Tep Bar in Bangkok's Chinatown is the Soi Nana shophouse bar opened in 2015. Live Thai folk and classical music Fri-Sun from 19:00, house-infused Thai herbal cocktails.
Tip: Live music charges around 200 baht on performance nights. Walk-in for the early set, reserve a stage-front table after 20:00 on weekends.
Address: 69 Soi Nana, Pom Prap, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok 10100
Brown Sugar in Bangkok has been the city's jazz pub since 1985, now anchored on Chinatown's Soi Nana. Two sets nightly with veterans Chai Blues and Mellow Motif regulars.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Showcases for touring acts run the last Fri-Sat of each month. No cover, food menu through the night.
Saxophone Pub at Victory Monument is Bangkok's longest-running live-music institution, open since 1987. Two-level wood-and-brick room with jazz, blues, funk, and reggae nightly.
Tip: No cover, drinks from 180 baht. Two sets nightly, the after-midnight Fri-Sat funk set is the marquee. BTS Victory Monument exit 4, two-minute walk.
The Bamboo Bar at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok is the city's oldest jazz room, opened 1953. Bamboo screens, rattan armchairs, a jazz vocalist plus band Mon-Sat from 20:00.
Tip: Smart casual enforced, the only no-collared-tee bar on the riverside. Reserve via the hotel; cocktails from 700 baht, music charge after 20:00.
Brown Sugar in Bangkok has been the city's jazz pub since 1985, now anchored on Chinatown's Soi Nana. Two sets nightly with veterans Chai Blues and Mellow Motif regulars.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Showcases for touring acts run the last Fri-Sat of each month. No cover, food menu through the night.
Adhere the 13th in Bangkok's Banglamphu is the shophouse blues bar a block north of Khao San Road. Eight tables, nightly live sets, walls papered with gig posters.
Tip: Arrive before 21:00 for a seat, the room fills fast. No cover, beer from 120 baht, no card. The bandstand is two metres from the front table.
The Iron Fairies on Thonglor is Ashley Sutton's gothic fantasy bar: a faux-blacksmith forge filled with wrought-iron fairies, nightly jazz on a tiny upstairs stage.
Tip: Live jazz from 21:00 nightly, no cover. Famous burger plus cocktail combo around 600 baht. Look for the unmarked black door off Thonglor.
Sky Bar at Lebua is the 64th-floor open-air rooftop of State Tower, made famous by The Hangover Part II. Bangkok's signature golden-dome bar over the Chao Phraya river.
Tip: Walk-ins only, no reservations. Dress code enforced (no shorts, no flip-flops). Hangovertini is the must-order; cocktails 800-1,200 baht.