Klee

Klee was great. Maybe because it was early on a Fri night. We were there around 7-ish. So we were the only ones around, and had all the attention and service we needed.

Let the friendly bartender know what you're in the mood for, and she'll whip up something special for you.

The coffee kahlua stuff was great. So was the whisky sour. Had loads of kick.

Will definitely return again... hopefully the service standard remains the same with more people in the room. Will be nice if there's finger food or pizza other than just sashimi.

One thing to note: Limited parking at the premises. There's some space for street parking if you're early. Otherwise... good luck!

I have no fault with this place except the snobbish attitude and limited seating capacity in their spacious layout. Though there's a big outdoor area but they don't allow consumption of cocktails outside. Wish they have better customer service with a smile or friendly tone over the phone too. We're paying customers after all...

absolutely love this place....

the cocktails are exquisite, the ambience is chic yet cosy and the bartenders are knowledgeable and friendly.

this is my all time favourite hang out spot.

do try to mojitos with beer its really refreshing....my favorite drink is bite lemon but only order it if you want something strong...

A colleague strongly recommended that I visit this place as it was one of his hidden finds where he relaxes after work. I tried one of mango cocktails which I found alright, but I guess the unique selling point of this place would be that it is a nice secluded place with dim lighting where one could hang out with friends and just chill the night away. Nice place to just hang lose but not very accessible for those without a car.

I love this place. It's a must visit.
Ambience is perfect. Bartenders - good entertainers. Prices of drinks reasonable.
Limited seatings. But it's fine with me.
Ideal place for after meal drinks. Good for dates/ anniversary/ chill out/ business entertainment/ etc.
Just adore Klee .... :-)

after the twenty minute taxi ride from clarke quay we arrived on a rainy nite to quite a pleasant looking little bar as part of the wessex estate.

after walking up the stairs we looked inside the wall high windows to what looked like a well light and tastefully decorated and well stocked bar. shortly after opening the doors we were greeted by a young snotty nosed manager/bartender who quickly notified us that the bar had already reached capacity..this was very strange since as at least four seats at the bar were empty..we were a party of four and therefore felt that we should be able to be seated and spend some of our hard earned cash in here..we certainly werent the type who would sit there all nite sipping on the same cocktail like many overly $$ conscious sigapore bar patrons do..

so fine..they had reached capacity, but we wanted a drink, especially the girls, my sister was visiting from australia and found it very strange that this was happening and thought it must be a joke from the manager, after a few laughs from her we had to mention that this was no joke and in line with the shocking levels of customer service that has become expected in sinagpore especially comepared to other parts of asia..

ok i have deviated from the story, let me get back on track..
the manager offered to serve us drinks on the verandah..it had been raining..the seats were terribly wet so we wiped the seats down with our hands and a towel that was already out there..this isnt good ..

so lets order a drink..
the manager was able to offer the following for us to drink on the verandah
a half bottle of moet and chandon..at some astronomical price think around $80
or a full bottle for close to $160..
what about cocktails? no we cannot serve cocktails on the verandah we were quickly informed..not even a gin and tonic..what the hell..
i would not let the girls order any drinks and we promptly left the bar after expressing to the manager how thankful we were for his warm hospitality..what an absolutely terrible experience..especially considering the trouble we had made to get to there bar..

i am not the person that usually complains but thought that this terrible snotty nosed little place is worthy of a mention..
maybe hospitality workers in singapore dont ever get taught about supply and demand and that business needs happy and satisfied customers to survive..

anyways this has taken up lots of my time and i hope that someone at klee (preferably the owners) reads this and change its policy..they should also note that after leaving klee we were warmly welcomed at a lovely place mimolette and spent a small fortune there and left very happy customers after a hugely enjoyable night..

hopefully they can turn things around..shame on you klee..

I was curious when I heard about a new cocktail bar that had recently opened in Portsdown Road. They had a strange but interesting concept: strictly no beer and no wine – purely cocktails; and, as I discovered when I walked into the bar, they had no menus either.

The first thing the bartenders tell you is that they’re here to create a personalized, one-of-a-kind cocktail, just for you. You feel super special right away, if a little overwhelmed by the choice. I had no idea what I wanted the first time I stepped in, and I can’t remember what I ended up getting, but I do remember that the drinks were pretty damn good. That; and it was fun chatting to the bartender and watching him shake his stuff.

