By The Table desk · Last verified 27 September 2026

Corkage is what a restaurant charges to open, chill and pour a bottle you brought. In Singapore it runs from nothing to S$150 a bottle. Casual and neighbourhood restaurants tend to charge around S$20 to S$35. Mid-range restaurants charge S$30 to S$50, and fine dining often S$80 or more. The most serious wine rooms list S$100 to S$150. Many restaurants waive the fee on set nights, or when you buy a bottle from their list.

Quick facts

• The fee is per 750ml bottle.
• It is usually quoted ++, so add a fifth.
• Waivers are common: free weeknights, free first bottles, or one-for-one.
• Call ahead, because websites lag behind policy changes.
• Your bottle stops when the restaurant’s licensed hours stop.

Why is bringing your own bottle so common here?

Tax. Singapore charges excise duty on alcohol according to its strength, and restaurants then add rent, service and glassware, so the gap between a shop bottle and the same bottle on a list is wide. That gap is why BYOB became normal enough for local media to publish lists of corkage-free restaurants.

How do corkage policies usually work?

Four patterns cover most of the island.

1. A flat fee per bottle, quoted ++. One Italian restaurant’s published rate starts at S$45++ for a standard bottle.
2. Free bottles, then a fee. One Cantonese restaurant has published a policy of no corkage on the first five bottles per table, then S$30++ a bottle.
3. One-for-one. Order a bottle from the list and corkage is waived on one you brought.
4. Free nights. Some restaurants waive corkage on the first two bottles at dinner early in the week.

A few restaurants also give members free corkage.

When does my bottle have to stop?

When the restaurant’s licence says so. A licensed restaurant may not allow drinking on its premises beyond its approved hours, and bottles you brought fall under the same rule. Plan the second bottle with that in mind.

Is it worth it? The maths

Take a S$60 bottle from a wine shop and a S$40++ corkage fee. The corkage lands at S$47.96, so the bottle costs you S$107.96 at the table. That is a good deal if the same wine is S$150 on the list. It is a poor one if the list has a S$90 bottle you would enjoy just as much. As a rule of thumb, bring bottles worth at least twice the fee; below that, the fee is doing most of the work.

How to bring a bottle without friction

• Ask when you book, because policies change faster than websites.
• Don’t bring a wine the restaurant already sells.
• Hand your bottles over on arrival so staff can chill or decant them.
• At the top end, offering the sommelier a taste of something special is a courtesy, not an obligation.
• If buying one bottle waives a fee, that is usually the cheapest way to drink two.

The WahLiao Verdict

Pay corkage for bottles that matter: the one you’ve been keeping, or the one the list can’t match. For an ordinary weeknight bottle the fee eats the saving, so order from the list and keep your wine for a night that deserves it.

Questions people ask

Is corkage charged with service charge and GST?

Usually, yes, like the food.

Can I bring a bottle to any restaurant?

Only where the restaurant agrees. Some refuse outright.

Is there a fee for bringing a cake?

Some restaurants charge a cake-cutting fee on the same logic, so ask when you book.

Which restaurants have free corkage?

Policies change too often for a fixed list to stay true. Ask when you book.

Sources: Wine Spectator restaurant listings (corkage fees); restaurant-industry guides to corkage pricing and liquor-hours conditions (Eats365, KPay); published restaurant corkage policies, checked September 2026.

Read next: What ++ Means on a Singapore Menu · How to Book a Restaurant in Singapore · Back to The Table

For what’s worth it this week, with the bill shown, read The WahLiao Week.