Bangkok > Nightlife

Bangkok Nightlife

Bangkok is an excellent city for a "night on the tiles", a dazzling mesh of neon lights and inviting bars make it one of the most exciting cities in Asia for a wild night out. From elaborately designed bars like the Bed Supper Club and Mystique to the Go Go bars full of friendly Thai girls, Bangkok offers an exceptional range of night time entertainment.

2004's Social Order Crusade has introduced entertainment zoning laws into Bangkok, with just three areas in the entertainment zone being granted the late night 2:00 am licence as oppose to 1:00 am elsewhere in the city. It's not all bad news for party goers though as the entertainment zone areas are having money pumped into them and a lot of new nightclubs and bars should result, and if 2:00 am is still too early for you, then don't worry, you will soon find some late night areas that party on until the morning.

The legal age for drinking in bars is 20 years old, and though Thai people will know to take their ID with them to a bar, it's worth mentioning that foreign visitors or residents should always take some form of ID as well (usually just a photocopy of your passport will do) just in case the bar you are visiting is checking IDs on the door.

One of the most popular clubs in Bangkok for the last couple of years and the talk of the town for Bangkok's nightlife partygoers is the space aged designed tube shaped Bed Supper club. Just down the road from another Bangkok favourite, the Q bar, Bed Supper club aims to bring the European chic to the Bangkok nightclub circuit as the supper club is originally a Dutch concept and this bar is named after a similar style bar in Amsterdam. It's hard to put a finger on what this club is known for most, its modern styles and decor, music or food.

To start with the decor, the club is designed in a futuristic style, all white seats and tables giving the club a bright space age feel, almost resembling the ‘Clockwork Orange milk’ bar. Silent movies are projected onto the walls, and staff dressed in space age sexy uniforms deliver your drinks and food. It's worth a visit just to see the decor, but if that isn't enough for you then there are international DJs playing a range of trance, house regularly with many different party events and themed nights.

The Bed Supper club certainly hasn't forgotten the food here, offering a selection of excellent Asian and European cuisine on an ever changing menu. Four course meals start at 790 baht on weekdays, and 990 baht on weekends and though this may seem expensive for a venue that isn't exclusively a restaurant, rest assured the cuisine at the Bed Supper Club is excellent with well crafted and superb tasting dishes. Attracting a crowd of young expats and a fashionable Thai crowd, the Bed supper club is one not to missed on a night out in Bangkok.

A long time favourite for expats and long term visitors to Bangkok is the Bamboo Beer Bar on Sukhumvit 3 (Soi Nana), just opposite the Grace hotel and a comfortable walking distant from the Nana Plaza Entertainment centre. An excellent place for a quiet beer during the day, and it's a bar that promises always to get lively at night with the excellent house band 'The Fox' thumping out some great rock tunes Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, in fact the live music is one of the highlights of this bar, a real crowd livener and it always seems to turn the drinking and partying up a notch.

The Bamboo Beer Bar is also well know for it's pool playing, with several tables and some excellent players there, though the tables are a little outdated compared to some of the newer places in Bangkok, they still attract some of the best players in Bangkok and a game there is always a challenge. All this and plenty of ladies as well, with pretty smiling staff and lots of girls in their every night looking for a new (or another!) boyfriend, it’s an excellent place to go looking for some wild romance.

The Bamboo Beer Bar offers a wide selection of food off their menus, mainly bar snack styles such as chicken in a basket, french fries, and scampi as well as some European steak and fish dishes and of course Thai food as well, and all served at a reasonable price with most menu items being under 150 baht. Overall the Bamboo Beer Bar is a deservedly well liked and popular Bangkok establishment, with always a good crowd of expats and regular visitors to Bangkok both young and old.

Located in one of the highest buildings in Bangkok that is also home to the highest restaurant in the city, Distil at the State Tower is a rooftop bar a frightening 63 floors up in the sky. It is known as one of the best new bars in Bangkok, and though more expensive that the usual Bangkok bar it certainly offers a lot more as well and is a venue to be experienced. Described by the management as "Part DJ bar, part smoking lounge, part restaurant", they have proved to walk the walk as well as talking the talk with this plush modern lounge bar. An excellent selection of beverages and famed for their single malt whiskeys like Macallan and Glenmoranghie which are complimented only with natural Scottish water.

Distil also is the exclusive venue for the quadrupled distilled New Zealand vodka called '42 below' that is made from Glacier water and also features a walk in wine cellar. Distil's food selection is just as exclusive with French oysters, Iranian Caviar and Atlantic Lobster featured on the menu. And what better way to let your meal settle and compliment your drink than a fine Cuban cigar from Distil's very own humidor. The residents Djs play mainly house and lounge music and you can settle down to enjoy this with Distil's comfortable lounge chairs and subtle decor. Distil's 63 floor location offers a breathtaking panoramic view of Bangkok and this can be taken advantage of further by stepping out onto the rooftop terrace. An exclusive bar for exclusive people, Distil is the kind of bar that stands out amongst Bangkok's nightlife.