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Aperitivo in Singapore
Aperitivo is the Italian hour before dinner — roughly 6 to 8 pm — when a bitter-sweet drink and a few salted snacks open the appetite and close the working day. In Singapore it has become an evening ritual of its own: the climate suits a cold, long drink at golden hour, and Italian restaurants and rooftop bars across the city now run aperitivo hours from 5 pm. The Singapore Spritz, a ruby-red vermouth spritz made with Alfredo Soria Vermouth di Torino Rosso, is poured at Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar on Purvis Street.
What is aperitivo?
Aperitivo is both a drink and a moment. The word comes from the Latin aperire, to open: a drink taken before a meal to open the appetite. In Piedmont, where vermouth was born in 1786, the aperitivo was vermouth — served cold, over ice, with a twist — long before the orange spritz arrived. The moment is the hour after work and before dinner, in company, with olives, almonds, grissini or a plate of cheese. It is not a happy hour and not a substitute for dinner; it is the pause between the two.
When is aperitivo hour in Singapore?
Earlier than in Italy. Singapore's bars open their aperitivo hours from about 5 pm, and the natural window is golden hour — roughly 6 to 7.30 pm year-round, because the island sits almost on the equator and sunset barely moves. That makes Singapore one of the few cities where aperitivo is a twelve-month ritual rather than a summer one.
Why spritz, and why vermouth?
The spritz has become the world's aperitivo drink: worldwide servings grew from about 60 million to roughly 1.5 billion a year over two decades, and the Aperol Spritz now outsells the entire Champagne category, according to Campari Group (September 2026).1 Almost all of those are orange. The Singapore Spritz is the ruby-red one: vermouth instead of bitter orange, which makes it drier, more aromatic and closer to the Piedmontese original. Read what a vermouth spritz is.
Where to drink a Singapore Spritz
Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar
#01-02, 36 Purvis Street, Singapore 188613A Purvis Street institution under executive chef Roberto Galetti, with a wine list of more than 1,600 labels built by wine director Antonio Valentini, who is also part of the Alfredo Soria team — and the first venue in Singapore to pour the Singapore Spritz. It is also where waitlist members collect their bottles of Alfredo Soria Vermouth di Torino Rosso and receive a welcome offer at the restaurant.
Your event
The Spritz Cottage, a compact mobile aperitivo bar with a brass tap, pours Singapore Spritz at gardens, launches and celebrations anywhere in Singapore.
More venues are coming; see Partners for the current list.
How to do aperitivo at home in Singapore
Chill the vermouth and the sparkling wine for at least two hours, make clear ice the night before, and put out three salted things: green olives, Marcona almonds and a hard cheese. Pour the Singapore Spritz — 90 ml vermouth, 60 ml Prosecco, 30 ml soda — at 6 pm, outside if you can, and stop at two. Dinner follows.
Frequently asked questions
- What do you eat with aperitivo?
- Small salted things, not a meal: olives, nuts, grissini, cured meat, aged cheese, a few crisps. Their salt and fat are balanced by the bitterness in the drink.
- What is the difference between aperitivo and happy hour?
- Happy hour is a discount; aperitivo is a ritual. Aperitivo is about a specific style of bitter-sweet drink, a specific time before dinner, and food served with the drink rather than instead of it.
- Is a spritz an aperitivo?
- Yes. A spritz is the most popular aperitivo drink in the world. A vermouth spritz is the older, drier version, closer to how Turin drank its aperitivo in the nineteenth century.
- Where can I buy Alfredo Soria vermouth in Singapore?
- Through the Singapore Spritz waitlist, with collection at Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar, 36 Purvis Street. Join the waitlist on the Alfredo Soria page.