Bangkok Bars & Lounges

If sweaty dancing crowd and loud music are not your idea of a great night out, Bangkok has plenty of other options for you. Bars and lounges are usually there along side with pubs and clubs around the city. An ideal place to chill out, chat or just watch the people, great bars and lounges can also be found in most hotels.

Also have a look at these amazing rooftop venues.

87+

Open: 21:30 - 02:00
Location: Conrad Hotel, All Seasons Place, 87 Wireless Road
Contact:  +66 (0)2 690 999
Skytrain: Ploenchit

Drawing a posh local crowd and catering to The Conrad's upscale guests, this is a suave spot for sipping on fine cosmopolitans poured by attentive staff while dancing the night away to polished international live bands. DJs also play quality house and commercial hip-hop. Dress code is smart casual. Between 20:00 - 22:00 everyday it's buy-one-get-one-free Happy Hour.

Ad Makers
Open: 18:00 - 01:00 (Mon to Thurs), 18:00 - 02:00 (Fri to Sat)
Location: 51/1 Soi Langauan
Contact: 02-652 1069.
Skytrain: Chitlom

This spacious, rustic tavern in the middle of Lang Suan Road - Bangkok's upmarket restaurant belt - is a dusty Rock n' Roll haven popular with locals and expats. Worn posters on the walls, tatty wooden chairs and a somewhat dilapidated structure give it a pleasing, beer-hall authenticity rarely seen in Bangkok. For those who know their Hendrix from their Grateful Dead, this is a fine place to nibble on tasty Thai fare while sipping Johnnie Walkers or downing jugs of chilled beer. Getting those feet tapping early on is acoustic strumming, and from 22:00 classic rock hits come courtesy of the noisy Big Boy Band.

Bar @494

Open: 12:00 - 00:00
Location: Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, 494 Ratchadamri Rd, Ratchadamri
Contact: 
Skytrain:

This cosy wine and champagne bar with garden ambiance is a great place to take your date. Choose from one of 30 plus wines by-the-glass or perhaps a rare whisky from the 'Whisky Priest'. Browse through Bangkok's widest selection of Cuban cigars at the Divan @494 or settle into a quiet corner for a light meal. The dress code is smart casual.

Diplomat Bar

Open: 10:00 - 01:00
Location: The Conrad Hotel, 87 Wireless Road, Phatumwan
Contact:  +66 (0)2 690 9999
Skytrain: Ploenchit

This elegant, upscale hotel bar in the heart of Bangkok's embassy district makes the perfect haunt for the passing ambassador, visiting dignitary or aspiring spy. Most evenings, however, it's a high-profile crowd comprised of wealthy businessmen, rich Thais and glitzy couples that fills its sprawling nooks and crannies. Beautifully lit, its soft silk couches, striking round bar and wood interiors make for a very classy cocktail ambiance - cool and contemporary. A jazz singer croons every night except Sundays. The cocktail and wine lists are suitably inspiring.

Syn Bar

Open: 10:00 - 01:00
Location: Nai Lert Park Swissotel, 2 Wireless Road, Pathumwan
Contact: +66 2 253 0123
Skytrain: Ploenchit

With its retro-future feel, Syn Bar is a perfect spot for those craving impressive faux-club style and sexy dance-beats, but who aren't too fussed about coziness. White lights blinking through carpets, suspended bubble pod-chairs and space-age DJ booth, all ooze hi-tech appeal. The Swedish head-bartender conjures up heady Asian-inspired cocktails like Mangosteen Martini and Wasabi Mary. DJ's play an upbeat blend of house, funky house and soul house every night from 21:00 onwards. Happy hour is between 17:00 - 21:00, Mon-Fri.