The second time I went back, my friends and I decided to stay outdoors. They have an outside seating area that’s slightly more rustic than the inside. You sit on wooden banks that conjure up memories of tiny wooden splinters dug into the surface of your fingertips when you were little, clambering around on the playground. No matter, at least you can smoke freely and enjoy your personalized cocktail outdoors.

A friend and I wound up at the bar again one night looking forward to cocktails outdoors. When we sat down on the wooden benches and asked the waiter what he could recommend (we felt like old pros, having been there before!), we got a bit of a slap in the face when he told us that they no longer served cocktails outside - only beer, wine and champagne were allowed now.

– Why, was the obvious first question.
– For quality reasons, he replied, a little sheepishly, a little snootily.
– What quality reasons? I asked.

Apparently it was a part of their much tightened and ‘more’ carefully thought out concept. They now refuse to serve cocktails outside because it takes away from the ‘Klee experience’, i.e. customers interacting with the bartenders inside. Apparently they believe in that part of their concept so much so that they reneged on the no wine and no beer policy, on customer’s freedom of choice, and on basic economics.

– Fine, we said, can we sit inside then?
– No, the inside is full.

Since we’d come all the way to Portsdown Road for cocktails, we relented and asked for a glass of wine instead. And then found out that they only serve wine in bottles. Okay then.

The fourth and last time I went to Klee, I thought I knew how to beat the system. I went inside with a few friends, and, after being told that all seats inside were either full or reserved, asked the waiter if we could order our cocktails inside, ‘interact’ with the bartender to make Mr. Concept Guy – whoever you are – happy, and then take our drinks outside. They weren’t impressed by what I thought was pretty clever (and logical) idea, and told me that went against the ‘concept’, too.

– But , they added, if we wanted to have a quick drink before the people who had made reservations came, we could.

We should have left, but it was another case of giving in. I really wanted my friends, who had never been to Klee, and whom I’d raved to about their cocktails, to try at least one drink before we left. So we sat down on the sofas in the corner, and expectantly waited for the bartender to offer up suggestions on what yummy, personalized drinks he could make us. I really shouldn’t have held my breath.

– You pick a fruit, what fruit do you want? He asked.

Fruit? Why did it have to start with fruit? It limits a plethora of alternative options. Like those Linnaeus classifications you use in science class to find out what type of organism you’re looking at in your biology textbook. You start from the top and decide whether it has a vertebrate or gills or whatnot, and each choice leads you towards what might end up being a fish, but will rule out that it could be a mammal. Or in drink speak: If I have to start off by picking fruit, I’m never going to travel down the list that will get me a chocolate espresso martini, am I? And if you’re a first timer, you really don’t know the options you have and go with the flow. Okay, so maybe it was just the one incompetent bartender, but still.

My overwhelmed friend picked raspberry as his fruit.
The bartender suggested a raspberry-saketini.

I went with the flow and picked blueberry.
The bartender suggested a blueberry-saketini.

I stared at him, really hoping he was kidding. When he stared back at me in earnest, I asked him slowly, like I would ask a five year old.

– But... aren’t they... the same... thing?
– No, he assured me, they’re different.

They weren’t. And unless Klee changes its die-hard, hypocritical stance on being ‘true to the concept’, I won't be recommending this place to anybody anytime soon.

Klee now no longer serve cocktails outdoors. I went there yesterday to celebrate one of my colleague's birthday and we were all disappointed as we were told that they have a new house rule and that is they no longer serve cocktails outdoors. For outdoor seats, they only serve beers, wine or champange. If these drinks are ok for you then its probably no harm seating outdoor. If you have ever been to Klee you would definately know that they have limited seats in door and some outdoor seats. So now that they no longer serve cocktails outdoors then its a definate no no for me to return even though I like their cocktails.

Went to Klee the other night and was unpleasantly surprised by their new policy (since Jan 1, 2009) of not serving cocktails at their al fresco section. Apparently, their drink quality has dropped when waiters had to shuttle back and forth from inside the bar to outside. So those poor souls who liked the al fresco environment or didn't have the foresight to reserve a space beforehand were stuck with a selection of 2-3 wines (by the bottle), beers and champagne.

