Bartender Spotlight: Bar Somma's Mel John Chavez on savoury cocktails and the perfect martini

Time Out

01-07-2025

In a city brimming with sleek cocktail joints, Bar Somma holds its own, with sharp drinks, slurp-worthy pastas, and a refreshing sense of style. Tucked within a reimagined school library space, this Italian cocktail and pasta bar in New Bahru has become one of the newest darlings of Singapore's drinking scene.
Expect modern classics executed with intention and flair, like a freezing-cold dirty martini that arrives at your table at negative five degrees Celsius; a bolognese-inspired cocktail with mirepoix flavours; and a deceptively simple Campari Seltz, made with a rare high-pressure soda siphon imported straight from Italy.
We sit down with Bar Manager Mel John Chavez to chat about underrated drinks, cocktail trends, and the Journey song that best captures the spirit of Bar Somma. Scroll on for our five quick-fire questions – and don't forget to check out more of Singapore's best bars in the Time Out Singapore 2025 Bar Guide, out now and available for free here.
If Bar Somma had a theme song, what would it be?
I'm a fan of the eighties band Journey. There's one song of theirs I really like – Don't Stop Believin'. When you play it in the bar on a busy night, it hypes everyone up. The song also resonates with me as a bartender – we have to believe in what we're doing and make sure it works out.
What is a must-try cocktail at Bar Somma?
Mirko's Martini. It's a dirty-style martini, and the good thing about it is that we freeze it. You can order a martini anywhere else, but maintaining its temperature as it's served is very hard. For us, we pre-make the martinis, they go into the freezer, you order one, and in the next 10 to 15 seconds, it's going to be on your table with a temperature of negative five to seven degrees.
Another one is the Bolognese Muse – a savoury cocktail. Since we're an Italian bar, we took inspiration from bolognese pasta and recreated it in a drink, taking the major flavours of the dish, from the tomato to the mirepoix. We add meat to it by using beef stock, then we add whisky and cook it again through a clarification process so it becomes a cleaner, easier version of a Bloody Mary, with lots of umami.
What is an underrated cocktail on your menu?
Campari Seltz – Campari liqueur with high-pressure water from our machine. We created this drink to show that you can enjoy a liqueur with just two ingredients. The Seltz machine we have here is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, straight from Campari. People think the drink will taste bitter, but the high-pressure water helps to cut through the bitterness and bring out more of the sweetness from the Campari.
Which cocktail trends do you want to see more and less of?
I would like to see more bars making savoury cocktails, especially because consumers are becoming very adventurous when it comes to trying new things. You'll see from time to time bars which have one or two savoury drinks on the menu. At Somma, we have four – I dedicated a category on the menu for it.
And I want to see fewer gimmicky cocktails – those that require lots of actions and are very interactive, or those that have two or three components on the table. Nowadays, consumers typically want something easy and minimalistic. People just want to have a good time with good drinks, good vibes, and good food.
What's another bar in the neighbourhood you'd recommend?
Definitely Bar Bon Funk. I really like the concept – it's enclosed, has a nice DJ, dim lights, good drinks, and nice snacks. You'll enjoy your time there. Another bar I'd recommend is CODA at InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Time Out Singapore (@timeoutsg)