Why wine bar RVLT transformed into Revolution, a restaurant at Fritz Hansen Place in Singapore

Just after the pandemic in October 2023, I met Dario Reicherl for drinks at RVLT. The CEO Asia of Danish furniture brand Fritz Hansen had asked to meet at his favourite wine bar, situated at 38 Carpenter Street. RVLT was low-key, high-vibe. Against neon signs, a wall of wine and high tables, regulars casually mingled with the bar’s owners Alvin Gho and Ian Lim.

I met the trio again this year in July. This time, it was at Revolution at Fritz Hansen Place, a new cultural destination merging dining and design, and that includes the new Fritz Hansen showroom next door.

Revolution is an ‘evolution’ of RVLT, said Gho. It is situated in a street-fronting corner within an industrial building along Henderson Road – not a location one would think of for fine food, but totally apt for Revolution’s brand of irreverence, authenticity and bravura. RVLT is a place popular with natural wine drinkers in Singapore that shuttered earlier this year.

During my visit to Revolution, I was seated at a high table, illuminated by Kaiser Idell pendant lamps from the Danish furniture brand. The ambient light intensified the colours of my cured ocean trout, chicken rendang homemade ravioli and crispy kale salad embellished with fresh heirloom tomatoes.

A couple sauntered in gingerly, taking in the picturesque scene. “They were just shopping for furniture next door,” whispered Reicherl. Below a burgundy ceiling inspired by wine, iconic Grand Prix chairs designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen gather around Piet Boon-designed Superellipse tables tiptoeing on cement floors with their spindly metal legs.

TIMELY COLLABORATION

In many ways, the symbiosis of the restaurant and furniture showroom is complementary. This ambiguity brings intrigue. “You don’t usually go and eat in a furniture store, and you don't buy furniture in a restaurant, so this creates an experience for the client,” said Reicherl.

Furniture showrooms are also generally quiet spaces. “But if you add life, it becomes more interesting,” Reicherl observed. This ‘life’ comes very much from Gho and Lim, whom Reicherl described as having the human touch in their hospitality. “After two or three times at RVLT, you would become their friends,” said Reicherl. He had gone to the bar for its natural wines but stayed for the camaraderie.

A wine bar in the new Fritz Hansen showroom is in line with Reicherl’s approach to crafting unique brand experiences. The Fritz Hansen showroom in Seoul has a similar concept, housing restaurant and wine bar Big Lights in its building.

This partnership among the trio was about the stars aligning. “We’ve been trying to collaborate with Dario but nothing materialised until this space happened,” said Gho. Fritz Hansen’s lease at Tan Boon Liat building was ending and W Atelier, which retails the brand, found this new spot. At the same time, RVLT was on its way to shuttering its doors.

LOVE FOR WINE

RVLT’s magnetism was grounded on Gho and Lim’s common love for natural wine and strong friendship that goes back 18 years. The business partners first met at the Singapore Sommelier Competition in 2007. “He came in second; I was third,” said Gho on the friendly competition with Lim.

Lim had studied biotechnology in polytechnic but he was disinterested in the subject and went on to take on a waitering stint at 8 On the Bay. There, his passion for wine was sparked, and knowledge deepened with regular trips to the library. Lim moved on to work at Michaelangelo’s at Chip Bee Gardens before joining a commercial wine supplier in 2009. “Then I got jaded because commercial wineries are very soulless; it’s just about selling a product,” Lim shared.

Discovering natural wines was the turning point. “The guys selling you the wines are also the ones making them. When you shake their hands, they’re rough and filled with wine stains,” Lim explained, charmed by the warmth an authenticity of the natural wine makers he met.

Gho’s wine interest was seeded in hospitality school but like Lim, his knowledge was mainly self-taught after he gained little real insight from lecturers and industry colleagues. “I started reading about wine, buying magazines, et cetera. There were so many new things to learn daily,” he said.

From Morten’s Steakhouse, he became Raffles Hotel’s head sommelier. Subsequently he took on roles at The American Club Singapore, Jean-Georges in Shanghai where he had relocated to for a time, and then Daniel Boulud’s db Bistro Moderne at the Marina Bay Sands.

