Hi Stranger: New cocktail playground on Neil Road with a seriously good food menu

If you’ve walked down Neil Road in the evening lately, you might have spotted a venue emitting a warm orange glow through its textured glass door. 

There’s little indication of what lies within, save for a distorted smiley face, opening hours, and the words “Hi Stranger”.

The stranger, as it turns out, is you.

Hi Stranger is a new cocktail bar that bills itself as a cocktail playground for the curious, founded by Bastien Renard, 39, and Roomi Luo, 45. 

Both are newcomers to the F&B space — French-born Bastien is a product designer by day, while Roomi, who is from Guangzhou, China, handles operations at a Big Tech firm. 

The couple wanted to create a venue where food, cocktails, and spirits were given equal attention under one roof, and where spirits felt less intimidating to explore. 

One way they’re doing this is by serving spirit pours from just 10ml, instead of the usual 30ml to 45ml you’d get at most bars. 

Guests are also invited to smell the spirits at an interactive scent wall that sits near the back of the bar.

The level of care the duo has put into Hi Stranger, their first foray, is evident from the moment you step through the door. At present, the space draws on its debut menu, titled “A World Aglow” — inspired by the documentary Fire of Love, featuring French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft — and emits a warm orange glow.

“We wanted guests to feel like they’ve stepped into something warm and alive the moment they walk in,” Bastien explains, adding that with every new chapter, they intend to switch things up — including the visuals around the bar.

As you go deeper into the space, you’ll notice three distinct sections: The bar counter where you’re close to the action, the main dining area set within the shophouse’s airwell section, brimming with daylight, and intimate booth seats by the side. 

If anything, Hi Stranger resembles a trendy cafe more than a bar, owing to Bastien’s keen designer eye, which lends a certain level of comfort and familiarity, especially if you don’t usually frequent cocktail bars.

As someone who spends a fair bit of time perched at bar counters, I especially appreciated the padded surface underneath the counter — a touch of comfort that saves your knees against scrapes.

What’s on Hi Stranger’s menu

Space aside, the drinks are recognisably classic in structure (even its signature creations), making them approachable, but still steers clear of being too predictable. 

There’s a unique cocktail aromatic map to help you navigate the menu, but honestly, you don’t really need it. 

We started the evening with Happy Hour drinks (S$16), which run from 6pm to 8pm daily, and even come with a free prawn toast slice.

The Happy Hour drinks are mostly breezy, with options such as the fruity and light Sun-Kissed (S$16) with Barbarigo pear and rum liqueur, citrus, and bitters, and the familiar-tasting Aperol basil highball (S$16) with Aperol, basil-infused gin, citrus, and soda. 

The drinks were great, but we couldn’t get enough of the crunchy and decadent prawn toast. We hear it’s only a fraction of the full-sized version that you can get from the main menu (S$12), but it was sizeable and tasty enough to whet our appetites for more drinks and bites. 

The debut menu features nine signature cocktails, arranged from booziest to non-alcoholic, as well as a selection of classics, such as whisky sour (S$25) and classic margarita (S$26). 

If you’re there for the first time, get the Naughty martini (S$26), a funkier take on the classic that’s bold and savoury.

In addition to Jamaican rum, gin, blanc vermouth, olive, and brine, it features a specially formulated rum blend by Savanna Rum that can be found at Hi Stranger only. 

Keen to stick to the funky trajectory? The Funky daiquiri (S$26) is a natural follow-up, with the Jamaican rum, lime juice, syrup, and chilli giving it a tart-spicy flavour that goes great with the food you’ll order.

If you want to keep your choices simple, the basil martini (S$24) is a light number of gin, basil, dry vermouth, and olive brine, with a big olive garnish. It’s less savoury and intense than the Naughty and would delight even non-martini fans. 

The Krafft negroni (S$24) is also uncomplicated, with mezcal added to the usual build, giving it a slightly smokier, bolder finish. 

If the strength of these drinks have you in a tizzy, fret not: There are two non-alcoholic options on the menu — the lemongrass fizz (S$20) and the berry basil smash (S$22) — both of which are incredibly refreshing and well-balanced. 

They can be jazzed up with alcohol if you’d prefer, but otherwise make for great coolers for the table if you have non-drinking friends in company. 

What surprised me most, however, was Hi Stranger’s food offerings.

The kitchen is led by head chef Edwin Tay, 34, who has had stints at  Michelin-starred Nouri, and the now-defunct Rhubarb and Korean-inspired cocktail bar Ssal. 

When I’d first encountered Edwin’s cooking at Ssal in 2024, I also learnt that he’d been helping with his family’s fishmonger business Fish on Board, since he was 12. He still helps manage it while being a full-time chef. 

His experience shows in the stir-fried clams (S$22) with Korean wheat noodles, a clear winner of the evening with a savoury garlicky sauce tinged with a mild heat. 

The flavour-packed sauce had just the right consistency, coating each chewy strand of noodle and the dozens of plump, well-cooked clams perfectly. 

All that’s missing, really, is some bread to mop up every last bit of sauce. 

Besides the prawn toast that you’ll glimpse at Happy Hour, Edwin also dishes up a series of addictive bites such as Brazilian cheese bread, or pao de queijo (S$12), and a medley of fried mushrooms with a creamy soy emulsion (S$12), among others. 

There are heftier mains apart from the clams, too, such as a miso cabbage (S$16), which is charred to a nicely caramelised finish and served with cashew and garlic puree, and a tender black wagyu skirt (S$48) with smoked chimichurri. 

By the end of the evening, I’m already mentally planning a return visit for the clam noodles and prawn toast, maybe accompanied by the bright and clean kaffir martini (S$24). 

Hi Stranger may look a little too cool for school, especially with its design-forward interiors, but beneath the aesthetics is something refreshingly unpretentious — a neighbourhood bar that welcomes complete newcomers and seasoned drinkers alike.

Whether you decide to sink into one of the booths with a quiet drink, or perch at the bar with a Naughty martini and an order of those excellent clam noodles, it’s the sort of place that’s easy to imagine becoming part of your regular rotation.

This was a hosted tasting.

For more places to dine around Maxwell and Tanjong Pagar, check out the newly rebranded Casa Latteria at Duxton Hill, and Saikyo Pasta at Icon Village.