This may just be Bali’s most sophisticated bar

There are not many opportunities to dress up for a night out in Bali, and it’s not only because of the tropical heat. Bali is after all a holiday place and when people go out, they tend to wear shorts, T-shirts, summer dresses — even Bintang singlets and thongs.

Most nightclubs in Bali and even fine-dining restaurants have no dress codes for fear of driving away guests.

That’s why I was excited about Segno, a modern Japanese cocktail bar in the beachfront tourist hub of Canggu that, based on the photos on its Instagram account, screamed sophistication. More so it has a dress code, which told me the owners prefer quality over quantity when it comes to putting bums on seats.

I was not disappointed. From the moment one steps foot in Segno and sashays up the flight of stairs with plush red carpet and dark red walls, they enter another world: an old-world gentleman’s club with classical appeal where the music is soft and evocative, where the ceilings are patterned and inlaid with LED strip lights, where wood panels and black and white photographs paper the walls and where dim lighting sets the mood for a night of quiet conversation and flickering eye contact.

Groups at Segno tend to sit along the couch areas bracing the walls, or in private rooms. My partner and I made a beeline for the bar, where we were seated not on bar stools but on super comfortable armchairs with deep, buttery leather upholstery. The bar floats at waist level where Segno’s bartenders, elegantly attired in crisp white shirts with bow ties and suspenders, welcomed us with warmed hand towels and warm smiles.

The menu features classic cocktails plus 30 signature drinks, many with Balinese ingredients. But they also make bespoke drinks based on customers’ preferences, tastes and moods, which is where our evening began. I was served a grapefruit vodka drink with lemon umeshu, a Japanese plum liqueur, and yuzu, a cross between a lemon and mandarin. My partner scored a Southeast Sour made of pineapple-infused Balinese arak, egg white, lemon juice, fresh kaffir leaves and palm sugar that gave the drink a rich caramel note.

For our next round, we ordered custom twists on classic margaritas. Mine had a touch of agave nectar turbocharged with chilli, while my partner had torched ginger in hers, which added tropical flavour and spice.

For our third and final round, I asked for a luxury version of my go-to tipple: a whisky and coke. The bartender brought out two bottles for me to choose from.

The first was a 21-year-old Hibiki whisky from Japan aged in a cask made of Mizunara, a Japanese oak that takes 200 years to mature and adds a distinct sweet and spicy flavour. But at $200 per shot it was a bit rich for me and I opted for the second, more economical option: a Matsui single malt, which was seriously smooth. And instead of little ice cubes, my whisky and coke, along with our other drinks, had only one large cube.

“Ice is a crucial component that shapes the cocktail’s consistency, dilution and profile,” explained Sebastian Von Arx, the head bartender at Segno who hails from Switzerland and worked on the Gold Coast. “That’s why we hand-carve our ice, ensuring the perfect clarity, density and melt rate for each cocktail.”

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Segno is at 91 Jalan (road) Pantai Batu Bolong, Canggu.

Dress code, smart casual.

Open Sunday to Thursday, 7pm to 1.30am, Saturday and Sunday, 7pm to 2am.

For bookings call +62 (0) 821 1999 5288 or visit instagram.com/segno.bali.