Wala Wala Cafe Bar

Walaaaaa! Go to place in Holland v for me. Always a table ready upstairs since people want to stay outside for some reason. I like to sit upstairs and people watch. Great location!

A mainstay among students and youngsters who are in the area. They have been in operation for a long time. Still remember people would go up to the second floor to club on mambo days. They have live bands performing at night and it’s pretty sweet. Rock, r&b, oldies.
You order your food and drinks with the iPad provided. Don’t make the mistake I make when ordering draught beer in a jug by selecting x2 for two jugs instead of the drop down menu to select two glasses with the images of the glass. But what the hell, have more beer on a Saturday evening and be merry.
The German beers are not bad. I like the Weiss one
Weekend evenings are pretty lively.

This place have been here in Holland V. for more than 20 over years.
Like the grilled squid with the sauce.
My fav pizza, Hawaiian with bacon instead of ham…
And of course the Vongole… bestest.
Cheers.

Food was OK. Beer was moderately priced and service was… eh, so-​so. Wouldn’t go out of your way to stop here.

Respectable beer selection. Decent prices for Singapore. The upstairs is air conditioned but there is a live band some (all?) nights and may not be conducive for a deep conversation over a beer. That said, what appears to be the house band (a duet), was quite excellent.

I love this place! Wala wala has all the fixings of a great bar that provides a groovy atmosphere for live music and decent bar food. Happy hour brings down the prices of drinks to what I would consider normal drink prices in the U.S. as well. Major plus!

Drinks and service were okay, but their menu was pretty good. Pizza was kinda pricey but surprisingly tasty.
Overall very good time!

Great live interactive bands upstairs!
Avoid the expensive Clarke Quay and come to Holland Village afterwork instead! It is a bit further from city center, but it is completely worth it! Carlsberg pitchers all night :) The whole atmosphere reminded me of my second home, where I lived for half a year… Copenhagen, Denmark (home of the Carlsberg brews)
Even on a Tuesday night, the upstairs was pretty crowded — and there was a birthday girl in the crowd! The lead singer would always reference her and joke around with the crowd, which made it a lot more interesting because it led to a more familial feel.
He even got the whole crowd to sing Happy Birthday to her, and she stumbled and fell down. Whoops! But, at least she had a great birthday, right?
The Tuesday night band played a great variety of music, and even took requests. Towards midnight, they said one last song… but after a few screams of «ENCORE ECORE PLAY BRUNO MARS (the leader singer resembled a bit like him, I hope he doesn’t read this and get mad!) ENCORE»
The band ended the night greatly with one last song, but unfortunately it wasn’t a Bruno Mars song. I would’ve definitely got a kick out of that if he did!
I didn’t try to food here yet (but it is in the downstairs area), but I would still come here again just because of the great vibe of WALA WALA!
And, plus I heard the founder is a USC alumni? Fight ON!

Wala has been a mainstay in many Singaporean’s heart. Almost everyone I know has been to Wala at least once in their life. Great bands like Shirlyn and the UnXpected and awesome chicken wings and pizza, make each visit enjoyable.
What could be improved though is the number of waiters/​waitresses they have, especially at the bar level. It can get frustrating to constantly stick your neck out to spot staff and even more frustrating when they promise to come back but do not. Not their fault though because from what I see, it is a manpower issue.
Nonetheless, I love visiting Wala from when I was in school; right through my army days; and now, as a working adult.

Ehrm. Four stars? really, Unilocalers? REALLY?
Wala Wala has nothing wrong with it, per se. But it’s hardly the best out there, either. I’m thinking the 4 stars you’re giving it is simply because of its history. It’s been here SO LONG, you can’t imagine HV without it. And hey, peeps are creatures of habit. I know it’s hard to venture into the new venues along Lorong Mambong… but…
Well. So.
Their happy hour is good value. I will give them that much. And yes, it’s a stand-​by, reliable neighborhood pub. No doubts there. But their food so soooooooooo meh that I am tempted to wander to the hawkers up the road and bring back something seriously tasty just to get rid of the blandness on my tongue after Wala Wala’s grub.
Service is friendly but not genuinely so. The servers are clearly there doing a JOB. They don’t particularly LIKE to serve you. And what is with the insistence upon paying out after every drink, even when the place is empty? Do you think I’m going to jump up with my beer and run down the street, far away? Do you really trust me that little? I get it when it’s busy — fine, I will start a tab. But your policy seems to not take peak/​non-​peak hours into consideration. I’ve worked in the F&B industry — this is poor practice. It means you don’t know or care to know your patrons, cuz if you did, you’d want to make their lives easier, not harder.
I’ll likely come back here for happy hour again — and I’ll plant a $ 100 bill for ya at the bar so you stop pestering me every 20 minutes — but I won’t be ordering food, and I won’t be here past the dealios, as there are far better places to imbibe on this little strip…

