A cocktail in Bangkok can cost 150 baht or 900 baht, and that single spread is the most useful thing to know before you head out. The best bars in Bangkok sit at both ends of it: street-level spots pour a decent drink for the price of a coffee back home, while the skyline rooftops charge resort prices for the view. Pick your night by budget first, neighbourhood second, and you waste nothing. Here is how the money and the map fit together.
The quick orientation: rooftops for the view and the photos, Thonglor and Silom speakeasies for the actual cocktails, Sukhumvit and Khao San street bars for cheap and loud. Most travellers mix two of the three in one evening.
How much you really pay, by tier
Three price tiers cover almost every bar in the city. At street and local level, a beer is 60 to 90 baht and a basic cocktail 150 to 250 baht, with no dress code and cash usually preferred. At the Thonglor and Ekkamai craft and speakeasy tier, cocktails climb to 350 to 600 baht and beer to 100 to 180 baht, with smart-casual dress and reservations that help on busy nights. At the skyline-rooftop tier, cocktails run 600 to 900 baht, a beer can hit 500 to 600 baht, and the top venues add a minimum spend on top.
| Bar type | Typical cocktail | Beer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street / local bar | 150 to 250 THB | 60 to 90 THB | Casual, cash-friendly, no dress code |
| Thonglor craft / speakeasy | 350 to 600 THB | 100 to 180 THB | Smart casual, reservations help late |
| Skyline rooftop | 600 to 900 THB | 500 to 600 THB | Strict dress code, minimum spend at the top venues |
| Khao San bucket bar | n/a | buckets from 120 THB | Backpacker chaos, very cheap |
A whole night out lands somewhere between 500 and 3,000 baht per person depending on which tier you spend in, plus 300 to 500 baht for the Grab home once the trains stop.
What is the best rooftop bar in Bangkok?
There is no single best, so pick by mood. For the postcard skyline, Sky Bar at Lebua sits on the 63rd floor of State Tower in Bang Rak, the gold-domed rooftop from The Hangover Part II. It runs from early evening to about midnight, with a minimum spend of roughly 1,000 baht per person just to sit. Cocktails run 600 to 900 baht, the dress code is strict (long trousers and closed shoes for men, no shorts or sandals), and staff will try to steer you to dinner. Politely insist on the bar if you only want the view.
Vertigo and Moon Bar, on the 61st floor of the Banyan Tree in Sathorn, is the other classic: open-air dining at Vertigo (about 6pm to 11pm) and a standing cocktail bar at Moon Bar (about 5pm to 1am), with drinks around 500 to 700 baht. For something livelier and later, Octave in Thonglor is the better-value all-rounder, a three-tier 360-degree rooftop open to about 2am with cocktails 350 to 550 baht. And Tichuca, a jungle-themed three-level rooftop in Phra Khanong with an LED tree at its centre, turns into a party with house and Afrobeats DJs on Friday and Saturday, cocktails around 350 to 500 baht and last call near 1:30am.
A word on weather. Rooftops are best from November to February, the cool dry season. From June to October, heavy evening downpours can clear an outdoor venue in minutes, so as of mid-2026 the smart move in rainy months is to keep an indoor backup bar in the same neighbourhood.
The speakeasy scene, and where it actually is
Bangkok's speakeasy boom is real, and it clusters in Thonglor, Chinatown and Silom. These are not gimmicks bolted onto hotels; several are award-winners that drinkers cross town for.
BKK Social Club, the Buenos-Aires-inspired cocktail lounge inside the Four Seasons on the Chao Phraya river, is the headline act. It was named Best Hotel Bar at the Bangkok Bar Show 2025, runs from about 5pm to midnight, and pours cocktails around 500 to 700 baht. It is polished and not cheap, but it sets the bar for hotel drinking in the city.
For the more secretive end, Rabbit Hole is a multi-floor industrial-chic cocktail bar in Thonglor and a genuine local cornerstone, cocktails around 400 to 550 baht, open to about 1am and busy late. Havana Social on Soi 11 hides behind a vintage phone booth (you need the code), pours rum-led drinks around 350 to 500 baht from about 7pm to 2am, and turns into a Latin dance floor late. Over in Chinatown, Opium is tucked into the upper floors of the POTONG building above a historic Chinese-medicine shop on Yaowarat, with cocktails roughly 450 to 650 baht; reservations help, and as of mid-2026 it is worth a quick check on its socials before you trek over, since its current hours are not nailed down.
If you would rather not gamble on phone-booth codes and unmarked doors, a guided speakeasy or rooftop crawl handles the hard part: getting in. These small-group tours usually bundle entry, a welcome drink at two or three venues, and a local guide who knows which doors are open that night, which saves the trial-and-error of finding hidden bars on your own.
Where do locals drink in Bangkok?
Not on the tourist strips. Locals lean into Thonglor and Ekkamai (Sukhumvit Soi 55 and 63) for cocktails and the underground music scene; the same district holds Beam, a serious house and techno club in the 72 Courtyard complex with a VOID Acoustics sound system, where entry varies by event and drinks run 300 to 450 baht. Younger Thais and budget travellers fill the cheap street beer bars threaded through the Sukhumvit sois, where a local beer is 60 to 90 baht and nobody is dressed up.
