A sister brand to the city’s rising and no-frills cocktail bar, The Golden Tooth, it doesn’t take long for Salty Fish in SCBD to attract the attention of the city’s nightcrawlers. But if the ‘older brother’ is all about straight-up cocktails and chats, this ‘younger sister’ tilts towards a livelier crowd, carrying over the same cocktail-centric approach but with a new, beginner-friendly direction that caters to the curious drinkers.
Set on the top floor of Sol Collective Space, the difference between the two bars becomes obvious immediately upon entry. Where The Golden Tooth is compact and laidback, Salty Fish is a touch more roomy and refined. And instead of a Brooklyn loft, the sister bar presents more like a luxury cabin in the woods with its textured walls of stone slabs and wooden blocks, as well as tall windows that reveal a peaceful view of the compound’s patch of greenery.
As the evening progresses, the crowd shifts from white-collar professionals holding cocktail meetings, to lively groups of friends ready for some after-work revelries to the beat of pumping, high-energy tracks. But if this is not your scene, one can always take sanctuary at The End, Salt Fish’s Bauhaus-style secondary bar where the cocktail and chat experience still thrives—sitting, literally, at the end of the bar’s interior hallway.
It’s at The End’s fully equipped ‘cocktail kitchen’ where one can usually find co-founder and head bartender Kenny Soetomo, who also runs The Golden Tooth, prepping and R&D-ing new recipes. But the main star here is senior bartender Ay Richantya, who rose through the ranks under Kenny’s wing at The Golden Tooth. Helming the main bar, she makes quick work of crafting Salty Fish’s house pairings of classics and twists; a concept designed to encourage beginners to discover lesser-known classics while highlighting how they can be reinvented into new drinks.
Notable pairings include the mint-chocolate dessert cocktail, Grasshopper, and its twist, the Locust. The latter offers the same mint-chocolate flavour without the creaminess, serving a clarified version of the drink alongside a bar of chocolate made by seasoned chocolatier Richie Pratadaja Crio and Criollo. A best-seller is the tequila-based S.P.G. (Spiced Paloma Gimlet), which reinterprets the fruity and citrusy Paloma by introducing the layered spiced tang of chai; while Cilantro Kola stands out for its brighter twist on tequila-and-coke Batanga, mixing together Salty Fish’s housemade cola with cilantro, lime and salted pomelo.
After a few glasses of cocktails, those famished can dig into the bar’s selection of comfort foods that are handpicked from the team’s favourite post-night-out grubs. That includes the crowd-puller SF Fillet O, a juicy, breaded cod fillet sandwich inspired by McDonald’s famous Filet-O-Fish; the Fugly Churros, which, despite its deliberately unattractive presentation, offers a satisfying bite through its chewy exterior and airy filling; and the indulgent kimchi and grilled cheese sandwich, Kim Cheese Sando.
With The Golden Tooth’s established reputation, it’s unavoidable to compare Salty Fish to its older brother. But just like any siblings, Salty Fish clearly has a personality of its own, as showcased through the bumping atmosphere, feel-good food, and most notably, the duality of its house cocktails—an unspoken invitation to order the different versions, satisfy one’s curiosity and drink like a (salty) fish.