My favorite bar in Holland V! :)

A staple among locals, Walas is more than a neighborhood pub. It is like a dear old friend that you can count on to always provide good times, good food/​drinks, and good entertainment. With live bands (who take requests!) playing virtually every night of the week, this is the place to be for happy hour fans and late night partiers alike.
The bar is split into two floors — the upstairs catering to local bands, the downstairs catering to sports fans, with constant televised matches of all sorts (usually football) going on. The staff are quick and friendly, prices are not exorbitant, and seating is plentiful. Pay them a visit, you won’t be sorry.
Try the chicken wings, they’re almost as famous as Walas itself!

Good live music, mediocre food.

Wala Wala has been around for as long as I can remember and is an excellent place to chill out with friends over a beer (or five) and some pub grub like pizza and wings.
We usually come here for a spot of live music ala Shirlynn and the Unexpected or Jack & Rai depending on our moods. The first set starts around 945pm but do go early to get a table or you’ll be stuck standing around.

Wala Wala has been in Holland Village for ages. It’s a nice chill spot to go for a beer or listen to live music.
The downstairs area is open air, so it can get pretty hot here especially on a humid night. Upstairs they have live music almost every night. Coming during happy hour where drinks are cheaper. Pretty extensive drinks list with beers from every country.

An institution in Holland Village and around the whole island, especially in the live music scene! I’ve never actually eaten here because I’m usually just there for the music and drinks, but there are plenty of places around that are more conducive for a good meal than here; I think it’s perfect for drinking and good bands.
The first floor is good for chilling out but if you’re there for the music, head up to the next level where there’s always good stuff going on. My favs are Jack & Rai, who don’t play at Timbre anymore, but Walas is a lot more down to earth and fun anyway; a bit more of a community vibe going on, which I really like.
It does get packed most nights towards 10, so go early and find a spot, drink more and have an awesome time. Happy Hour is from 7pm to 9pm, so this will fit in well with your chope-​place plan.

If Holland Village needs an icon of some kind, Wala Wala would definitely qualify. It’s pretty much a staple of the area.
The outdoor area is fantastic for kicking back and chilling with friends and beer, and watch the people walk by. If the night is too warm, you can head upstairs for some air conditioning and live music, although I’m not so big a fan of loud music.
I’ve never seen the point of eating here with that many restaurants just around the bar, so I can’t give any opinion on that. But one thing about the food is for sure: their «walapenos» are fantastic! They’re supposedly made from scratch, and definitely goes great with whatever you happen to be drinking.

A two storey restaurant and bar, the ground level has TVs and the staircase that leads up brings you into a gateway of live music. My favourite thing about Wala Wala is the live music element.
Wala wala has different bands for every day of the week and is very popular with music lovers, tertiary students, fresh graduates and the yuppie crowd. Most bands in there play interpretations of top forty pop tunes and band residences change from time to time. Like most of the live music bars in the country, you won’t get to hear very much in the way of original material but the musicianship of the bands that play there are very decent.
They serve a very good array of beers there and often have some brew that’s on promotion for $ 10 a serving. My go to order at Wala is always the Caesar Salad and calamari to go with the beer.
The bands play 3 sets a night (ending at about 1230am) with 15 minute breaks in between but if you go earlier there’s often a happy hour act and happy hour beer promotions. Stay downstairs if you want to have decent conversation because when the bands are playing, chances are you’ll lose your voice trying to make yourself heard. A good place to go after work.

Came here on a Thursday night to watch Shirlyn and the Unexpected but Shirlyn herself did not appear tonight and was taken over by a guy with a raspy voice who sang well, so it wasn’t a wasted night after all! That’s what I love about Wala — all the musicians here are remarkable and I’ve never been disappointed. There are tons of bars with live bands around, but Wala will always be the best on my list — great music, location and ambience in one place. Happy hour is available until 9pm.

This Holland Village stalwart has been here for as long as I can remember. Many of the old regulars are long gone. Not that it’s declined — it’s just stayed very, very much the same. Why fix it when it isn’t broken? It’s still packed out every night, especially on weekends.
I come here solely to see Shirlyn and the UnXpected play, on Thursdays and Saturdays. For a long time, they were the rare covers band that dared do proper rock numbers, instead of the soft radio or acoustic rock prepared by other bars. Shirlyn’s voice is divine.