Bangkok, According to Me 🇹🇭

Not a tourist guide. Just the places I’d actually save, send to friends, and go back to.

Bangkok is slightly chaotic, very good at nightlife, extremely good at food, and one of those cities where your day can go from a quiet tea house to a rooftop cocktail to a 3 AM club without feeling remotely unusual.

My version of Bangkok is very much good food, interesting bars, shopping, design stores, massages and nights that accidentally become very long.

If you’re going for a few days, I wouldn’t try to see every temple and every market. Pick the things you genuinely enjoy and build the trip around those.

The Bars I’d Actually Recommend

BKK Social Club at Four Seasons

A must.

Partly for the bar, partly because Four Seasons Bangkok is one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve seen.

Go for the whole experience — the setting, the cocktails, the people-watching and the hotel itself.

This is one of those places where I’d arrive early enough to actually wander around rather than rushing straight to my table.

Tichuca

One of Bangkok’s newer, very popular rooftop bars, up on the 46th floor.

Go for the views and the atmosphere, but expect a line.

Also, very important: carry your physical passport. Don’t rely on a photo or digital copy because you may not be allowed in.

It stays open until around 2 AM.

Thaipioka

One of my favourite cocktail discoveries.

Small, niche and much less obvious than the giant rooftop bars.

The cocktails were genuinely excellent — some of the best I had in Bangkok.

If you care more about the actual drink than getting a skyline photograph, save this one.

Baccarat

Easy, chilled house-music energy. Open till morning.

It’s open most days, so it’s also a useful option when you haven’t planned the night obsessively.

Apt 101

Very cool room and really good music.

Open until around 2 AM.

A good option when you want something livelier than a cocktail bar but don’t necessarily want a full-blown club.

Salon Kiku

Part wine bar, part sound room.

Definitely check their Instagram before going because they host different events.

Good cocktails, good atmosphere and one of the more interesting places if you like spaces that sit somewhere between music, wine and nightlife.

The Locker Room

A small speakeasy that is slightly annoying to locate, which I suppose is part of the point.

Cute, intimate, good drinks and good music.

Pastel

A rooftop option for sunset / sundowner drinks.

Fun cocktails, easy group energy, and they also do a Ladies Night from around 9–11 PM.

I’d go earlier for sunset and let the evening continue from there.

Bamboo Bar at Mandarin Oriental

For the complete opposite mood.

Classic, elegant and very good for one drink when you want Bangkok to temporarily feel extremely civilised.

Where I’d Eat

Pepper Thai

Insane Thai food.

This is the one I’d send someone to when they say, “Okay, but where should I actually eat Thai food?”

Go hungry.

Bo.Lan

This is more of an experiential Thai dinner than a casual meal.

They do a set-menu format at roughly 4,000–5,000 baht, so I’d book this for one of the nights where dinner itself is the plan.

Good if you want something more immersive and considered rather than simply ordering five dishes for the table.

Zuma

Japanese, good music and a reliable dinner-before-going-out option.

I’d do this on a night where you want dinner to already feel like the beginning of the evening.

Din Tai Fung

Nothing niche here — just a classic, easy casual lunch.

Sometimes you do not need your dumplings to have a concept.

Emsphere Food Court

One of the easiest ways to eat a lot without committing to one restaurant.

Go hungry and try different things.

Very good for a more casual day in between the bigger dinner reservations.

Chenin

Great wine list and flatbreads/pizza.

A nice one when everyone wants wine and something unfussy to eat.

Other food spots worth saving

Riva del Fiume
Issaya Siamese
Havana Social

Different moods, but all useful names to have sitting in your Bangkok folder.

Bangkok Nightlife

If you want proper nightlife, Bangkok gives you options.

Sing Sing

Very good club and importantly — it stays open late.

The interiors and atmosphere make it feel more interesting than a generic nightclub.

Good one to keep for the night you actually intend to go out-out.

Sukhumvit Soi 11

This is essentially a full party street.

Bars, clubs, restaurants, dispensaries, late-night food — everything is packed into the area.

We did:

• Sugar

• Juicy

• Levels

It’s not necessarily the sophisticated cocktail side of Bangkok, but if you’re with a group and want an easy night where you can move between places, it works.

There’s also a 24/7 burger spot around there, which becomes remarkably important at the correct hour.

Soi Cowboy

Let me caveat this immediately:

It’s shady.