Bar @ Siam Square

Open: 17:00 - 02:00
Location: Novotel Siam Square on Siam Square
Contact:  +66 (0)2 209 8888
Skytrain: Siam Square

Dark and snazzy, Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square's newest addition has been stylishly crafted to appeal to the after work cocktail crowd, or those looking for traditional pub-style entertainment. Architecturally it's a treat, with sleek comfy furnishings, soft vibrant lighting and modular paneling on ceilings and walls lending the space a sexy futuristic feel. Meanwhile, no less than 13 plasma screens screening wall-to-wall sports, pool tables, arcade games and a pinball machine bring to mind a trendy bachelor pad, though there's a cocktail, wine list and international food menu that should appeal to the girls too. Be sure not to miss the Interactive Happy Hour Game (until 22:00), where after ordering drinks you press a buzzer to try and stop flashing lights as they shine on 'Free' or 'Half Price!'. Afterwards, the wall here slowly disappears, the place merging with Concept CM2: the Novotel's 11-year-strong and still very popular nightclub. Those dining or drinking here get free entry.

Hard Rock Café

Open: 11:00 - 1:00. Music from 21:30
Location: Siam Square
Contact: +66 (0)2 251 0797
Skytrain: Siam

Just a few minutes walk from the Siam BTS station, the Hard Rock Cafe Bangkok has all-day music video streamed directly from the States; from cutting-edge classics to modern-day alternative repertoires fill the air in an inspiring setting packed full of Rock 'n' Roll memorabilia. Live band every night until 01:00.

The Barbican

Open: 11:30 - 02:00 Monday - Saturday; 11:30 - 24:00 on Sunday
Location: 9/4-5 Soi Thaniya, Silom Road
Contact: +66 (0)2 234 3590
Skytrain: Sala Daeng

Stylish and sophisticated, the Barbican is Bangkok's classic inner-city bar. The ground floor is dominated by a huge bar and juke box, whilst upstairs there is a great restaurant with good European pub food and sporting events (constantly shown on the television). DJs play a variety of musical styles, enhancing the Barbican's reputation as a place to enjoy a drink after a hard day trekking around Silom Road. Happy Hour 17:00 - 19:00

Hu'u

Open: 11:00 - 01:00
Location: 1st & 2nd floor, The Ascott, 187 South Sathorn Road
Contact: +66 (0)2 676 6677
Skytrain: Chong Nonsi

Catering to the city's sexy elite, the atmospheric Hu'u bar (pronounced 'who') boasts suave and upscale Bali-style décor. Dim tones and dark wood floors set the tone, with Thai silk-upholstered sofas, tall-bar and a striking liquor shelf rounding off the ever-so stylish ambiance of this two-storey atrium lounge. A mezzanine restaurant upstairs serves international cuisine, but snacks are also served in the bar. The impressive drinks menu offering over 150 cocktail concoctions will keep you busy, and prices are not staggeringly expensive like at other places of similar calibre. DJ's play proper nu-jazz and chill-out tunes, making it a great place for a pre-club tipple, or to impress your date or business client.

Met Bar

Location: The Metropolitan, 27 South Sathorn Road, Sathorn
Contact: +66 (0)2 625 3333
Skytrain: Sala Daeng

When it first opened in 1998, London's Met Bar became the hottest nighttime haunt west of Ibiza. Now, its newest sister, The Met Bar, Bangkok, delivers the same for the Asian capital, answering a sophisticated need for privacy and energy in a space reserved for hotel guests and members only (although they are known to be flexible). At night, it morphs into a sultry, lounge-style members bar with deep chairs and wine-dark walls. Lighting is soft and moody. Bar staff - 'mixologists' - create bespoke Martinis while headline DJs spin eclectic lounge sounds from around the world. Drinks start at 200 baht and there's no cover charge. At its busiest and best when hosting an international act or one-off event.

My Bar

Open: 17:00 - 01:00
Location: Upper lobby, The Dusit Thani, 946 Rama IV Road, Silom/Lumpini
Contact: +66 (0)2 200 9000 Ext: 2999
Skytrain: Sala Daeng

One of the coolest lounge bars in Bangkok to unwind with your affluent friends, or if don't have any, meet some. A strange but successful blend of modern decorative touches with plush lounge tastes. It's bright, light and thoroughly contemporary in feel, making it a good choice if you fancy inventive cocktails while listening to a sprightly band playing jazz, blues, R&B and pop. There's a small but inspiring wine list and a good spread of imported beers and whiskeys.

