Eating, drinking and dancing
We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Bangkok.
Restaurants
Spring and Summer
A stunning setting in a glass-fronted modernist home, Spring, a Thai restaurant, serves gorgeous food to a crowd of hip Thais and fashionable young expats. Next door, Summer, built in an equally stylish space, is a chocolate café. At night, bean-bags and tables litter the manicured lawns that front the two buildings and Bangkok’s beautiful people lounge about in gastro-bliss.
199 Soi Promsi 2, Thanon Sukhumvit, Bangkok 10110 Thailand
+66 (0)2 392 2757/8
Zanotti
Probably Bangkok’s most popular Italian restaurant, Zanotti is tucked away on the ground floor of a residential complex. The food here is mostly Piedmontese and Tuscan. Try the pasta and the selection of 28 types of salami.
21/1 1st Floor, Saladaeng Colonnade, Silom Road, Silom Bangrak,10500
+66 (0)2 636 0002
Lemongrass
Set in an antique-filled private home, Lemongrass claims to serve ‘royal cuisine’. We think of it more as Modern Thai. Whatever it is, it’s good, and not too spicy.
5/1 Sukhumvit Soi 24, Bangkok 10110
+66 (0)2 258 8637
Cy'an
The ice-blue environs of this contemporary hotel eatery play host to some of the best international cuisine in the city. Authentic Spanish pata negra jamón and Japanese Wagyu beef are two of the highlights.
Metropolitan Bangkok, 27 South Saathorn Road, Tungmahamek, 10120
+66 (0)2 625 3333
Harmonique
This century-old riverside mansion’s menu is quintessentially Thai, but exhibits both Chinese and European influences. We recommend the seafood dishes; they are always cooked to perfection.
22 Charoen Krung Soi 34, Bangkok 10500
+66 (0)2 237 8175
Nasir al-Masri
Bangkok is filled with culinary surprises and none more so than this family-run Egyptian restaurant in the small Arab quarter, just off Sukhumvit Road. Find the Shisha pipes outside and you’ll also discover a gaudy interior, awesome lamb shish, hummus and flatbread.
4/6 Sukhumvit Soi 3/1 4/6 Sukhumvit Soi 3/1 North Nana Bangkok
+66 (0)2 253 5582
Cafés
Glow
Possibly the healthiest lunch and smoothies in town – the spirulina noodles with salmon sashimi are scrumptious. You’ll hear smooth tunes while you lounge in the urban and knowing decor.
Metropolitan Bangkok, 27 South Saathorn Road, Tungmahamek, 10120
+66 (0)2 625 3333
Agalico
This beautiful all-white café will make you forget you’re in Bangkok. Frequented by the high society crowd, this quiet, cool hideaway serves a wonderful selection of freshly baked cakes and savoury snacks along with a tasty slice of people-watching.
20 Sukhumvit Soi 5, Wattana, 10110
+66 (0)2 662 5857
Kuppa
This popular cafe in Sukhumvit serves simple Western and Thai fare. They’re especially well known for their fantastic coffee, roasted on the premises.
39 Sukhumvit Soi 16, Klong Tooey, 10110
+66 (0)2 663 0495
Bars and clubs
Q Bar
The moody matte black walls of the visually stunning Q Bar are accented with retro Fifties and Sixties leather swivel chairs and sofas. Billed the first New York-style cocktail bar in the Thai capital, Q Bar attracts an edgy, cosmopolitan crowd.
34 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok 10110
+66 (0)2 252 3274
Bed Supper Club
Like A Clockwork Orange reimagined by Eero Saarinen, the white pod interiors and soft blue neon lights of this iconic Bangkok nightspot offer a choice of beds or low-slung chairs to lounge on.
26 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok 10110
+66 (0)2 651 3537
Sky Bar
Located 820 feet above the busy city streets and a stone’s throw from the river, Sky Bar offers some of the most amazing views in town. Definitely one of the most romantic spots to sling a martini.
State Tower 1055, Silom Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
+66 (0)2 624 9555
Club Astra
Located on the exuberant Royal College Avenue (RCA) – a strip of bars and clubs to the east of the city centre – Club Astra is now one of Bangkok’s flagship nightclubs. Top international DJs, urban youth and funked-up fashionistas hang out here.
29/53-64 Soi Soonvijai, Rama 9 Road, Bang-Kapi, Huaykwang, Bangkok
+66 (0)2 255 8476