The contrast is sharp. Tourists end up on Sukhumvit Soi 11 and Khao San Road, both fun in their own way, while the more grown-up, design-led nights happen one BTS ride east in Thonglor. If you want to feel the difference in one evening, start with a craft cocktail in Thonglor, then decide whether you want the polish of a rooftop or the chaos of Soi 11.
The LGBTQ bars on Silom
Silom Soi 4 and Soi 2 hold the densest concentration of gay venues in Southeast Asia, packed into two short side streets near Sala Daeng BTS and Si Lom MRT. The rhythm is reliable: Soi 4's open-front terrace bars are best from about 9pm to midnight, then the crowd crosses to Soi 2's dance clubs.
The Balcony is the long-running terrace warm-up on Soi 4, with beer around 120 to 180 baht and happy hours; The Stranger Bar next door runs nightly drag and cabaret over three levels, cocktails around 250 to 400 baht. When the dancing starts, DJ Station on Soi 2 is the legendary mega-club, three floors of pop, house and EDM with a midnight-ish cabaret show, entry roughly 150 to 300 baht (often including drinks) and open to about 2 or 3am. Telephone Pub, one of the oldest gay bars in the city, sits nearby with karaoke rooms for a quieter night.
Prices, hours and the alcohol rules
Here is the money picture, end to end. A beer is 60 to 90 baht at street and local bars, 100 to 200 baht in clubs, and as much as 500 to 600 baht at the luxury rooftops. Cocktails are 150 to 250 baht at street level and 350 to 600 baht at Thonglor craft bars and rooftops. The legal drinking age is 20, ID checks are common even for older-looking tourists, and vaping is illegal in Thailand, so leave the e-cigarette at home.
One thing worth knowing as of mid-2026: retail alcohol sales have been running roughly 11am to midnight under a nationwide trial that lifted the old 2pm-to-5pm afternoon ban. That trial was scheduled to run to around the end of May 2026, so check whether it has been extended, made permanent or reverted before you rely on shop hours. Bars and clubs serve on their own licensed schedules, so this mostly affects buying alcohol from shops rather than drinking out.
A sample bar night that works
Go early to a rooftop, around 6pm, to catch the light and beat the dinner crowds. Move down to a Thonglor speakeasy or a Silom terrace by 9pm, when the cocktail bars hit their stride. Save any club for after 11pm, because rooms sit empty before then and only peak between midnight and 2am.
Keep Grab on your phone, carry your passport or ID, and dress for the strictest venue you plan to hit (the rooftops will turn away shorts and sandals, everywhere else is relaxed). Remember the BTS and MRT stop running around midnight, with last central departures near midnight and terminals at about 12:45am, so a Grab home is part of almost every night out. If you want a fuller night on the dance floor after the bars, our guide to the best nightclubs in Bangkok maps the RCA mega-clubs and the Soi 11 strip.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous bar in Bangkok?
Sky Bar at Lebua, on the 63rd floor of State Tower in Bang Rak, is the most famous, mostly because it appeared in The Hangover Part II. It runs from early evening to around midnight, and there is a minimum spend of about 1,000 baht per person just to be seated. Cocktails run roughly 600 to 900 baht, so go for the sunset view rather than a full night.
Where do locals drink in Bangkok?
Thonglor and Ekkamai (Sukhumvit Soi 55 and 63) are the locals-heavy districts, full of craft-cocktail bars, hidden speakeasies and izakayas. Bars like Rabbit Hole sit here, with cocktails around 400 to 550 baht. Younger crowds also fill the cheaper street bars off the Sukhumvit sois, where a beer is 60 to 90 baht. Tourists tend to cluster on Sukhumvit Soi 11 and Khao San Road instead.
What is the best rooftop bar in Bangkok?
There is no single winner, but Octave on the 45th floor of the Marriott in Thonglor is the best all-rounder: a three-tier 360-degree rooftop that stays open to about 2am, with cocktails around 350 to 550 baht. For pure skyline drama go to Sky Bar at Lebua or Vertigo and Moon Bar at the Banyan Tree. For a party rooftop, Tichuca in Phra Khanong is busiest on Friday and Saturday.
How much is a cocktail in Bangkok?
Expect 150 to 250 baht for a basic cocktail at street-level bars, and 350 to 600 baht at Thonglor and Ekkamai craft bars or skyline rooftops. The luxury rooftops at Lebua and Banyan Tree push cocktails to 600 to 900 baht and add minimum spends. Beer is far cheaper: 60 to 90 baht at local bars, 100 to 200 baht in clubs.
What is the Sky Bar in Bangkok?
Sky Bar is the open-air rooftop bar on the 63rd floor of State Tower in the Bang Rak district, run by the Lebua hotel. It is the gold-domed bar from The Hangover Part II. The dress code is strict (long trousers and closed shoes for men, no shorts, sandals or sleeveless tops), and there is a per-person minimum spend. It runs from early evening to about midnight.
When is the best time of year to visit Bangkok rooftop bars?
November to February is the cool, dry season and by far the best window for rooftops and open-air venues, though it is also peak tourist time. The May to October rainy season pushes crowds indoors and spikes Grab prices when downpours hit, but you get fewer crowds and cheaper hotels. Rooftops can close at short notice in heavy rain, so have an indoor backup.