The best cocktail bars in Bangkok

The peeps behind Sugar Ray, the city’s coolest hidden gem, have collaborated with the owner of old town speakeasy Ku Bar to open a jazz bar named after one of Chet Baker’s hit songs. 

Tucked away in one of the tiny, tiny alleys of Soi Nana in Chinatown, Asia Today is a drinking hole with a strong focus on exotic Thai ingredients.

This cozy bar on the lobby level of Playhaus Thonglor Boutique Hotel was given a revamp by six of Bangkok’s leading bartenders. The entire venue is decorated after four famous stage plays including Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and the Rattanakosin-era epic See Pan Din. 

This three-storey Thonglor speakeasy combines industrial charm and a touch of luxury with exposed brickwork, a marble-topped bar and shelves brimming with bottles. Ranked No.34 in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2019, Rabbit Hole is celebrated for its classic cocktails with inventive twists. The bar keeps things fresh with a rotating list and its latest line-up draws inspiration from global cities, adding a playful element with crossword-style clues for each drink. Guests can sip their way through creations such as Havana (Bacardi 4YO Anejo Cuatro rum, salted banana, chaat masala, coriander and sparkling wine, B440) and Lisbon (Bulleit bourbon, salted butter, port wine, egg custard sugar and lemon, B460).

Run by the same team behind cult favorite Sugarray Bar in Ekkamai Soi 21, Q&A serves innovative cocktails within a setting reminiscent of a vintage train carriage. The bar is nestled inside a little alley on Sukhumvit Soi 21 with just a little sign above a green marble wall to give you a hint. 

Situated on party street, Sukhumvit Soi 11, Havana Social keeps itself unseen, hiding behind a telephone booth and requiring a secret code to get in. The interior presents an interpretation of pre-revolution Cuba in the ′40s, said to have been the “Las Vegas of the Caribbean” at that time. 

Just a short walk from the mouth of Thonglor Soi 20, you'll find a large wooden door leading to this chic enclave. The same crew behind Rabbit Hole bring a relaxed, casual, down-to-earth vibe conducive to the latest hot gossip with your mates over drinks and chow. Visitors will be captivated by silver screen icon James Dean and that cool is reflected in the venue’s decor. Furnished with fixtures and fittings that evoke 1950s couth, the setting is straight out of the TV series Mad Men. Adding to the magic, a DJ electrifies the crowd at the vinyl bar. Try a shot of Sock Hop (B340) and get your 50s dance groove on. 

For first-timers, the experience of discovering this hidden gem in the Old Town can be quite spine-tingling. In a small alley by Brown Sugar jazz bar is an abandoned-looking building that sits behind a spirit house (it’s an ideal setting for a Thai horror film). A heavy gate leads to a spooky stairway that climbs up to a third floor.

Set on the top floors of the swish Rosewood Bangkok is another addition to Bangkok’s long list of speakeasies. Lennon’s indulges the audiophile’s whims by celebrating those good old days when listening to music was considered an art form. Nostalgia is evoked in a setting reminiscent of a 1950s home-recording studio and a drinks list that features all-time classics. 

The brainchild of four award-winning Asian bartenders—Colin Chia of Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove, Hidetsugu Ueno of Tokyo’s Bar High Five, Nick Wu of Taipei’s East End and our own Ronnaporn “Neung” Kanivichaporn of Backstage Cocktail Bar—this bar takes the speakeasy theme very seriously, not only with its hidden location, but also the fact that it doesn’t even have a name. 

The Loft promises to amaze with sleek interiors, expansive Bangkok views, and delicate concoctions inspired by vintage recipes included in the classic cocktail tome The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book.

Find the Locker Room’s Ronnaporn “Neung” Kanivichaporn and Chennarong “Janz” Bhumichitr have recently launched a stylish new drinkery on the second floor of Thai fine-dining restaurant 100 Mahaseth. T

Located on Soi Nana in China Town, this gin bar is hidden behind a big wooden door just waiting to be discovered. This place serves almost 80 gin-based drinks (the drinks list changes daily, mind you). Plus, its mixologist, Niks Anuman-Rajadhon, is always there to make sure you have a good time.

Sugar Ray was a mainstay in Ekkamai’s nightlife scene for a reason—its creative cocktails and rustic-meets-minimalist speakeasy vibe drew both eclectic hipsters and cocktail connoisseurs to the second floor of Baan Ekkamai. The bar, however, has just gone through a complete makeover, and it includes a new address on Sukhumvit Soi 24. 

The Silom's famed cocktail bar and bistro is now swankier after a major facelift, with a new Modern art-inspired drink menu.