Best Nightlife in Bangkok – USA TODAY 10Best

Over 25 years in the running, offering up the best jazz and blues in Bangkok, Saxophone is a happening pub frequented as much by Thais as by expatriates. The music is sizzling, with 3-4 different live bands each evening plus occasional visits by international artists. The pub has a spacious and comfortable layout, and has been voted as the Best Music Venue in Bangkok by several publications again and again. There are pool tables upstairs, excellent Thai food, and a wide array of cocktails and beers on tap.

Havana Social is Sukhumvit’s ode to Cuba. While the other bars on happening Soi 11 are open air or street-facing clubs, Havana Social is a hidden secret. It is down a side alley, has no sign, and there is no indication that there is even an establishment here. There is just an old retro telephone booth outside. Call the bar in advance to get the entry code, which you punch into the payphone, a door swings open, and voila, you enter a crumbling shophouse that resembles pre-revolution Havana, complete with cracked ceilings, hanging clotheslines, and retro furniture straight out of Fidel’s younger days. In true it’s origins, there are great mojitos and rum drinks on the menu, and even Cuban dancing and a live band on weekends. It’s a great escape from the often seedy Soi 11 experience, and well themed, fairly authentic, and a great Bangkok party haunt.

The Club at KOI is Bangkok’s latest dance club, and opened with much fanfare in one of the city’s most dazzling locations. Set up on the upper floor of the Sathorn Square building overlooking the city, it replaces the former resident, the popular Ce La Vi club, which might be a hard act to follow, except that KOI has a stellar record, combining an elegant Japanese restaurant with a cutting edge dance club. KOI has opened branches in New York, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi, as well as its original location, Los Angeles, where the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna, and Jennifer Lopez were some of the regular clientele. The huge space here offers world class clubbing and features international entertainers and touring DJs, and while the glitterati might not be the same as in LA, you’ll find plenty of fashionistas and Bangkok’s most well-heeled here strutting their stuff. Plenty of hip hop features in the play lists, and Saturday nights offer electronic and house music, with live DJs and special entertainers guaranteed on the thumping weekends. Make sure to come with deep pockets, as the fun does not come cheap here.

The Moon Bar, perched on the rooftop of the Banyan Tree Hotel, offers one of the most stupendous panoramic views of Bangkok, and a sunset here is a memorable occasion, well worth the price of a cocktail. The bar sits in a stylish roof garden, seemingly sprawled out across the sky. Long divans, chic bar stools, and comfortable tables surround the bar, each with their own unique panoramic view.
The cocktails are as astronomical as the views, running 350 baht per drink, but they are actually a pretty fair deal, as they are well mixed, strong on the alcohol, and are served along with complimentary dishes of cashews, wasabi peas, and chips. The drink menu is extensive, featuring mango margaritas, golden paradise concoctions with passion fruit juice and triple sec, and all sort of other exotic creations

Easily Bangkok’s most highbrow dance club, Sing Sing Theater is a fantasy replica of Shanghai in the 1930s, with hanging red lanterns, dancers in red robes with patterned fans, and metal cages spread across the room, making it appear as if a shady brothel of yesteryear. Seedy it isn’t though, as the fine drinks, high prices, and top DJs from around the world ensure that the clientele are Bangkok’s most well heeled and most ready to party. Never mind that the dance floor consists of almost nothing, just head out and join the wild throng. It’s a combo of theater and nightclub, and truly is unique. If the whole fantasy getup strikes a familiar chord, it’s because nightlife designer mogul Ashley Sutton (Iron Fairies and Fat Gutz, etc) was behind this one as well.

For a unique post-dinner experience, head out to Asiatique the Riverfront, where not only are there plenty of places to drink and watch the river go by, but you can also check out this excellent, professionally done theatrical Muay Thai performance, suitable for the whole family.

This theatrical production combines an entertaining performance with an imaginative display that traces the history of the art of Thai boxing and its place in Thai culture. The performance, directed by award-winning Thai film director Ekachai Uekrongtham and featuring actor and professional boxer Uttaporn Suwan, unfolds over five short acts and follows the rise of Thai warriors during the Ayutthaya kingdom period up to the modern action hero today, and the place Thai boxing has as an art and cultural form in the society.