Noriega's

Open: 16:00 - 01:00
Location: Silom Soi 4
Contact: +66 (0)2 233 2813
Skytrain: Sala Daeng

At the end of infamous Silom Soi 4, Noriega's is a little gem of a bar and live music venue. Downstairs are live blues, soul, indie and rock bands, featured nightly. Upstairs the restaurant menu features a modern blend of Thai, Tex-Mex, Italian and European favourites. Happy hour is daily from 16:00 - 21:00 where drinks are 100 baht (150 baht regular price.)

V9

Open: 17:00 - 02:00
Location: Sofitel Silom, 188 Silom Road, Bangrak
Contact: +66 (0)2 2381 991
Skytrain: Chong Nonsi

Located on the 37th floor of the Sofitel Silom Hotel this smart, slick bar commands spectacular views of Bangkok. Not only that, but it's a wine shop and snazzy restaurant too. Prices start at around 500 baht a bottle and there's no corkage fee if you choose to open bottles there. Rarely busy enough to really buzz, this is more suited to entertaining or having a quiet drink while taking in the panoramic cityscape. Live music is played every night, and DJs spin smooth house.

Zeta Bar

Open: 17:00 - 02:00
Location: Millennium Hilton, 123 Charoennakorn Road, Klongsan
Contact: +66 (0)2 442 2000
Skytrain: Saphan Taksin

Zeta Bar is a legend in London, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, and fast becoming one here in Bangkok too. Mixologists push the boundaries of the possible, in impossibly stylish surrounds. Sure to turn heads also is the slick design of this welcome addition to Bangkok's nightlife scene. Cozy chairs fill the space while deep lounge setters covered with soft pillows cover the walls. A gift to the city's chic set.

The Zuk Bar

Open: 17:00 - 02:00
Location: The Sukothai, 13/3 South Sathorn Road
Contact: +66 (0)2 344 8888
Skytrain: Sala Daeng

The Zuk Bar offers an elegant, intimate setting with views of the courtyard garden and lotus ponds on one side and, through windows overlooking The Colonnade Restaurant, and the water garden with its mystical stupas. It's an ideal place for aperitifs or after-dinner drinks, or perhaps off-the-record business drinks, light snacks, select product launches or a private cocktail party to toast the closing of a hard-earned deal. The drinks list is extensive and a DJ keeps the beat going nightly.

Bully's Bar

Open: 11:30 - 01:30
Location: Near Nana BTS station, between Sukhumvit Soi 2 & 4
Contact: +66 (0)2 656 4609
Skytrain: Nana

Want to retreat from the heat? Here's the right place, though a bit pricey compared to other bars around the area. If you don't mind the pocket burn, it's a good spot to escape the outside heat for a cool drink. A sports bar type place, Bully's features several TV screens and four pool tables. Their menu offers a good range of meals too, including both popular western and Thai dishes. There are a few pool hostesses floating around but they'll leave you alone unless you are up for a game. Unlike many other places in the area, it's closed up and they have the air-con on all the time. The perfect place to recharge your batteries.

Bus Stop

Open: 17:00 - 01:00
Location: Sukhumvit Soi 4, Just up the road from Nana Plaza
Contact: +66 (0)2 251 9222
Skytrain: Nana

A relatively quiet place on Sukhumvit Soi 4. This semi-open bar and garden is an escape from the blatant sex trade elsewhere on the soi. Although it does have its share of bar girls, they are not very aggressive in their sales techniques and are quite happy just to chat (if buy a drink). Some of the city's hippest and trendiest clubs are found around Sukhumvit Road.

