Backdoor Bodega is a bar in George Town, Penang.
Editorially verified August 27, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Food program: Bar snacks
Tip: Buy a lapel pin at the counter to redeem your cocktail; the belacan and ulam builds are the ones to trust.
Address: 37 Jalan Gurdwara, 10300 George Town, Penang
No Bar Here plays 80s and 90s nostalgia a few doors from its older sibling Backdoor Bodega, a Tatler-listed disco-cocktail room in central Penang.
Signature drink: Megumi Highball
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Made Tatler's Top 20 Malaysian bars in 2025; order the Megumi Highball and claim the cassette wall booth early.
Good Friends Club pours kopitiam-inspired cocktails behind teal doors on Jalan Gurdwara, the Penang bar that turns laksa into a working Negroni.
Signature drink: Penang Laksa Negroni
Food: Cheesy fries and bar snacks
Tip: Start with the Laksa Negroni for the story and switch to the Milo build for the finish; Fridays fill by 22:00.
Magazine 63 opened in 2017 behind an unmarked wooden door on Jalan Magazine, Penang's first true speakeasy and still its most theatrical lounge.
Signature drink: Sultan Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Live sets run on select nights in the vintage Chinese-inn interior; knock at the plain wooden door and wait to be seated.
Manchu Bar dresses its Rope Walk speakeasy in red lanterns and Qing-dynasty props, pouring Penang cocktails from porcelain teapots until 03:00.
Signature drink: Elixir Of Youth served in a teapot
Food: Chinese-leaning bar bites
Tip: The teapot service is made for sharing; go late, it keeps the longest hours of the heritage-core cocktail rooms.
Antarabangsa Enterprise is a bottle-shop-turned-street-bar on Lorong Stewart, the cheapest cold beer in George Town on plastic chairs in Penang.
Signature drink: Cold big-bottle beers
Food: None; hawkers nearby
Tip: There is no menu and no frills: grab a big bottle from the fridge, take a plastic chair, and watch the lane drift past.
Nomad builds its Penang cocktail menu as a passport, every drink themed to a country, at the quiet end of Kimberley Street's famous supper stalls.
Signature drink: Country-hopping cocktail flights
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Eat at the Kimberley Street stalls first; the country-by-country menu rewards ordering in a flight of three.
No Bar Here plays 80s and 90s nostalgia a few doors from its older sibling Backdoor Bodega, a Tatler-listed disco-cocktail room in central Penang.
Signature drink: Megumi Highball
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Made Tatler's Top 20 Malaysian bars in 2025; order the Megumi Highball and claim the cassette wall booth early.
Good Friends Club pours kopitiam-inspired cocktails behind teal doors on Jalan Gurdwara, the Penang bar that turns laksa into a working Negroni.
Signature drink: Penang Laksa Negroni
Food: Cheesy fries and bar snacks
Tip: Start with the Laksa Negroni for the story and switch to the Milo build for the finish; Fridays fill by 22:00.
Magazine 63 opened in 2017 behind an unmarked wooden door on Jalan Magazine, Penang's first true speakeasy and still its most theatrical lounge.
Signature drink: Sultan Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Live sets run on select nights in the vintage Chinese-inn interior; knock at the plain wooden door and wait to be seated.
Manchu Bar dresses its Rope Walk speakeasy in red lanterns and Qing-dynasty props, pouring Penang cocktails from porcelain teapots until 03:00.
Signature drink: Elixir Of Youth served in a teapot
Food: Chinese-leaning bar bites
Tip: The teapot service is made for sharing; go late, it keeps the longest hours of the heritage-core cocktail rooms.
Antarabangsa Enterprise is a bottle-shop-turned-street-bar on Lorong Stewart, the cheapest cold beer in George Town on plastic chairs in Penang.
Signature drink: Cold big-bottle beers
Food: None; hawkers nearby
Tip: There is no menu and no frills: grab a big bottle from the fridge, take a plastic chair, and watch the lane drift past.
Nomad builds its Penang cocktail menu as a passport, every drink themed to a country, at the quiet end of Kimberley Street's famous supper stalls.
Signature drink: Country-hopping cocktail flights
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Eat at the Kimberley Street stalls first; the country-by-country menu rewards ordering in a flight of three.
