The Thaiger key takeaways
- Bangkok transforms at night, where hidden bars, shophouses, and neon-lit streets turn into hubs for creative gin cocktails and local-inspired mixology.
- The city’s cocktail scene blends tradition and innovation, with bartenders using Thai botanicals, herbs, and spices to craft drinks that reflect Bangkok’s culture.
- Iconic bars, from historic jazz lounges to modern speakeasies, show how Bangkok’s nightlife balances heritage charm with contemporary experimentation
Once the domain of simple gin and tonics and smoky jazz clubs, gin has confidently returned to the spotlight with a fresh vibrancy. Small-batch distillations, herbal infusions, and innovative bartenders have transformed it into the most versatile spirit behind the bar.
Unlike whiskey or rum, which can stand alone in a glass, gin demands a dance partner, tonic, vermouth, or the creativity of a skilled bartender. That dependence on balance and imagination is precisely what makes gin the perfect lens through which to explore Bangkok’s evolving cocktail scene. And nowhere is this story richer than in the side streets and shophouses of Bangkok’s historic quarter.
Walking here, you catch the sting of dried chillies from spice stalls, the curl of incense drifting from shrines, the restless hiss of woks on open flames. In this atmosphere, where façades peel and aromas linger, gin and other spirits take on a distinctly local accent.
If you appreciate a classic pour and a touch of old-world glamour, here is where you’ll find it in Bangkok.
On this page
| Section (Click to jump) | Short Summary | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Soi Nana in Chinatown | Soi Nana transforms at night into a neon-lit lane filled with inventive gin bars, blending local ingredients and playful cocktail experimentation. | Teens of Thailand, Asia Today, Tax, Independence, Tep Bar, Ba Hao |
| Charoenkrung | Charoenkrung Road mixes antiques, galleries, and luxury hotels with historic jazz bars and elegant cocktail lounges offering live music and crafted drinks. | Bamboo Bar (Mandarin Oriental), BKK Social Club (Four Seasons), Stella (Capella), FooJohn Building |
| The Bangkok Gin Fest | The annual festival celebrates gin’s evolution with tastings, workshops, and showcases of Thai botanicals, highlighting the city’s inventive bar culture. | Look out for the announced date (It has not been stated yet) |
| Other gin stops in the city | Bangkok offers more gin-centric bars beyond Old Town, featuring tropical flavours, experimental pairings, and theatrical speakeasy settings. | Tropic City, Rabbit Hole, Havana Social |
Soi Nana in Chinatown
The journey begins on Soi Nana, a narrow lane just off Yaowarat Road. By day, it hums with herbal shops and apothecaries; by night, it transforms. Neon flickers on, stools spill into the street, and once-silent shophouses buzz with conversation. Step inside Teens of Thailand and you’ll find a dimly lit den where brick walls glow in candlelight and bartenders shake gin into new forms. Opened in 2015, it was the first bar in the city to devote itself to gin, proving the spirit could be both playful and place-based.
Next door, Asia Today leans further into local ingredients. Cocktails here might arrive spiked with wild honey collected from northern jungles, bright pandan, or even jackfruit. The room is dark, the drinks witty and surprising, but everything feels anchored to Thailand itself.
A short stroll away, Tax surprises with vinegar-based creations — tart, bracing, and unlike anything you expect in a cocktail glass. Independence offers quieter refinement with wine and wine-based cocktails, served in a stripped-back, stylish space. For cultural twists, Tep Bar champions Thai spirits with live traditional music, while Ba Hao dresses its retro neon rooms with Chinese apothecary jars, evoking a 1970s Chinatown speakeasy. Together, these bars turn a narrow street into a creative laboratory, equal parts convivial and daring.
Did You Know?
Gin and Tonic began as medicine. British officers in colonial India mixed gin with quinine-laced tonic water to ward off malaria. The lime slice was a later addition for vitamin C.
Also: Banthat Thong Road: Your new street food destination
Charoenkrung
From Chinatown, the path leads to Charoenkrung Road, laid out in the 1860s as the city’s first paved thoroughfare. The street is a study in contrasts: antique shops spilling curios and contemporary galleries tucked between noodle stalls rub shoulders with luxury hotels.
At one end, the storied Mandarin Oriental still hosts live jazz at its legendary Bamboo Bar, where rattan chairs and low lights frame cocktails that have outlasted trends. Further upriver, the Four Seasons’ BKK Social Club channels Art Deco glamour, offering polished mixology that has earned it a place among Asia’s top bars.
Nearby, Stella at Capella Bangkok features throne-like chairs, hand-painted frescoes, and a taxidermised white peacock under a mirrored ceiling. The vibe is feminine, and the herb-infused cocktails are inspired by formidable Asian women throughout history. In the same vicinity stands the retro-inspired FooJohn Building, an old shophouse reimagined as a Hong Kong diner with a cocktail bar on the top level.
Did You Know?
The Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental first opened in 1953 and has hosted everyone from jazz legends to royalty. Its reputation for cocktails with live music made it a pioneer in Bangkok nightlife.
The Bangkok Gin Fest
The momentum of gin’s evolution to its deserved classic spot in drinking culture hasn’t gone unnoticed. Since 2017, the annual Bangkok Gin Fest has brought together bartenders, distillers, and enthusiasts to celebrate the spirit in all its forms. Tastings, workshops, and pop-ups showcase how far the city’s bar scene has come in just a decade, and how inventive its bartenders have become with Thai botanicals.
The date of the fest is not consistent and no event has been confirmed for 2025 so far but the pattern suggests that it happens towards the second half of the year (quarter 3 or 4). Keep an eye out for when it is announced if you are interested.
Did You Know?
Thailand’s drinking culture has always been tied to herbal infusions. Spirits like ya dong (Thai herbal alcoholic drink) were once sold in apothecaries, not bars. That tradition of infusing local botanicals is now echoed in today’s gin cocktails.
Other gin stops in the city
If your thirst isn’t quenched after the Old Town, Bangkok has plenty more gin-centric stops. Tropic City, near Charoenkrung, leans into bold tropical flavours and is consistently ranked among Asia’s best bars. Rabbit Hole in Thonglor offers boundary-pushing cocktails where gin often stars in unexpected pairings. For something theatrical, Havana Social channels 1940s Cuba with speakeasy energy and a strong gin game behind the bar.
A toast to reinvention
Gin and Bangkok share the same path: both are masters of reinvention. Gin has shifted from medicinal tonic to jazz-era staple to today’s craft canvas; Bangkok has evolved from trading port to cosmopolitan capital while keeping its old-world charm alive in the margins. Together, they’ve created a cocktail culture that feels like an alchemic evolution where history is stirred into every glass.
How to find your tipple
Bangkok’s Old Town is best explored on foot. Soi Nana and Charoenkrung are both compact enough that you can wander between bars and soak up the atmosphere in between. Start your evening around Chinatown (MRT Hua Lamphong is the closest stop), then walk or grab a short tuk-tuk ride down toward Charoenkrung.
Dress code: Most bars are casual but stylish with a pretty strict dress policy; shorts and flip-flops won’t cut it at all.
When to go: Arrive early if you want a quieter drink, or after 9pm to catch the full buzz.
How much: Expect cocktails to range from 300 to 450 Thai baht (roughly US$9 to US$14) per glass, though some high-end hotel bars may run higher.
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The story Bangkok after dark: Where to find gin cocktails with jazz and the old town charm as seen on Thaiger News.