Cheap Charlies
Open: 16:30 - 01:00 except Sunday
Location: Sukhumvit Soi 11
Contact: +66 (0)2 253 4648
Skytrain: Nana

Where in lower Sukhumvit can you go for a drink and meet interesting farang; ones that don't wield a plainly apparent penchant for ill-fitting sports attire and upcountry girls? The answer is not some haughty hotel lounge, nor some austere restaurant, but this 20-something Bangkok institution - little more than a wooden shack and a few stools that spill across the street. Every night, expats and clubbers swarm here to dose up on beers before heading somewhere pricier (at 60 baht a bottle Cheap Charlie's delivers on its name). A definite contender for Bangkok's most bizarre bar, be sure to check out the oddities accumulated over the years - animal skulls, tribal masks and other strange curios (the toilet bares a classic sign: 'no shitting'). Tucked away down a narrow, predominantly residential soi, remember also to be a gent and stand aside for passing cars.

Flava Lounge, Dream Hotel

Open: 
Location: Dream Hotel, 10 Sukhumvit Soi 15, Klongtoey
Contact:  +66 (0)2 254 8500
Skytrain: Nana

Integrated with the Dream Hotel's Flava restaurant, this indulgent bar-cum-lounge was designed to matche the all-out surrealism and flair of Bangkok's latest boutique hotel. Pulling off the 'cocktail of flavour, theme and services' are warm tonal stripes, plush furnishings, superlative cocktails and the 'Perdomo' Cigar bar-in-bar, serving up some of the world's finest for you to puff on.

For Hor Gor Dor

Open: 18:00 - 01:00 (Sunday - Wednesday); 23:00 - 01:00 (Thursday - Saturday)
Location: Sukhumvit 63 Soi 4
Contact: +66 (0)2 391 1326
Skytrain: Ekamai

The name may sound a bit intimidating, but once inside you'll discover a pleasant and mainly white bar and lounge area. Enjoy your drink to the live piano tunes daily from 20:00 - 22:30. Wednesdays have live pop acts.

Ice Bar
Location: 158/21 Thonglor, Near Sukhumvit Road
Contact: +66 (0)2 381 6844
Skytrain: BTS Thonglor
A name like Ice Bar leaves you open to all kinds of wry linguistic horseplay.  "This place left me cold", "I give it a minus-zero". We could go on. Unfortunately, despite a neat melting ice bar, translucent interiors that change colour and our wish that it was otherwise, this is one of those places where cheap quips hold true. Cliquey style-conscious kids ('dek naew' as they're called in Thai) who love little more than live radio hits, hip-pop and Chivas - nope, Ice Bar isn't as cool as it think it is. In fact, in nearly every respect it's positively ice-age.

Song Saleung
Location: 387/23-24 Soi Thonglor 21, Sukhumvit 55
Contact: +66 (0)2 712 9118
The thing we remember most about our trip to Thonglor's unruly live music bar is that it was raining. And not only raindrops but people too. After weaving past security and the snazzy al fresco area, we could barely move for the young, affluent throng packed in like whisky-soaked sardines. Finding a table, and keeping it, was a mission; as was dodging the toes of fellow patrons as we squeezed our way to the toilet or attempted a dance. Persevere though, because you may well be rewarded: girls with a barrage of hot guys wanting to top up your glass and raise a toast; guys, with a flurry of phone-numbers from cute girls wanting help with their English. Just be careful you don't step on anyone's toes!

Zanzibar

Open: 17:30 - 01:00
Location: 139 Sukhumvit 11
Contact: +66 (0)2 651 2700
Skytrain: Nana

Located in the grounds of a converted Thai house, this restaurant has a spacious, softly lit terraced garden, with live jazz in the evenings creating a classy kind of buzz. Lounge out on the comfy couches or shake it on the floor later in the evening. The menu features Italian and Thai dishes - not cheap though.

Zest Piano Bar

Open: 07:00 - 02:00
Location: Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel, 259 Sukhumvit Road
Contact: +66 (0)2 207 8000
Skytrain: BTS Asok

A hotel piano bar of considerable élan, Zest is great for warm-up cocktails before hitting lower Sukhumvit. A vibrant bar changes colours, svelte waitresses deliver impeccably crafted martinis, and customers drown in plush contemporary furnishings. A piano twinkles soothingly in the background. Cocooned away from the chaos outside, this represents a salubrious, sophisticated and, frankly, sane choice.