Bar of the Year
Dry Wave Cocktail Studio
It was the talk of the town when it opened in April of 2024, and remained the jewel of the city’s nightlife scene from that moment on. Dry Wave Cocktail Studio feels like the culmination of a two-decade journey by owner and head mixologist Supawit “Palm” Muttarattana, who’s also won our “Bartender of the Year” award for 2025. After building up a tremendous reputation across some of the city’s best establishments—names seasoned Bangkok drinkers will know, like Fuchsia, Vesper, and Rabbit Hole—Palm and his equally talented team truely built something Bangkok hasn’t seen before. Found in Sodality Project, a Thonglor community space that also houses follow BAD finalist Must Wine Bar, Dry Wave became famous for its “Super Classic” cocktail menu—the 2.0 version just launched in March—that challenges the bar team to merge two classic cocktails into a single drink.
Best Cocktail Bar
Opium
422, Vanich Soi 1, Samphanthawong, 082-979-3950. Open Mon 5pm-midnight; Thu-Sun 5pm-midnight.
Opium is no stranger to the BAD Awards, nor the winner’s podium. The moody cocktail bar sitting about Michelin-starred Thai-Chinese fine-dining powerhouse Potong has won “Bar of the Year” twice (2023, 2024), and “Best Design” (2023). It was always one of the city’s best cocktail bars thanks to the work of Matteo Cadeddu and his seasonally evolving “liquid surreality” cocktail menu, which tries to blur the lines between fantasy and reality. The menu spreads its wings across seven easy-to-understand sections — apéritif, sparkle, acid, acid+, solo, duo, and bottle infusions — allowing guests to easily find their match without much knowledge of cocktail wizardry.
Best New Design
Apt 101
While Apt 101 might have just lost out on “Best Nightclub” because of its relatively short time on the scene, there is no time limit on good looks. SOHO Hospitality, a team with a reputation for solid design, channels 1970s New York City through this funky penthouse-style club on the third level of a low-rise building just a few minutes from Asok BTS station. The sprawling space nails the 70s “Brown Era” vibe to a T, drenching the floors and walls in warm brown woods, swooping multi-colored carpets, sturdy mid-century furniture, shelves full of era-appropriate vinyl records, and Warhol-inspired artwork. Much of the space feels like a real, lived-in penthouse, and that’s by design. This was a pretty clear winner for “Best New Design” this year.
Apt 101, 3/F, 233 Sukhumvit Rd. (Sukhumvit 17), 02-821-5813. Open Wed-Sat 8pm-2am.
Best Rooftop Bar
Bar.Yard
Bar.Yard should be no stranger to folks who know Bangkok’s nightlife scene or fans of rooftop bars. This is the third year in a row the venue has earned the top spot from the BAD Awards voting panel in the rooftop bar category, and that’s largely because the venue keeps refining its best-in-class formula. This year, it launched an all-new line-up of weekly parties called “Nights at the Yard”, creating a good mixture of vibes and energy levels here with everything from ladies nights to more off-the-cuff parties and cosmopolitan dance-offs. Combine that with the already good food and drink and you have a homerun yet again.
40/F, Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, Soi Ton Son, 02-056-9999. Open Mon 5pm-1am; Tue-Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 5pm-1am
Best New Bar
Dry Wave Cocktail Studio
Opening in early 2024, Dry Wave Cocktail Studio from Supawit “Palm” Muttarattana burst on the nightlife scene with cocktails that aren’t just twists on classics, they’re two classics mashed together—think Paloma and Bellini and Old Fashioned and Cosmopolitan . The vibes here are complete with a lively, treehouse atmosphere complete with an alfresco area with a large tree in the middle of the bar.
2/F, 263, Thonglor Soi 13, 098-909-3962. Open daily 7pm-late.
Best Live Music Bar
Crimson Room
From the team behind Rabbit Hole, Crimson Room features a steady stream of live acts every night at a bar as well known for its cocktails as its tunes—complete with an art deco interior and a romantic vibe. Slathered in a 20’s-style Gatsby-like vibe, here you’ll find music centered on talented crooners, artists, and musicians playing smooth, relatable songs. But don’t be fooled; this spot can party.
87 Langsuan Rd., 062-259-2525. Open daily 6pm-late.
Best Alfresco Bar
CALM – Grill, Garden & Guinguette: Winner
DJ decks inside, greenery outside—CALM Grill, Garden and Guinguette, the acronym standing for Comme a la Maison, has somehow transformed from a chill garden hang to a party spot since it opened in 2023 in Phrom Phong. Over the last year they’ve had events from CALMival to live music sets that are building this space from an alfresco hang to a community space.
