Experiencing Bangkok night life is something that everyone should have on their Thailand bucket list. So we’ve compiled a list of the city’s coolest speakeasies and cocktail destinations. Your after-dark adventures will have you weaving down alleyways, navigating secret staircases and entering bars via hidden or pin code doors.
Entrance to Havana Social | Courtesy of Havana Social
Enter this dimly lit 1950s pre-revolution styled Cuban hang out by inputting a secret four digit code (don’t worry you can obtain the code by calling the bar) into a telephone booth next to the unassuming entrance door. This joint serves up delicious rum-based cocktails, plays sassy Latin tunes and even inspires salsa dancing later in the evening. A few food options are also available, give the Cubano sandwich a try, it’s out of this world!
Teens of Thailand is one of Bangkok’s coolest bars and is known throughout town as a gin cocktail paradise. Located in Chinatown this local favourite serves over 100 gin varieties, including Bangkok-produced Iron Balls. Tucked behind a large wooden door and a windowless façade, mixologists create gin inspired cocktails, including classic gin and tonic, Thai Tea GT, and much more.
Located in Bangkok’s trendy Thong Lor is the Iron Fairies, a bar designed to look like an ironsmith workshop. Finding it can be somewhat of a challenge which is part of the adventure as you navigate your way through secret doors and staircases. Once you arrive you’ll be rewarded with a large cocktail and beer selection to choose from.
Find your way to the Rabbit Hole, a club-like bar serving up some of the best cocktails in the city. If you are looking for a relaxed, laid-back place to chat this might not be your best option as it is noisy, dark and crowded. Looking for a cocktail with a difference? Why not try the Cosa Nostra, a Cognac based drink infused in a cigar smoked shaker.
Q&A Bar is a twenties style speakeasy which exudes a top-secret drinking club vibe and is aptly hard to find. If you can spot the green marble door in the dark, you’ll be there. It might be worth making a reservation as this place fills up fast. Once seated let the mixologists whisk you off on a magical journey.
This bar is the quintessential speakeasy, not only with its hidden location but also that it doesn’t even have a name, the bar is identified by a call-to-action hashtag: #findthelockerroom. To enter slide back a row of locker cabinets and walk into the spacious chamber, complete with leather and suede sofas. Cocktails are cunningly crafted around the concept of “past-present-future,” offering a unique take on the revolution of classic drinks. Four of Asia’s top award winning bartenders joined forces to create this latest addition to Bangkok’s speakeasy and cocktail bar scene.
Set in a former bank vault Maggie Choo’s is a 1930s Shanghai inspired bar complete with girls wearing cheongsams swinging leisurely on swings. Get lost in the myriad of secret rooms while sampling the potent cocktails. Designed by Ashly Sutton, a Bangkok legend, the bar has become a go to for locals, expats and tourists.