But if you want a slightly chaotic Bangkok karaoke experience, it can be fun.

I wouldn’t wander all the way deep into the lane. Stick to the first few places on the left and right.

And my rule here would be:

Order beers. Do not order food.

There are many other places in Bangkok for dinner.

Shopping

Bangkok is one of those cities where you can very easily lose an entire day shopping.

Siam Paragon + Siam Square + Siam Area

If you want proper shopping, this is an easy place to start.

You can move between the malls, stores and smaller shops without wasting half the day commuting.

Platinum Mall

For more intense shopping.

Go when you have patience, comfortable shoes and enough mental capacity to look at a lot of things.

ICONSIAM

Worth doing partly for the mall, partly for the food and partly because you’re right on the river.

It’s an easy half-day combination.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

If your trip overlaps with the weekend, keep time for this.

It’s huge, so I’d go with some idea of what you’re interested in rather than attempting to methodically inspect every stall.

The Stores I’d Save

BOYY

For fashion/accessories.

THINGG Store

Homeware.

Exactly the kind of store where you can accidentally convince yourself that carrying fragile objects internationally is sensible.

Eastern Glass

A glassware manufacturer worth looking into if you love tableware, objects and home pieces.

Copenn

Perfumery.

A nice stop if you like fragrance and independent beauty concepts.

World at the Corner

Bookshop.

Very much the sort of place I’d add between food and drinks rather than make into a giant itinerary item.

For Coffee, Tea & Something Sweet

Citizen Tea Canteen

Tea house.

Good for a slower stop when your body has had enough iced coffee and cocktails.

Kad Kokoa

Chocolate bar.

Save for an afternoon pick-me-up.

% Arabica

The Empire Tower location is an option, but honestly any convenient % Arabica works if you just need good coffee.

FV

Juice bar.

Particularly useful approximately 12 hours after the part of this guide titled “Sing Sing”.

Get a Massage

You’re in Bangkok.

Use this information responsibly.

City of Massage

This came highly recommended as one of the best places for massages.

I’d definitely build one into the middle of the trip rather than waiting until your final day when your body has already filed a complaint.

Do Karaoke

Wood Hall

If you’re travelling with friends, save Wood Hall for karaoke.

Bangkok is a city where structured plans tend to deteriorate after dinner anyway, so karaoke feels appropriately on-brand.

A River Day

Bangkok looks very different from the water, so I’d keep at least part of one day around the river.

You can combine:

ICONSIAM → river → drinks/dinner at one of the hotels nearby

rather than making it a standalone sightseeing expedition.

The Riverfront

Another area to keep in mind if you want to spend time around the water, eat and wander.

Markets

Chatuchak

The obvious one, and worth doing if you enjoy markets and shopping.

Floating Market

Very much more of a proper excursion, so I’d only do this if you actually want the experience.

I wouldn’t squeeze it into an already packed four-day Bangkok trip simply because it appears on every checklist.

My Ideal Bangkok Night

If I had to design one very Bangkok evening:

Great dinner → niche cocktail bar → somewhere with music → club if the night still has legs → questionable late-night food decision.

For example:

Zuma → Thaipioka → Apt 101 → Sing Sing

Or for something more relaxed:

BKK Social Club → Bamboo Bar → dinner by the river

And for the chaotic version:

Pastel → Soi 11 → Levels → 24/7 burger

There is a Bangkok for every personality.

Things I’d Know Before Going

Carry your passport when going out

Especially for places like Tichuca.

A physical passport can be required for entry.

Check Instagram before nightlife plans

A lot of Bangkok’s better bars and music-led spaces change programming depending on the night.

Particularly Salon Kiku.

Rooftop doesn't automatically mean best cocktail

Some of my favourite drinks were in the smaller places.

Do a combination of both.

Don’t overschedule Bangkok

Traffic + shopping + a two-hour dinner + “just one drink” will destroy your beautifully colour-coded itinerary anyway.

Accept it.

My Bangkok Take

Bangkok works best when you let it be slightly messy.

Eat exceptionally well.

Do one dramatic rooftop because you’re in Bangkok and you should.

Then find the tiny cocktail bar.

Go shopping.

Get a massage.

Spend an afternoon around the river.

Book one experimental dinner.

Go out properly at least once.

And leave enough gaps in the itinerary for the friend who inevitably says, “Wait, someone just sent me this place — should we go?”

The answer in Bangkok is usually yes.