Spilling secrets at Duxton cocktail bar Goodbye, Alibi

[SINGAPORE] Little glass bowls and cups, all filled with scraps of paper – some folded into neat squares, others crumpled into compact balls – top just about every surface in Goodbye, Alibi.

As we take our seat by the bar, we’re handed a menu, a pen and more strips of paper, this time unfolded and blank. “Write down your secrets and leave them in the bowl,” we’re told. 

We’re also invited to dig around and read what others have written. Some say they’ve taken money out of their parents’ wallets; others say they have a crush on so-and-so. Then there are those who reveal truly deep, dark, potentially life-ruining secrets: On one note, the writer proclaims sleeping with a married colleague.

Owner Kimberley Yeo tells The Business Times that these confessions are meant to create an open, interactive environment, one in which guests can feel at ease expressing themselves.

The concept has proven popular, too. “People sit here for hours, just going through the secrets,” says Yeo, adding that some even jot down replies, creating their own conversation of sorts.

An unexpected path

Yeo never really set out to run a bar; in fact, she’d been travelling in Australia and Europe not long before Goodbye, Alibi opened in March 2025. She explains that she was first drawn to the idea when a person in the industry approached her to invest in the business.

“I was quite keen; I thought I could own a bar without working on it,” says Yeo, who also runs Don Play Play, a catering company specialising in Japanese rice bowls.

But being a silent partner in Goodbye, Alibi simply wasn’t meant to be. When she returned to Singapore from London, she found things had gone sideways. “He embezzled the money and ran the bar into the ground before it even opened.”

For the next two months before opening day, it was a scramble to get things together. “Things were really, really bad,” Yeo recounts. “I just couldn’t see a way forward, I couldn’t see a way to fix the problems that I had.”

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When Goodbye, Alibi’s opening came around, she still didn’t feel entirely confident. She felt little for the menu crafted by her former business partner, a sentiment she says was shared by customers in those early days.

Things turned a corner in July, when Tan Chok Han – formerly of The Elephant Room in Tanjong Pagar – came on board as Goodbye, Alibi’s new head bartender. 

The menu was revamped soon after, and business started picking up. The bar is no longer “bleeding like crazy” as it did in its first few months, says Yeo.

The next chapter

The new line-up at Goodbye, Alibi comprises 14 signature cocktails. Savoury drinks feature heavily, with five in the ensemble – something Yeo and Tan had decided on early in the menu’s conceptualisation.

These umami bombs include Yeo’s creation Kill Me Softly, a Japanese twist on a classic dirty martini that introduces katsuoboshi and kombu to the mix. Perched on the rim of the glass is a marinated quail egg, bringing things to the fine line between cocktail and ramen broth.

Among the sweet cocktails is Coffee Meets Banana, a rum-based drink with cold-brew coffee and cream cheese. One of Yeo’s favourites on the menu, it was adapted from a cocktail she had created for a birthday party.

Unique garnishes are a big part of Goodbye, Alibi’s process. My Crazy Ex, a mala-inspired whisky concoction, is topped with a soy crisp. Sweet Nothings, a fruity mix with melon and yuzu, comes with a cheese tuile.

While a lot of work goes into making these components, it’s all part of the craft of mixology, says Yeo. 

“I’m glad people are starting to realise there’s a lot of effort that goes into making cocktails,” she adds. “It’s not that it’s alcoholic and so it’s expensive; you’re really paying for the time, effort, craft and expertise of the team.”

To the beat of her own drum

Standing out in Duxton is tough-going for a bar – particularly one owned by a relative newcomer to the industry. But Yeo doesn’t see the venues surrounding Goodbye, Alibi as competition. 

“All these bars are so established,” she says. “I’m just here trying to survive… I just want us to do well enough to move forward.”

Yeo’s vision is for Goodbye, Alibi to be a safe haven for marginalised groups. Already, it has run mixers for transgender people and hosted small-group chats on suicide with survivors.

The owner adds that such events will become a part of the bar’s regular programming, as a way to make an impact while ensuring consistent footfall for the business.

“Obviously, I want a successful bar, but I also truly want the space to do good, and bring as much joy as possible to as many people as possible,” she concludes. “I think that’s more important than anything else for me.”