Bed Supperclub
Open: 20:00 - 01:00 daily. Restaurant: 19:00 - 24:00 (Monday - Thursday), 19:30 - 01:00 (Friday and Saturday)
Location: 26 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Contact: +66 (0)2 651 3557
Skytrain: Nana
Bed Supperclub's tubular elliptical structure, interior design, exquisite restaurant and house and electro DJs make it one of Bangkok's trendiest, sophisticated and innovative clubs. The dining area on the left side of the club, or rather dining lounge, subtitutes conventional tables with matresses and oversized pillows, inviting guests to open their minds and sharpen their senses. On Fridays and Saturdays the Supperclub hosts a superlative dining and entertainment experience; guests are encouraged to arrive at 20:30 sharp, as there is only one sitting for the four-course meal.
Seperate from the restaurant, the bar and dance club features a mezzanine overlooking the dance floor. A VJ operates from within the crowd on the upper floor and projects visuals on the huge oval window above the DJ downstairs. Bed has already hosted dozens of critically acclaimed international DJs, including Miguel Migs, Kenny Dope, Blaze, DJ Disciple, Alexkid, Gilles Peterson, Charles Schillings, etc. Besides bringing in top house DJ talent, Tuesdays see Bed play host to its legendary weekly hip- hop night. Wednesdays are models night, and Sunday's are Think Pink, Bed's gay night. Entrance is 600 baht most nights, a bit higher when guest (international) DJs are playing.
Booze
Open: 18:00 - 02:00
Location: Sukhumvit 55 Soi 10, Thonglor
Skytrain: Ekkamai
Hordes of beautiful locals, big-screen-TVs and a decent live band playing styles veering from Linkin Park rock to Thai Pop back round to Eminem. And yes, lots of boozing.
Coloc
Open: 21:00 - 02:00
Location: 253/11 Sukhumvit 63, Ekkamai
Contact: +66 (0)2 711 5886
Skytrain: BTS Ekkamai
Santika's urbane other room 'Harlem', has been sectioned off to create this debonair hip-hop den playing tougher beats than next door. Completely revamped, dark velveteen fabric walls dominate an intimate space decked out with faux Victorian-era portraits, furniture, deeply plush curtains and chandeliers. The corner area is especially ostentatious, mock-library wallpaper and lurid white Victorian settees giving anyone who sits here an air of pomp and exclusivity. Enough about what it looks like though - this place really kicks, courtesy of the more discerning playlist and upscale international crowd that, on weekends at least, fills it.
Escudo
Open: 20:00 - 01:00
Location: 4/F, Dutchess Plaza Building, Sukhumvit Soi 55, Thonglor
Contact: 02 381 0866
Skytrain: Thonglor
Half-pub, half-club, Escudo is two floors of chic interiors and pumping sounds. Slap-bang in the city's happening hub of Thonglor, fresh-faced local hipsters come here to sip whisky, dance and hang out. The first floor DJ's spin mostly mainstream hip-hop, while upstairs is more house-music driven. Very, very busy on weekends. Recently renovated.
Escobar
Open: 18:00 - 01:00
Location: 217/1-3 Sukhumvit Soi 63, Ekamai
Contact: 02 711 6565
Skytrain: Ekkamai
On weekends this place is filled with hip-hop and raging hormones. There is a small bar on the right for chilling out as the main bar just after the entrance gets pretty crowded during the weekends. Prices are good with a bottle of Red Label and mixers going for around 1,400 baht.
Glow
Open: 18:00 - 01:00
Location: 96/4-5 Sukhumvit Soi 23
Contact: 02 261 3007
A diminuitive bar-club fusion featuring lounge beds, long sofas, minimalist interior decor and smart lighting design. It's USP (unique selling point): tables are lit from below through acrylic to create the signature 'Glow' and, like a nocturnal chameleon, the bar adapts its colour (florescent lighting) to suit mood, crowd or sounds. Quick-handed bartenders mix up your favorite cocktails. Drink prices are pitched slightly lower than at the area's major clubs, and, bravely, the music-policy renounces hip-hop in favour of house, breakbeat and electro. Serve a selection of quality house wines and Tapas.