Economically speaking, this policy reduced their cocktail income immediately by like, 50%. Does this mean that they'd increase prices of cocktails for people at the bar to compensate for the lost income? Just wondering.....

This place was actually suggested to me by the great Tim G (all hail him). I checked it out on hgw first and decided on it after reading the many positive reviews. Klee, which is pronounced "Clay" is named after a Swiss painter Paul Klee who was very influential in his work and stlye during his time. Just wiki him if you're remotely interested in it or just want to impress your date when you bring him/her to Klee. Very important that you at least know the proper pronunciation of Klee as it'd be embarrassing if your date knows of the place which unfortunately I had the pleasure of learning the harder way.

Just some things you've to consider when going to Klee. First, the place is really small so make a reservation in advance or you'll be sitting outside, which is ideal for big groups but sad for couples. Second is the ulu-ness of the place. Unless you are willing to walk for 20 minutes to the main road in the dark half sane, drive or call a cab. Third and finally, this is not your usual drink drank drunk bar where you drink in the attempts to kill yourself. It is a lot more atas where people drink and chill, not drink to kill. Now that I've cleared that up, lets talk about my night at Klee.

Being true to being a last minute person, I only sought help from my dear pals at HGW at 2am in the morning on Christmas day for advice on where to go to on Christmas night. I tried making a reservation but they were constantly engaged and it was difficult to get through. I finally got through at 6pm but to my dismal, they told me that it was fully booked and I would not be able to get a seat indoors but to come anyway as the outdoor seats were available.

I arrived at Klee at 10pm and to my utter surprise, it was not full house. Going through the main door, I half expected them to tell me and my lady J that they were fully booked for the night and that we had to sit outside and feed the mosquitoes. However, that wasn't the case and we got a seat at the bar. I was honestly quite blown back by their open and spacious concept. They only have seats at the bar, which roughly has around 15-20 seats and a small table that can probably sit 8 people. The place can probably take more tables but its nice the way it is, spacious and not too crowded, which makes it more exclusive for those inside. The place appeals so much to me as the colors are simple yet stylish. A little like Relish at Cluny Court. The walls are white with black patterns which is quite like the artist Klee's works. The place has a grand piano which is worked on by a pretty young lady who has an awesome voice that will blow you away.

Klee works on this concept where there is no menu. The staff there are all trained bartenders and they pride themselves on making drinks that cater to your taste and preference at that moment. They use fresh fruits and vegetables to mix with premium alcohol. As you can see in the picture at the bottom, they have a wide variety of good quality expensive alcohol so rest assured that you'll be drinking top quality drinks at Klee. As I said, they have a different concept so there are no shots or hard liquor, just special cocktails. For our first round, Lady J decided on something sweet. The bartender recommended grapes with martini and a dash of fresh lemon juice. I also wanted something sweet so he recommended me strawberry with sake and peach liqueur. I really liked my drink because it wasn't too sweet but at the same time was light. It had a tasteless first taste but then the aftertaste kicks in with the fullness of the strawberry and peach taste. A truly unique and enjoyable drink. For my second round I had a Bellini which is champagne and peach puree though the I think they used peach liqueur instead. Again, I truly enjoyed the drink as it was not only light but not overly sweet which is what i like. My final round was a strawberry champagne cocktail which was a drink I saw the poor bartender prepare countless times that night. It is champagne mixed with strawberry puree. From the looks of it, it must be a really troublesome drink to prepare as he had to pour the champagne in the glass, then scoop out the foam then stir then repeat the process countless of times till the glass is filled. The drink was enjoyable which explains why many people ordered it. The puree at the top is generous which goes well when drinking the champagne.

All in all the experience at Klee was a really enjoyable one. I had a great time there with the good music and the friendly bartenders. But of course the company, my lady J, played the most important part, talking over drinks and all. It was an interesting experience watching the bartenders make the drinks in their own unique ways. One day I'd love to learn from all the masters there. Oh and I saw that lady Fiona Xie at Klee. Nothing much I can say cause I'm not really a fan but all you stalkers out there can probably go to Klee to get a glimpse of her.