Bangkok: Nightlife

Ad Here The 13th Surprisingly, live music is very popular in Bangkok, and this tiny hole-in-the-wall is one of its fierce defenders, packing in bohemians night after night. Whiskey and soda is the main staple. (Close to Khao San Road, but not at all backpacky.) Banglamphu; 13 Samsen Rd.
jazz | live music | local favorite

Bamboo Bar Bangkok’s definitive bar experience is at the Oriental Hotel. Enjoy award-winning cocktails amid a tropical film noir theme, wonder whether the attentive staff is telepathic, or simply enjoy Bangkok's best jazz. Riverside; Mandarin Oriental, 48 Oriental Ave.; 011-66-2-659-9000; www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok
historic | live music | hotel bar

Bed Supperclub All-white Bed is the epicenter of fashionable dining and clubbing. Lounge on beds and sofas and try to get the attention of the staff to order imaginative bottles of prime whiskeys. The music tends towards mainstream hip hop, electro and house. Sukhumvit; 26 Sukhumvit Soi 11; 011-66-2-651-3537; www.bedsupperclub.com
smart splurge | trendy | dancing | lounge

Club Café Bangkok’s main gay strip is anchored by DJ Station, the local playground for Bangkok’s gay crowd, but insiders head next door to Club Café to sip on mind-bending cocktails amid Moorish surroundings and watch the crowds pass by. Silom; Silom Soi 2
bar | gay | local favorite

Fogo Vivo The hub of all things Latin, this high-class basement joint blends a fun Brazilian churrascaria and a very lush bar with regular, free express salsa classes and giddy merengue and samba parties that threaten to bring down the place. Chidlom; 873 Ploenchit Rd.; 011-6-2-656-0384; www.fogovivo.com
trendy | local favorite | bar menu | latin

Q Bar The rowdier sister of Bed, Q Bar sees a business-heavy crowd invading the bar on the search for stiff drinks – the Iced Teas blow away those brain cells. If you're tired from grinding to hip hop and house downstairs, head upstairs to the lounge, the terrace, or a very minimalistic Japanese bistro. Sukhumvit; 34 Sukhumvit Soi 11; 011-66-2-252-3274; www.qbarbangkok.com
trendy | dancing | nightclub

Three-sixty This UFO-like structure atop the Hilton is home to a cool jazz bar where Bangkok's haves whoop it up in style. The drinks, the service, and the music are faultless, but most people come for the heart-stopping views from this 430-foot-high perch. Riverside; Millennium Hilton, 123 Charoennakorn Rd.; 011-66-2-442-200; www.hilton.com
view | hotel bar | live jazz