Bangkok's Chinatown spreads along Yaowarat Road and the lanes off Charoen Krung, where gold shops and street kitchens now share blocks with some of the city's most interesting small bars. Soi Nana, not the Sukhumvit street of the same name, anchors the cocktail scene. The list below covers the rooms our editors return to, from a gin den that started the area's revival to a rum bar that lands on Asia's 50 Best. Compare them with our best cocktail bars in Bangkok and the full Bangkok bar guide.
Soi Nana · $$
Teens of Thailand sits behind a heavy carved door on Soi Nana as a gin bar that helped open the Chinatown cocktail scene. The list runs deep on house gin and tonics. It stays small, dim, and busy from the moment it opens.
Charoen Krung · $$$
Tropic City pours rum and tropical drinks from a dark room on Charoen Krung Road. It has placed on the Asia's 50 Best Bars list more than once. The mood leans loud, late, and tiki without the kitsch.
Soi Nana · $$
Tep Bar builds its drinks around Thai spirits and ingredients such as yaa dong on Soi Nana. A live band plays Thai folk on weekend nights. It draws a mixed local and visiting crowd that fills the long tables.
Phadungdao · $$
Asia Today comes from the Teens of Thailand team and works gin and tonic into a short, focused menu. The shophouse room runs narrow and green. It sits near the Phadungdao seafood lane off Yaowarat.
Soi Charoen Krung · $$
El Chiringuito brings a small Spanish bar to Soi Charoen Krung with sherry, vermouth, and natural wine. The food stays simple and Iberian. It works for an early drink before the rest of the lane wakes up.
Soi Nana · $$$
Wallflowers hides a cocktail bar above a flower shop on Soi Nana. The drinks lean on flowers, fruit, and tea. The upstairs rooms feel like a greenhouse and stay calmer than the street below.
Talat Noi · $$
Soul Bar plays vinyl soul and funk from an old shophouse in Talat Noi on Charoen Krung. The drinks stay simple and the records do the work. It runs late and rewards a slow night.