Raising The Bar

Singapore has a new bar aiming to blaze a trail, discovers GERRIE LIM, who meets the men behind its beverage concept

- Gerrie Lim

THREE MEN – a Czech, a Hongkonger and a Malaysian – walk into a bar. Not just any bar, though, but the new Atlas grand lobby and bar in Singapore, and sit right where I’ve been expecting them, on a plush velvet banquette, while the usual hive of activity swirls around us. Formally opened in late March 2017, Atlas sits in the middle of the 640-square-metre lobby of Parkview Square, a building already acclaimed for its imposing art-deco facade and arguably the most striking outpost in the city state. Located in the historic Bugis neighbourhood and owned by the family of the late property magnate CS Hwang – who developed Parkview in Hong Kong – Parkview Square is now run by Hwang’s gracious granddaughter, Vicky.

But I was keen to meet the three guys – Czech head bartender Roman Foltan; Hongkonger Jack Cheung, the Hwang family’s sommelier; and Malaysian head sommelier Mason Ng – who between them imbue Atlas with an ambience redolent of the grand lobbies of 1920s jazz-age Europe.

Foltan hails from Prague, having arrived in Singapore six months before our appointment, following eight years at Artesian at the Langham in London, where in 2015 he made the Forbes 30 Most Talented People Under 30 list. On any given night, he can be found standing at either end of the room, in the middle of one of the two main bars, resplendent in his smart white jacket with black lapels, by local men’s designer Kevin Seah, who created all the bar-staff uniforms.