Narcissus
Open: 21:00 - 02:00
Location: Sukhumvit Soi 23
Contact: +66 (0)2 258 4085
Skytrain: Asok
Set inside an impressive mansion, the interior is pompous and grand. Resident DJs play trance while international DJs make appearances regularly. A popular and packed club.
Q Bar
Open: 20:00 - 01:00
Location: 34 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Contact: +66 (0)2 252 3274
Skytrain: Nana
Dark and sleek, this New York-style bar and club attracts a cosmopolitan crowd and is a running favourite among locals and expats. With over 50 different international brands of Vodka packing out their impressive freezers, 20 different types of tequilas and 50 whiskey brands, and even a few bottles of Absinthe, it's also a booze connoisseur's paradise. Fancy a fine Cuban to accompany that fine Russian vodka martini? This is one of the few bars in Thailand to feature a full line of cigars from Cuba and Don Pablo.
Seven years strong, Q Bar continues to feature top international talent (Derrick Carter, Plump DJs and Afrika Islam, to name a few) as well as play host to an eclectic mix of regular events featuring Bangkok's best hip-hop, house, drum'n'bass and acid jazz spinners. A couple of thing we don't like - the place sometimes feels like a clingy working girls club house, and the doormen seem to have been trained in the surly style of people management.
Santika
Open: 21:00 - 02:00
Location: 235/11 Sukhumvit 63, Ekkamai
Contact: +66 (0)2 8711 5886
Skytrain: Ekkamai
The live band and DJ mega-club has undergone not so much a renovation - more a religious conversion. Don't let that put you off though. With its backlit cross hanging against exposed brick work, gothic arches and faux-candle iron chandeliers, 'Santika' is one born-again Christian we wouldn't slam the door on. The best spot is still the terraced dance floor with raised tables (say a prayer if you don't arrive early - divine intervention is the only way you'll get one). Though the smart mezzanine overlooking it, with plenty of stools scattered about the place, comes a close second.
Don't expect a revolution in sound. Santika may look like a chicly lit church, but the music's as mainstream as ever: bands play sing-along Thai hits and radio rap, DJs spin the same. Suave 20-something Thais and a few foreign faces make up the faithful. Whisky soda sets are the libation of choice, though beer and cocktail disciples will also find salvation here. No entry fee, bring ID.
Twisted Republic
Open: 22:00 - 02:00
Location: 37 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Skytrain: BTS Nana
This cocky newcomer threatens to give buzzing Soi 11 a revitalizing 'twist'. Found within earshot of iconic venues Bed Supperclub and Q Bar, you can literally hear the bass-driven battle cry's reverberating as they prepare to give this new-kid-on-the-block a bruising.
A farang-friendly location, booming sound system, retina scorching lasers, mixologist bartenders - Twisted Republic could easily sidestep their assaults, maybe even land some jabs. However, it needs work. The opening night may have attracted a globe-spanning crowd of impeccably dressed girls and boys, but things didn't run smoothly. The queue for the bar was astronomical, and, while the electro beats came strong and fast, the drinks arrived weak and slow. Nor, despite an electronic bar top that fizzes when you touch it, did it look as good as we hoped - the dark d-cor lacks the architectural pizzazz of Bed, yet it's asking the same prices.
Still, its events calendar (human beatbox Killa Kella and Detroit techno legend Derrick May have both already played) suggests a promoter with imagination sits at the helm. More line-ups like these, some fine tweaking -Twisted Republic may yet draw blood in the battle for Soi 11's beat lovers.
Learn more about Clubbing: What's On, Regular Club Nights, Silom Clubs, Khao San Road Clubs, RCA & Ratchada Clubs, Ploenchit & Chidlom Clubs
Learn more about Sukhumvit: Where to Stay, List of Sukhumvit Hotels, What to See and Do, Nightlife, Shopping, Where to Eat, Getting Around |