The choreography and stunts are very well done, and the intimate venue ensures a great seat for everyone, with superb sound and lighting displays with all the latest technology. Topping things off, the stage show is followed by a couple of live boxing matches with both local and international talent, allowing spectators the chance to have more comprehension of Muay Thai after the informational stage show they’ve just watched. As opposed to the usual fight nights seen in Bangkok, this one is not a leave the wife, girlfriend, and family at home affair, but one that all genders and ages will find informative and entertaining.

While Bed Supperclub may have closed down, Sukhumvit’s party central Soi 11 keeps on going strong in the nightlife department, with the slack taken up by new kid on the block Levels. This swank electronic nightclub with a view is located up on the 6th floor of the chic Aloft Hotel, and is now the place to be seen and party in lower Sukhumvit.

There is plenty of house music being played here, but Levels excels in its DJ’s, bringing in some of the top international acts from around the world to rock the house. There is a large dance room here with a giant LED chandelier overhead, and then there is a club zone that features a great sound system. There is also a terrace bar that looks out over all the Sukhumvit neon and gives you a chance to catch your breath.

There are plenty of promotions and theme nights here, but you are guaranteed one heck of a party just about any night of the week.

It doesn’t get much better than this when trying to combine dazzling cityscapes, fine drinking, and suave nightlife venues. CRU Champagne Bar is a new elegant and elevated bar which is now the highest drinking spot in town. The Red Sky Bar several floors below it is nice enough, but you’ll need to pop into the private elevator and head up another three flights to access this skyline gem.

The bar has teamed up with GH Mumm and is the only place in Bangkok you can get their #1 edition pink champagne, or if you dare, a bottle of Bollinger James Bond 007 Spectre Limited Edition. You can toast to the heavens with this fine bubbly, or else opt for the cool signature drinks such as the Perfumed Lady, mixed with Beefeater gin, passion fruit, lime, mint, and vanilla foam, or a Bangkok Bellini, concocted with mandarin Absolut vodka, mango, ginger, and champagne.

The views up here are beyond sublime, with all of Bangkok spread out in front of you on all sides. You can see the Golden Mount, the Grand Palace, the Chao Phraya River, all of downtown’s major skyscrapers, and the nearby Baiyoke Tower II even looks on equal footing.

Come here for sunset, sprawl out on the comfy seating, and if you get hungry, there are foie gras yakitori chicken skewers, caviar, cheese platters, and plenty of other snacks to get you through the transformation from day to night in Bangkok’s most lofty drinking zone.

Set in a three story shophouse over on Suan Plu off of Sathorn Road, which seems to be Bangkok’s most up and coming new drinking spot, Smalls is the brainchild of David Jacobson, the nightclub whiz who started the famed Q Bar in Bangkok several decades ago. His latest venue is a far cry from the large and noisy Soi 11 club. Smalls is as the name says, very cozy and intimate, although it does fan out over three levels, with an open rooftop plus several indoor spaces to choose from. The decor is decidedly Parisienne, and the mesmerizing signature cocktail list is enhanced by a large selection of absinthe drinks, with a traditional absinthe spigot sitting on top of the bar counter.
It’s a great little spot for escaping Bangkok, with its eclectic crowd and funky vibe, one feels more like Paris, Berlin, or New York here, and the bar has become the latest nightclub afficionados top hangout. There is some great live jazz here, featuring the picking prowess of Dan Phillips and his quartet, who play every week, and the bar also has plenty of special nights, like Vietnamese pho served on Sundays and buy one get one drinks for members of the hospitality industry on Mondays.

If you are looking for a hip version of a traditional Thai bar, this happening joint in bohemian Soi Nana in Chinatown will ensure you hae a great evening. Featured on the World’s 50 Best website, Tep Bar is set inside of a traditional two-story Chinese shophouse, with mood lighting and tatami cushioned floor tables to relax on upstairs, Tep features all the accoutrements of a northeastern lively Thai bar experience; there is homemade yaa dong (Thai white spirits), although here it’s a smooth palatable tasting set, plus there are Thai sharing plates if you are hungry. Weekends brings a lively crowd in, and there is live traditional music with Thai cymbals, drums, and xylophones, and the place really gets thumping. The crowd is mostly Thai, but there are enough foreign faces that you won’t feel like an outcast, and everyone is very welcoming. It’s a great spot for experiencing an authentic Thai night out in a very comfortable environment.