COMEBACK KIDS

Zouk, Milli, Lulu’s Lounge and 67 on Scotts are among the anticipated openings from established nightlife operators

- Teo Kai Xiang

Singapore nightlife’s biggest new names in 2026 are, in fact, old ones.

This year’s most anticipated openings are comebacks and second acts from the city’s most established operators.

Among them is Milli, a collaboration between local cocktail luminary Vijay Mudaliar, chef Han Liguang and Bae’s Cocktail Club founder Leong Sheen Jet, which was launched in May in the top-floor space of the National Gallery Singapore.

Previously occupied by cocktail bar Smoke & Mirrors for nine years before its lease agreement with the gallery ended in 2025, the space has undergone an Art Deco-inspired refresh, along with a new lounge area built for late-night revelry.

On the menu, Han serves up his take on local classics, such as a roasted chicken rice paella and cod with assam curry beurre blanc, available as part of a set lunch (starting at $38). One highlight is the chilli crab ice cream ($32), a savoury take on dessert combining chilli crab meat with strawberry relish.

While the venue opens till 3am (Wednesdays to Fridays) or 4am (Saturdays), a party bus ferries patrons to Bae’s Cocktail Club every Friday and Saturday night at 1.30am to keep the festivities going.

Milli’s founding team is no stranger to success and setbacks.

Two cocktail bars founded by Mudaliar, Native and Analogue, nabbed coveted spots in the industry’s World’s Best Bars list in 2024. Analogue closed in 2024 after a rent hike at its CHIJMES venue, while Native is still going strong in Amoy Street.

The Proper Concepts Collective, at which Leong is a co-founder, shut down two of its F&B concepts — kaiseki restaurant Goho and fusion food eatery Ms Maria & Mr Singh — in 2025 amid a string of high-profile closures across the island that year.