RVLT’S BEGINNINGS

Gho and Lim started hanging out after work. They could not find many places with good music, wine and ambience that were opened after 11pm. The idea of setting up a space together remained a casual discussion until a mutual friend invited them to use his restaurant in a shophouse at Killiney Road. “He had a space but no concept; we had a concept but no space. So we agreed,” explained Goh.

And so RVLT opened in 2006. The name is an abbreviation of the word ‘revolution’, chosen because of natural wine’s resurgence in the modern wine scene just before the pandemic. Natural wine refers to wine made without chemicals and industrial processes – the way it was done before the 1950s and the onset of mass production.

One of RVLT’s ideas was to replace the wine list with a ‘wine wall’ to make wine selecting less intimidating. “Out of 10 people, eight will stare at the wine list and not know what to do with it. But with this wine wall or retail shop format, people recognise a label although they don't know the wine producer’s name. Many would say, ‘Oh! I know this wine; I had it last time and liked it. Can I have it?’” said Gho.

Many of Lim and Gho’s regulars discovered natural wine at RVLT. “At first, it was just for fun, for the two of us to hang out after work. Then it was starting to become a business so we thought we should look at investors and start a proper space with a kitchen,” said Gho on the Killiney Road shop.

THE UPS OF THE BUSINESS

RVLT’s second iteration at 38 Carpenter Street opened just over half a year later, offering a food menu as well. Malaysia-born chef Sunny Leong came on board, first as sous chef before taking on the head chef position soon after. For three months, chef Kenneth Foong worked with Leong before heading to Copenhagen to work at Noma (and later became the Michelin-starred restaurant’s head chef).

“He gave Sunny direction with the menu design. Sunny had never done bar food, being from traditional fine-dining Chinese restaurants like Sky on 57 and Corner House. There were times we told him his food was ‘too pretty’ and asked him to ‘mess it up a bit’,” chuckled Gho. Leong’s nuggets become one of RVLT’s signatures that continue to be served at Revolution.

Business initially boomed. RVLT also expanded to Taipei when Gho relocated to the city for a time.

“It was amazing during the pandemic, as soon as the initial uncertainties were over,” he said. He recalled having to turn customers away as the wine bar in Singapore was too packed. 

Customers could not travel overseas and so came to RVLT for respite from the stresses of the pandemic and being confined at home. “It was impossible to book [a table] during that time. People would just linger; I would also stay for six, seven hours,” Reicherl recalled.

WHEN THE BUZZ FADES

When the borders opened after the pandemic, the wine bar emptied out as customers started travelling with a vengeance. Those who visited RVLT in their 20s and early-30s got married, had kids, drank less and stayed home more.

“Our replacement rate was not one to one because the next generation of young people do not drink or go out as much,” lamented Gho. Those who came would rush to leave by 10.30pm to catch the bus or train as taxi fees surged.

The rise of online meetings, shrinking expat budgets, cautious tourist spending, and higher transport costs all contributed to fewer customers and reduced spending. The continued fervour of online gaming from pandemic times did not help. “During COVID, people were stuck at home and started buying nice gaming chairs, sound systems; they began socialising online instead of at bars or other social places,” observed Gho.

“One Thursday night in December last year, we looked around at 8.34pm and RVLT was empty. That was scary,” Lim remembered. The business became unsustainable, and the pair decided to call it quits – until Reicherl came in with the perfect collaboration.

SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Revolution, Gho stressed, is not RVLT version 2. “We kept some signature dishes but generally, we wanted to be different from the RVLT brand. We are no longer a wine bar but a restaurant. We want to have the same energy, spirit and hospitality. But everything else is different – from the uniforms to the look of the space.”

Chef Leong’s cuisine is now modern comfort food with a playful twist, influenced by seasonal produce. Currently, it is opened daily for lunch. It will open in September for dinner as well with a five-course tasting experience.

“I wish for Revolution to get a Michelin star because Sunny is a very good chef. He should get the recognition because he was ‘forced’ to make bar food for the last seven years and now he has a platform; it’s time for him to shine,” said Lim earnestly.

For now, the duo is happy to continue having a space to hang out. Their regulars at RVLT are similarly glad. Gho recalled looking around during Revolution’s opening party and saying to Lim, “We changed the location and the space looks nicer now. But it’s the same people.”