Drink21 August 2024

Battle Stations
Attention! Six fresh recruits (some of them maybe not that fresh), out on parade with officers Steve Schneider and Owen Gibler. Just look at that well-drilled technique: bottles high, good times flowing, eyes front and not a foot out of step. Welcome to bartending according to Employees Only Singapore, the first overseas outpost from one of the most famous bars in a city famed for famous bars: New York. Eyes front! Ex-US Marine Schneider is an advocate of free pouring because he also believes in bartenders looking up at guests. Fact: he urges his apprentices to practise measurement by free pouring the laundry detergent at home - "always training". In this issue we got a loud slice of the Big Apple, sitting down to chat with Schneider, plus EO's co-founder Igor Hadzismajlovic and two further partners in the Singapore project, Joshua Schwartz and Sarissa Rodriguez Schwartz ... At ease!

Büro 24/72 August 2016

Ultra Singapore 2016
Come mid-June, the legendary Manhattan cocktail bar and restaurant will debut its first-ever branch outside of The Big Apple in a renovated shophouse on Amoy street. With a dimly lit Art Deco inspired room that harks back to the prohibition era, your midnight escapade couldn't be more luxuriously fun. Alongside flawlessly executed late night tipples, the original New York speakeasy brings in supper grub the likes of truffled grilled cheese fries, the famed EO dry aged burger, and tacqueria specialties courtesy of Mexican Head Chef Maurice Espinoza. As with the EO headquarters in New York, warm cups of chicken soup will be served to the last revellers still standing at closing time. Read The Article >>>

Female1 August 2016

The Top Things To Do
Employees Only What: The legendary New York cocktail bar's first international outpost located right here in Chinatown. Why: After reviving the craft cocktail movement over a decade ago, this remains one of the coolest and most revered bars around (just last year, it was number four on Drinks International's World's 50 Best Bars list). Known of its roaring '20s aesthetic and aura of after-hours frivolity, its unique, eclectic experience has now been entirely recreated here: glittering serpentine bar, Art Deco pressed-tin ceiling, white-jacketed hipster mixologists serving signatures such as the Provencal (lavender-infused gin, herb-soaked vermouth and Cointreau), and even the on-site fortune teller - a feature that helped set the original West Village branch apart.

Scoot1 August 2016

Drink
Iconic New York City speakeasy, Employees Only, has opened its first oversees outpost at Amoy Street. You'll find all the charms of the original outlet here - from the Art Deco aesthetic to the superb craft cocktails that have cemented the institution's spot on the annual World's 50 Best Bars list.

Büro27 July 2016

Buro 24/7 Singapore Weekly Playlist #62: Employees Only
As a DJ and music curator, much of my professional time is devoted to creating playlists for the various Employees Only bars as well as their sister restaurant in Manhattan, Macao Trading Company. This particular list is a late-night, relatively fast mix dubbed the "International Zoo Mix". It's international and eclectic but accessible, which are qualities I try to achieve in all my mixes. The first track is a cover of a 1979 song by the British Band, The Monochrome Set reinterpreted in 2008 by BPA (Fatboy Slim with vocals by Iggy Pop). Actually, at least half the songs on this short mix are cover versions. Broasted or Fried is a Latin inflected funk tune that dates back at least to the '70s, covered here by King Hector and The Soul Dynamites in 2007. One of my favorite tracks on this list is by a British band from the Sixties, Mal & The Primitives, doing an Italian version of a Rascals song Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore which they retitled simply Yeeeeh (there's a great YouTube video of the band performing the song for a TV studio full of Italian teens). Est-ce que tu le sais? is an Italian karaoke version of Ray Charles' What'd I Say? and San Diego Zoo is an original song by the band The 6ths, a spinoff project created by Stephen Merritt, the principle force behind The Magnetic Fields. It's got an upbeat, bubblegum quality that I love. Silky Sundays, Employees Only's regular Sunday party in New York is now in Singapore. Every Sunday, from 5 pm to 1 am. Bring along your pyjamas. Read The Article >>>

Bibik Gourmand27 July 2016

Employees Only (Singapore) offers more than just your usual bar bites
In most bars we’ve visited, food is more often an afterthought than a purposefully thought-through chef’s driven menu. Employees Only’s (“EO”) new Singapore offshoot at Amoy Street is trying to change that perception. Conceived by the flagship’s executive chef and partner, Julia Jaksic, and executed by Mexican head chef, Maurice Espinoza, the menu at EO is not fancy but it offers proper, sometimes wholesome, food that are well executed instead of the usual bar-friendly fare like sliders and fries. Read The Article >>>

Honeycombers Singapore26 July 2016

Unique nose-to-tail restaurants in Singapore: Where to eat offal dishes like beef tongue, chicken hearts, and sweetbreads
Employees Only – Bone marrow poppers You might be a little perplexed to see a bar on this list, but trust us when we say that this bar’s kitchen serves some stellar light bites. The bone marrow poppers, a specialty of Executive Chef Julia Jaksic come in a trio; the bone marrow is wrapped in a puff pastry tube and topped with a creamy bordelaise sauce. Make this your destination if you’re after a drink and a couple of devilishly good plates of bar grub. Read The Article >>>

The Peak24 July 2016

THE SECRET TO RUNNING TOP NYC BAR EMPLOYEES ONLY
In general, a bar fronted by a kitschy psychic’s booth does not instill confidence in the quality of its cocktails inside. But New York speakeasy Employees Only not only makes it cool, its drinks are award-winning too. Last year, the bar took fourth place on the list of The World’s 50 Best Bars by Drinks International magazine. It also holds the title of All-Time Achiever, with seven appearances on the prestigious list since the bar opened in 2004. Last month, Employees Only Singapore opened its doors at 112 Amoy Street. Co-founder Igor Hadzismajlovic, together with nightlife veteran Josh Schwartz (who previously ran the club Pangea), had entertained the idea of bringing the American bar here years back. Read The Article >>>

Weekender24 July 2016

New York’s famed watering hole lands in Singapore
Beyond the pink neon sign that reads ‘Psychic’, lies a bar that will take you back to the 1920s Prohibition era. Employee’s Only is a legendary cocktail bar from Manhattan that has won numerous accolades over the years, including the honour of “Best Bar in the World” from Tales of the Cocktail in 2011. The bar is lauded as one of the originators of the craft cocktail movement in America, creating bespoke cocktails since 2004. The outlet in Singapore is the second Employee’s Only worldwide and many of the key members have moved over from New York to run the establishment here. Read The Article >>>

Her World Plus20 July 2016

Japanese soft-serve icecream and other fun new foods to try in Singapore
GOOD FOOD TO GO WITH DRINKS Employees Only in Amoy Street opened to much fanfare last month. It is an offshoot of the one in New York's West Village that has been named one of the best bars in the world. The vibe is buzzy and inviting, no matter which night of the week. But do not come just for the drinks. The bar-restaurant makes a mean and addictive hot sauce, which is served with steak tatare ($27) that is mixed table-side. The scrumptious and moist bacon-wrapped lamp chops with salsa verde ($32, photo) are not over-seasoned and go well with drinks; while the fried skate ($31), deliciously smoked rainbow trout ($38) and cavatelli pasta with pork sausage ($23) are good choices. Read The Article >>>