TopTable is S’pore’s first ping pong bar, brings new spin on nightlife

Simply while you thought New Bahru couldn’t get extra thrilling, alongside comes TopTable—Singapore’s first ping pong social bar that blends sport with social ingesting.

The enterprise is led by Nick Li, a 28-year-old former desk tennis coach from Hong Kong, collectively along with his Singaporean spouse Jobeth and sister-in-law Jonique.

Having spent over a decade within the UK—the place he first met Jobeth—Nick relocated to Singapore along with her in late 2021. Right here, he sought to construct one thing contemporary, one thing that fuses his lifelong love for desk tennis with town’s nightlife.

And the end result of that’s TopTable. We spoke with Nick to learn how his family-run enterprise got here to life and what makes it a singular spot in Singapore’s social and nightlife scene.

Impressed by London’s bounce bars

Nick’s love affair with desk tennis started when he was simply 14. By 18, he was already teaching college students at London’s bounce bars, recognized for his or her mixture of ping pong, meals, drinks, and full of life ambiance.

Immersed in that buzzing ambiance, he discovered himself impressed, and the thought of someday working his personal ping pong bar started to take root.

Nonetheless, when he moved to Singapore, he realised that the idea was largely unprecedented right here, and carried its dangers. So Nick determined to start out small: in 2022, he launched TT LAB, a desk tennis academy that has since grown to 3 retailers throughout the city-state.

It was whereas scouting for brand new areas for TT LAB that Nick found New Bahru. Drawn to its vitality as a life-style hub, he determined it was the proper place to lastly convey his ping pong bar enterprise to life.

Conceptualisation started in 2024, and by June 2025, TopTable formally opened its doorways.

Mixing sports activities with social enjoyable

With TopTable, Nick wished to transcend the standard desk tennis expertise. “Desk tennis in Singapore continues to be very conventional—I wished to spice it up by creating a spot the place individuals can play, drink, and hang around.”

Charges are primarily based on playtime, ranging from S$13 per particular person for 55 minutes. Teams of three or extra can go for packages beginning at S$170, which embrace 85 minutes of video games in addition to meals and drinks. Guests may also take classes from Nick and his crew of TT LAB coaches, or just play for enjoyable in a full of life, social setting.

For these much less inclined in the direction of desk tennis, there’s additionally beer pong or darts.

The menu at TopTable is expansive, and to make sure it appeals to each sports activities fans and informal guests, the crew labored with an F&B marketing consultant to refine it. However in addition they made certain to maintain private touches, like Jobeth’s home made mocktails.

Jonique oversees the kitchen, finishing the family-run setup.

Constructing with ardour and grit

Although TopTable is a comparatively new enterprise, its novel idea appears to have already discovered success. Regardless of being positioned in a residential space and providing premium pricing, it broke even inside its second month.

However the street to opening the enterprise was removed from easy. Renovations stretched to 6 months, with festive seasons like Christmas and Chinese language New 12 months inflicting pricey delays.

Nick joked that his first piece of recommendation to aspiring entrepreneurs is easy: “By no means begin renovations on the finish of the 12 months.”

To maintain prices low, the household dealt with their very own advertising, drawing on Nick’s social media know-how from TT LAB and experimenting with on-line advertisements. A number of micro-influencers additionally dropped by to make promotional movies, giving the idea early visibility.

In the present day, the membership’s buzzing vitality is a far cry from the quiet first month after opening.

Regardless of this early progress, Nick emphasised that TopTable’s journey continues to be ongoing. Adaptability, he mentioned, is essential. Each enterprise will face challenges, and buyer preferences will differ, so studying to regulate rapidly to suggestions could make the distinction between survival and closure. Above all, he shared that it’s essential to dream large—however to pair these ambitions with a strong, life like plan.

TopTable needs to reimagine nightlife in Singapore

Nick’s journey reveals what can occur when ardour meets perseverance.

When he first moved from the UK to Singapore, he had no community of coaches or contacts to lean on. Constructing each TT LAB and TopTable from scratch was daunting—and when he first floated the thought of a ping pong bar, even family and friends doubted that Singaporeans would pay a premium to play.

However Nick selected to belief his instincts and lean on his roots in desk tennis. Over time, he has realized to filter recommendation, take scepticism with a pinch of salt, and concentrate on what feels proper.

Opening day at TopTable turned a milestone for the three co-founders: “I had my household crew on board, and I didn’t need them to go down with me simply due to my dream,” Nick recalled. “That stress really pushed me to provide my highest.”

Trying forward, Nick and his household plan to increase ideas much like TopTable to extra areas, creating areas the place numerous sports activities and social ingesting can go hand in hand.

For them, it isn’t nearly desk tennis—it’s about reimagining nightlife in Singapore, and proving that sports activities can convey individuals collectively in enjoyable, contemporary, and surprising methods.

Noting that Clarke Quay and different conventional nightlife districts are shedding their shine lately, they envision TopTable as a extra healthful and fascinating various, the place sport, play, and neighborhood intersect.

• Discover out extra about TopTable right here.
• Learn different articles we’ve written on Singaporean companies right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: TopTable