Our picks for the best things to do in Bangkok this weekend

Bangkok’s growing secondhand scene has another reason to gather as Use Loop Repeat 2026 returns to Open House at Central Embassy. Organised with Loopers, this year’s edition, ‘Designed by Her: Discover Stories Made to Matter’, celebrates women-led creativity through practical ideas rather than lofty statements. Opening day brings talks with Pancake Khemanit, Samich Petdee and Aim Phumipat, alongside workshops turning bottle caps, food waste and discarded packaging into everyday objects. More than 30 sustainable brands also set up shop. The three-week programme makes an easy stop whether you’re hunting for thoughtful design, browsing secondhand finds or escaping the afternoon heat. August 3-23. Free entry. Open House at Central Embassy. 10am-9pm

Mooring examines how memories, beliefs and personal histories shift as they move between people, languages and generations. F four artists approach storytelling through their own experiences and practices, asking what happens to truth when a story changes with every retelling. The answer may depend as much on who speaks, who listens and what is remembered as on the facts themselves.  Until September 29. Free entry. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 2pm-8pm 

Tea Lounge at Capella Bangkok has joined forces with Valrhona for Éclat de Cacao, a limited-run afternoon tea by Executive Pastry Chef Paulo Bairan and Valrhona Regional Pastry Chef APAC Guillaume Lopvet. The menu explores chocolate in different styles and intensities, served in classic afternoon-tea form against a backdrop of Chao Phraya River views. It begins with a chocolate-and-citrus welcome drink before moving through scones, pastries, petits fours and mignardises. The creations range from bright cacao flavours to richer dark chocolate, accompanied by tea and herbal and floral infusions. Bringing together Capella’s pastry kitchen and Valrhona’s chocolate expertise, the menu plays with cacao through contrasting flavours and textures. August 8-October 9. Éclat de Cacao Afternoon Tea B1,800++ per person or B3,500++ for two. Tea Lounge, Capella Bangkok

The Siam Tea Room at Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park has launched Ocean Fish: Essence of Thai Flavors, a menu inspired by Chef Aoi Supattra Kammai’s home-style recipes. Fresh ocean fish meets Thai herbs, spices and sauces across everything from light appetisers to hearty curries and soups. Highlights include spicy sea bass salad with mixed herbs and seasonal vegetables; baked golden snapper with herbs and fermented-fish chilli dip; and giant trevally stir-fried with red curry paste, fingerroot and baby aubergines. There’s also a hot-and-sour soup with silver mullet and young tamarind leaves. Dessert takes a more unexpected turn: snow-white palm juice served with candied makrut lime and smoked fish powder for a sweet-savoury finish. Until September 30. Daily, 11am-10.30pm. Dishes from B190. The Siam Tea Room, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park

JWD Art Space marks 100 years since the birth of poet-artist  Angkarn Kallayanapong with Ash and Alteration, an exhibition shaped around his papers, sketches, letters and other surviving traces.Ashes, ruins and decay recur throughout Angkarn’s poetry – his name itself alludes to what remains after destruction – and here those fragments offer a way into both his work and the world around it. Artists Chulayarnnon Siriphol and Tada Hengsapkul revisit the Buddhist ideas and natural imagery found in Angkarn’s work, while scholars Jirat Chalermsanyakorn, Prapan Jangkitchai and Artit Srijan consider his place in Thailand’s literary and visual-art history. August 8-October 25. Free entry. JWD Art Space. 10am-7pm

Japanese craftsmanship has long balanced painstaking technique with a playful streak, and The Superlative Artistry of Japan shows how little that has changed over the past 150 years. After touring internationally since 2017, the exhibition finally arrives in Thailand, bringing together Meiji-era masterpieces and contemporary design in one thoughtful survey. Rather than separating tradition from pop culture, the exhibition shows how the same careful approach continues to shape Japanese creativity across generations. July 25-August 23. Free entry. First floor, TCDC Bangkok. 10.30am-7pm

Jelly Roll Jazz Club turns Lumphini Hall into a classic swing ballroom, with international jazz acts, beginner classes and some friendly competition. Never danced before? This is your chance to give it a go, with free beginner classes led by professional instructors – who knows, maybe you’ll even be ready to enter the competition later (but no pressure).  The night features live jazz from Thai and international artists, including Thailand’s Yusu Jazz Band, Japan’s Clap Stomp Swingin’, Eyal Vilner from the US, The Brothers Arntzen from Canada and Steven Coombe representing the UK, with the ‘Swing Era Cadets’ closing out the night with one final swing performance. Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis, so arrive early before the hall fills up.  August 23. Free. Register here. Lumphini Hall, 4pm-7pm

Bangkok Kunsthalle sets aside alternate Sundays for cinema in a new screening series curated by Rosalia Namsai Engchuan. Running through the second half of the year, Sunday Cinema pairs Thai classics with contemporary international films, celebrated masterpieces and overlooked titles that deserve more attention. The programme travels from post-war Japan and rural Thailand to the Amazon, Mongolia and modern Italy, returning to themes of love, work, migration, memory and community. It is a reminder that films from very different eras and places can still speak directly to life now. Every Sunday, from July 19-December 20. Free entry. Reserved via here. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 5.30pm

An entire Akha house now stands in the middle of Bangkok, carefully dismantled from a village in northern Thailand and rebuilt piece by piece inside an art gallery. Roof panels, woven bedding, timber floors and weathered household objects all carry marks of the people who once lived among them, quietly tracing a way of life that grows more fragile with each passing generation. The Akha are an Indigenous ethnic group whose communities are spread across the mountains of northern Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and southern China, known for their intricate textiles, spiritual rituals and deep connection to land and ancestry. In recent decades, migration, tourism and rapid development have reshaped many of those traditions. Through memory, craftsmanship and personal histories, The Preservation of Fire by Busui Ajaw keeps those stories alive a little longer. May 15-November 1. Free entry. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 2pm-8pm

Sichuan cooking is about far more than heat. Man Ho’s new Summer Sichuan Selection focuses on freshness, fragrance and balance, pairing green Sichuan peppercorns with pickled chillies, citrus notes and premium ingredients. Standouts include steamed bamboo fish with fresh peppercorns, poached Australian beef in aromatic chilli broth and sliced abalone with Sichuan peppercorn dressing. It is a seasonal menu packed with flavour without relying on fiery spice alone. Until August 31. From B690++. Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW Marriott Bangkok