20 best beer bars in Bangkok

Blues Doo Bar Doo on Nak Niwat gets the small things right. Its rotating ‘fresh craft taps’ are deliberately chosen to taste different from one another, so ask the bartender for samples before committing to a glass. Food goes well beyond standard bar snacks, with wagyu, dry-aged steak, delicate yukhoe and salt-fried beef among the full plates. Live music plays most nights, the sound is taken seriously and pets are welcome, making this an easy choice whether you’re drinking solo or arriving with friends and the dog .

450 Nak Niwat Road. Open daily, 6pm-1am. Call 095-653-1313.

Banthat Thong Road has become one of Bangkok’s busiest food-and-drink strips, and Beer Pradith is a strong place to finish the crawl. Big glass windows keep the room bright and give you a view of the street, while 24 taps pour a constantly changing line-up made entirely by Thai craft brewers. If choosing one feels impossible, order a tasting flight. Popcorn is free with unlimited refills all night, and live music runs Thursday to Saturday – handy after you’ve already eaten your way down Banthat Thong.

2030 Banthat Thong Rd. Open daily, 5pm-2am. Call 084-125-5592.

The person behind Tai Soon Bar apparently doesn’t drink beer, which makes the carefully chosen tap list all the more surprising. The bar occupies an old Chinese medicine shop near Pratu Phi and Maha Chai Road, with exposed brick, cracked plaster and red neon creating a rough-edged contrast to the street-food stalls outside. Thirteen taps rotate regularly, so there’s usually something new to try. Come for a quiet afternoon glass or settle in after dark and watch old Phra Nakhon tick along outside.

190 Maha Chai Rd, Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. Open daily, 1pm-1am. Call 091-463-6465

Bugben Bar in Phatthanakan comes with proper home-brewing roots. Owner Wijak ‘Ben’ Phiraksa was a graphic designer before getting hooked on beer, learning to brew and opening this small neighbourhood spot to champion Thai craft. Six taps rotate through styles including weizen, hazy pale ale, DDH IPA and vanilla porter, with small pours starting at B125. The fridge adds bottles and cans from both established and newer Thai brewers. The mood is closer to drinking around a mate’s kitchen table than sitting in a polished bar, and you can order snacks or bring food in from the neighbouring restaurants.

2847/1 Pattanakarn Road. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 6pm-11:30pm. Call 095-772-8872

Aftersun Listening Bar near Kanchanaphisek and Bang Bon turns a former dormitory room into a dark, hazily lit ’70s-style listening bar filled with wooden furniture. Vinyl DJs take over each night, working through carefully chosen records on a sound system built for paying attention rather than shouting over. Drinks and snacks keep things easy, while a buying-and-selling corner gives crate diggers another reason to linger. Bring cash in case something rare turns up in the record pile.

Soi Kanchanaphisek 6, Bang Bon. Open Wednesday-Monday, 5pm-12am. Call 083-819-2299.

Tucked beside Charn Issara Tower 1 on the Silom and Rama IV stretch, Bottle Rocket feels more like dropping round a friend’s place than entering a formal bar. The selection covers easy-drinking pours, stronger options and frequently rotating craft beer on tap, and newcomers can simply ask the bartender where to start. The kitchen serves straightforward home-style food with a few twists of its own. Weekdays are generally relaxed, but call ahead on Friday and Saturday nights when the better tables disappear quickly.

942/26 Rama IV Rd, Bang Rak. Open daily, 6pm-midnight. Call 091-808-4338.

Taproom Experience Craft Beer at The COMMONS Saladaeng makes navigating a big tap list surprisingly straightforward. Draft beer and bottles fill the menu, with taps one to 10 covering smoother, easier-drinking styles, 11 to 18 stepping up the ABV and flavour, 19 to 24 moving into richer stouts and the final two pouring sweet, fizzy cider. Food can be ordered from the restaurants around the complex and eaten at your table, which makes this an easy place to settle in rather than hop elsewhere after the first glass.

Soi Sukhumvit 26. Open daily, 5pm-midnight. Call 087-460-2626.

Hair of the Dog in Phrom Phong, with another branch in Ploenchit, takes its hospital theme much further than a couple of novelty props. Two Canadian friends built the bar around stainless-steel counters, eerie lighting and drinking tables fashioned from old operating beds. Downstairs, 13 taps rotate craft beer from around the world, backed by a fridge of properly chilled bottles. It’s particularly good territory for drinkers who favour bigger flavours and higher ABVs – and one of Bangkok’s more memorable places to drink them.

Soi Sukhumvit 33/1. Open Monday-Saturday, 11am-midnight. Call 02-030-2538

Haze Bar works because it feels like a genuine neighbourhood local. Long-time regulars mix with craft beer obsessives drawn by 12 taps pouring mostly Thai brews, with more cans and bottles waiting in the fridges. Live music fills the room and screens show major sporting fixtures. There’s also a Michelin-listed noodle shop only a few steps away, so dinner followed by a pint here makes for an easy Luang Road combination.

425 Luang Road. Open Wednesday-Monday, 6pm-midnight. Call 094-656-5635.

Two Palms Taproom occupies a handsome two-storey colonial building on Phra Sumen Road, with elegant arches, a warm retro interior and live music kept at a level that still allows conversation. The rotating taps lean towards newer-generation Thai brewers including Vana Brewing, Brainfill and SpaceCraft. A tasting flight is the easiest way to explore them. Thai bar food is taken seriously too, with som tam, fragrant grilled corn ribs and tender crying tiger all built to sit comfortably beside a cold beer.

591 Phra Sumen Rd, Phra Nakhon. Open Wednesday-Monday, 5pm-midnight. Call 02-282-0311.