Bangkok has always been a city of extremes and its bar scene is no exception. Frenetic, hedonistic and endlessly inventive, it has become one of the most diverse drinking destinations in the world. There’s live music – from jazz at Smalls to traditional Thai music at TEP BAR, breathtaking rooftop views at places like Le Du Kaan and some of the most creative plates in the city at natural wine bars such as Charmkrung and Ms Maria & Mr Singh.
The best Bangkok bars evolve at a rapid pace. Elaine Sun, who co-founded Ku and recently opened Badwater, a natural wine bar, says that ‘other than Singapore, I think Bangkok is the most advanced city in south east Asia.’ For Sun, there’s a clear timeline. ‘A lot of bars have opened in the last five to six years,’ she notes, and this ‘encourages people to improve and do interesting things.’
Frenetic, hedonistic and endlessly inventive, Bangkok has become one of the most diverse drinking destinations in the world
KK Hoontrakul, director of Opium, above the one-Michelin-starred Potong restaurant (one example of successful restaurateurs moving into the bar space), notes how the Bangkok cocktail scene has evolved in the last decade, with members of the old guard such as Vesper still celebrated but newcomers like Dry Wave and Bar Us ‘taking the city by storm’ and hotel bars like BKK Social Club, The House on Sathorn and Firefly also gaining traction. ‘Each bar,’ he says, offers ‘concepts that differ from each other.’
What unites Bangkok’s bar scene is a passion for high energy and good times alongside world-class craft. The Bangkok bars below focus on cocktails or natural wine (which truly took off after COVID) and are at the top of their game. While there may be healthy competition between venues, there are few bars that expect to be your only stop of the night.
As Pablo Padilla, founder of natural wine bar Mod Kaew, puts it, ‘what defines Bangkok right now is how seamlessly everything connects. You can start at Mod Kaew, move to Vesper for cocktails, go up to rooftops like The Norm and end up somewhere like Smalls. They’re completely different styles but it all flows naturally. That mix and how easy it is to move between them in one night is what makes the scene so exciting.’
Seven of the best Bangkok bars
Bar Us
Khlong Tan
Most bars line their shelves with bottles but here you’ll find vast displays of ingredients instead, the bar set up like an open kitchen, a central stage for their Willy Wonka-esque mixology. The cocktail menu is arranged like a meal: starters, mains, afters, all night and a wildcard ‘lime’ section that leans tiki and tropical. ‘Mains’ like Pizza Margherita, Beef + Onion, Ramen and Pad Thai may sound gimmicky but the execution of the cocktails is spot on. Recently ranked number four in Asia’s 50 Best Bars, each drink is built on deliberately intense distillates so no flavour gets lost. The Fig & Sour, for example, is precise and pithy; the Guava Leaf (combined with green chilli and kaffir lime) is unmistakably Thai in spirit, fresh and electric with a touch of savour; and the Pad Thai is, improbably, reminiscent of the real thing.
BKK Social Club
Yan Nawa
Located within the elegant grounds of Four Seasons Bangkok, this Art Nouveau inspired bar is spacious and buzzy. Currently ranked 49th in the World’s 50 Best Bars, signature drinks include the fruity and refreshing strawberry, Tequila and mezcal-based La Capilla, and Carratera, a brilliant take on a Negroni that combines Los Siete Misterios Doba-Yej mezcal with pineapple Campari, coffee vermouth blend and olive saline. As the bar is Mexico City-inspired, there’s Latin American music and dishes like scallop tiradito and chicken empanadas to graze on. Alongside the expertly shaken bespoke cocktails are craft spirits, rare Champagnes and the finest cigars.
Chenin
Khlong Tan Nuea
Sit on a candlelit red table upstairs and order from an exciting wine list that leans into lesser-known producers like Meunier-forward Domaine Lagille Champagne and up-and-coming Spanish outfit Majuelo del Chiviritero for complex Verdejos. You may be in Thailand but if there’s anywhere to take a break from Thai food, it’s here. From XO-spiced beef tartare with duck yolk and cheese-drenched pizzas to pastas like fazzoletti with duck ragù and chicken liver, dry-aged wagyu prime rib, there’s even a burnt Basque cheesecake served in a pool of olive oil to finish. Open until midnight, Chenin keeps things fresh with a rotating roster of international guest chefs and pop-up collaborators.
Freaking Out The Neighbourhood
Khlong Tan
Listening bars are having a moment in Bangkok, as they are in many places, but this one has been going more than four years and unlike some jumping on the trend, is fully committed to the original Japanese concept. Conversations are kept low and the music, pouring from 1986 studio monitors, is treated as the focus rather than background noise. Named after a Mac DeMarco song, hazy alt rock is a mainstay but a different genre takes centre stage each night, from jazz fusion and UK jazz to psychedelic and beyond. The cocktail list follows suit, with drinks named after favourite songs: Cherry-Coloured Funk, a nod to the Cocteau Twins, brings smoky-sweet dream-pop energy via mezcal, cherry syrup, lime and ginger beer, while Unknown Pleasures, lifted from the Joy Division album, is more austere with chrysanthemum-infused gin, dry vermouth, Pernod and olive oil.
Ku
Banglamphu
Located on the second floor of a seemingly abandoned apartment block, arriving at Ku feels almost cinematic. Anupas ‘Kong’ Premanuwat and partner Elaine Sun opened the bar in 2016, having met in New York while he was working at Angel’s Share. Designing the space themselves – Sun has an art background – kept costs down but also shaped its identity. The result is low-lit, wood-panelled, and always underscored by the low hum of jazz. The vibe is serene and as conversation-friendly as intended but the cocktails are also pristinely balanced, often built around juices freshly made in-house. A pandan and matcha cocktail has been a staple since 2017, and a current highlight combines burnt corn distillate, homemade bamboo leaf liquor, Ancho Reyes and mezcal. Don’t forget to pat Bamboo, a miniature schnauzer, on the way out.
Mod Kaew
Bang Rak
When Pablo Padilla and Thomas Phochanasrichai soft-launched their natural wine bar, they haphazardly hung some red neon lights above the bar and the response was so positive they became one of this spot’s defining features. Speakers blast disco, industry heads fill the room on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the wine list runs from rarer producers like Domaine de Saint Pierre, Domaine Takahiko and L’Anglore to classics like Roagna and Tondonia. Look out for the occasional poutine party – a nod to Phochanasrichai’s childhood in Toronto childhood – and events that bring star chefs through the door, with Thai-Indian chef Chalee Khader among those who have cooked here. The food goes well beyond bar snacks, with mainstays like jamón croquettes, a ‘taco chino’ of pork belly with Chinese spices and lotus root, hamachi ceviche with green gazpacho and yuzu, and for the properly hungry, pork chop, Peking duck and whole grilled banana squid. In contrast to most of Europe’s great wine bars, it’s open every day until late.
Opium
Samphanthawong
This dimly lit bar in a wondrously narrow old house in Chinatown is one of the broodiest and frankly sexiest bars in town, with one of the largest spirits selections in Bangkok, an international team speaking seven languages between them and even its own line of Sato (traditional Thai fermented rice wine) developed to complement the food from chef Pam at Potong. In the second edition of their Expression Cocktails menu, the team charts a journey across Thailand, Vietnam and Italy. Highlights include Mid Summer, their first award-winning creation, layered with Dewar’s 12-Year-Old, apple-thyme soda and yuzu foam; and the Inseparable, a more local expression made from Issan rum, botanicals like snow chrysanthemum, and soy milk-washed ginger ale.
