house cat, Choya, who has a favourite corner and is part of the reason regulars describe the new room as relaxed.

The crowd mixes Japanese expatriates who come for bottles they know from home, Robertson Quay residents stopping by after a riverside walk, and sake-curious diners who treat the place as a classroom. One rule is printed plainly on the official site: no alcohol is sold to anyone under 18. Older reviews from the Unity Street days describe a cramped standing bar that filled up fast, a problem the larger new space largely solves.

Tables for the bar and the restaurant are booked through Toreta, linked from the contact page. The bar's 3pm opening makes a late-afternoon visit the easiest time to get a good seat and the full attention of the staff, before dinner tables fill. Friday and Saturday evenings are the nights to book ahead, especially if you want the patio.

If you arrive without a booking and the patio is full, do not wait in the corridor for long. WILD/FIRE at 207 River Valley Road #01-59, UE Square, cooks wood-fired steaks and burgers on live fire, and Merci Marcel at 41 Robertson Quay #01-01 serves relaxed French bistro food by the river. Both make a good dinner before coming back for a nightcap, since the bar keeps pouring until 11:30pm.

Orihara is also the organiser behind Sake Festival Singapore, which it has run since 2014. The 2026 edition took place on Saturday 20 June at Suntec Hall 403 with more than 600 labels from over 40 brewers, which makes it a single afternoon with more sake on offer than any bar list. If you enjoyed a particular brewery at the bar, the festival is where you can meet its people and taste the full lineup in one afternoon.

That festival connection explains why the bar list changes often. Breweries that pour at the festival tend to appear afterwards as Brewery of the Month features, and seasonal bottlings such as the autumn hiyaoroshi releases arrive in September and October. This autumn the shop is selling Haneya Junmai Ginjo Hiyaoroshi at S$46.87, a mellow cellar-aged style that is worth asking for by the glass while it lasts.

Mohamed Sultan Road runs down to the Singapore River at Robertson Quay, so a short walk after the bar takes you to the waterfront promenade that links Robertson Quay, Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. The path is flat and lit at night, and following it east past the old warehouse buildings is the easiest way to walk off a tasting flight. Fort Canning station on the Downtown Line is the nearest MRT stop for the trip home.

Address: Orihara Shoten, 25 Mohamed Sultan Road #01-00, Singapore 238969. Email: info@oriharasg.com. Bar hours: Monday to Saturday 3pm to 11:59pm, Sunday 5pm to 11:59pm, last order 11:30pm. Restaurant: Monday to Saturday 6pm to 11pm, closed Sunday. Reservations through Toreta. No alcohol for under-18s. Ask the Karpo APP for another sake bar along the river if you want to keep going.