231/2 , Sukhumvit Soi 31, 064-197-0432. Open Mon-Fri 4:30pm-midnight; Sat-Sun 11am-midnight.
Best Hotel Bar
BKK Social Club: Winner
A hotel bar it may be, but BKK Social Club climbed the ranks to World’s 50 Best list to No.7 in 2024, and has been the gold standard for cocktails for years. Found at the plush Four Seasons, drinkers enter to a dark, dazzling bar counter permanently packed with the city’s well-dressed and jet set, with a taste of Argentina and Mexico in the vibe and the drink menu. For negroni lovers, the Mezcal Negroni with Los Siete Misterios Doba-Yej is a must try.
Four Seasons Bangkok, 300/1, Charoen Krung Rd, 02 032 0888. Open daily 5pm-midnight.
Best Dive Bar
Fatty’s Bar and Diner
It seems no one can unseat Fatty’s from the Best Dive Bar Award, winning for three years running. Why? Well, Mathew Fischer’s Wisconsin dive bar in Din Daeng is an expat community as much as it’s a bar. The live music at the stage by the door is unpredictable enough and quality enough to keep guests coming for visiting acts and local would-be stars. Also, and we’re serious about this, don’t forget the wings.
598/66 Asoke-Din Daeng Rd., 02-245-2965. Open Tue-Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm.
Best Theme Bar
Arcadia Barcade
This Blade Runner-themed bar has gone from strength to strength since it opened. Packed nightly—whether for DJ sets, movies on the roof, or professional wrestling—Arcadia takes its drinks and events seriously. Helmed by Todd Ruiz, the bar’s owner and occasional carnival barker, this “barcade” is about all things nerd and never disappoints, a space for writers, expats, and the Phra Khanong nightlife crowd.
1112/24, Soi Sukhumvit Plus, bangkok2049@gmail.com. Tue-Sun 10am-late.
Best Beer Bar
Hair of the Dog
Winner for the second year in a row, Hair of the Dog is the first thought for beer lovers in Bangkok—and not just because they always have the newest brews. Hair of the Dog, with its OG location in Ploenchit and its flagship in Phrom Phong, has been hosting parties, events, and blind tastings that make it the premier venue for those who appreciate beer. With heavy tunes and a macabre design, this brand is officially a Bangkok beer staple.
593, Sukhumvit Soi 27, 02 030 2538. Open daily 11am-midnight.
Best Wine Bar
Mod Kaew Wine Bar
We’re not sure if it’s true that Mod Kaew Wine Bar kicked off Bangkok’s very welcome shift towards no-frills, trend-rejecting wine bars a few years ago, but it is effortlessly the best at it. The venue has now won BK Magazine’s “Best Wine Bar” at the BAD Awards for the 3rd year running — although the competition has stiffened. The venue has long been a wine bar for everyone, whether they know their grapes or not. This is reflected in the list, which varies from some of the best low-intervention wines available in Bangkok to a selection of Spanish and French wines, including many difficult-to-find labels. The food menu also walks a tightrope between high-end ingredients and down-to-earth ideas, where the likes of shaved foie gras rub shoulders with simple bites like grilled baby corn.
142, Sathorn Soi 12, 082-096-0281. Open daily 4pm-1am
Best Nightclub
Fuchsia
Retro-futurism and a blend of Parisian underground aesthetics, Fuchsia isn’t new but really hit its stride this year and planted a flag on Silom’s Decho Road. The interior is a feast for the eyes, with iron fixtures, stained glass windows, neon-lit saloons, and plush velvet booths — there’s really no other place like it in Bangkok. The space is specifically catered to groups that want to dance, thanks to large lounge areas with ample room to cut up a rug — of course you can hit up the main dance floor, too. Deep house and techno is the usual game here, and on certain nights you can catch pole dancers and state-of-the-art projection mapping.
Decho Road, Silom, 065-057-8977. Open daily 8pm-late
Best Happy Hour
Cooling Tower
Cocktails on a hotel rooftop in downtown Bangkok for B195 each? We were skeptical that a rooftop venue would win this category—considering most of the contenders are beer-heavy pubs or all-day dining spots—boy were we wrong. Cooling Tower Rooftop on the 34th floor of Carlton Hotel Bangkok gives you all the glitz and glamor of a swanky luxury hotel rooftop cocktail bar, but essentially at half the price you would even start paying anywhere else. Happy hour cocktails run B390 each, but it’s a two-for-one deal here that effectively cuts that price per cocktail in half. Besides, who doesn’t have at least two drinks during happy hour?
34/F, Carlton Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 491 Sukhumvit Rd., 02-090-7888. Open daily 5pm-midnight.
