Late night bars in Bangkok.

The top three are the after-hours cocktail moves. The middle is the dance floors. The bottom three are the slow, dim, third-stop kind of rooms where conversations happen.

Three storeys of exposed brick on Sukhumvit 55, designed to look like a 1920s New York speakeasy. The White Rabbit is the calling card. Live DJs Thursday through Saturday, quieter on Wednesday. The third-floor mezzanine is where regulars sit. Drinks are strong, prices are mid-range for the neighbourhood.

A Cuban-themed speakeasy on Sukhumvit 11 with a phone-booth entrance and live salsa Wednesday through Saturday. The Havana Daiquiri is what to order. Loud, crowded, and one of the few places in Bangkok where strangers will pull you onto a dance floor without a second thought.

A two-floor wrought-iron fantasy on Sukhumvit 55, with live jazz on the upstairs balcony every night. The Iron Fairy 75 is the cocktail. The crowd skews international and the noise level is forgiving for conversation. Reserve the balcony banquette if you want to hear what your friends are saying.

A Sukhumvit 55 live-music venue with a Funktion-One rig and a rotating roster of Bangkok and visiting DJs. The Beam Highball is fine. Thursday through Saturday only. Cover charge applies after 11pm. Best for a late drink with a soundtrack worth the trip.

The Ratchadaphisek megaclub that hosts most of the visiting EDM names. The Onyx Highball is what to order. Friday and Saturday only after 10pm. Cover charge after midnight. The sound rig is the city's loudest. Best for a one-night-only kind of plan.

A Huai Khwang complex that runs three separate rooms under one roof, including a serious hip-hop floor and a long bar. The 66 Highball is fine. Open Thursday to Sunday from 9pm. Cover charge after 10pm. Best understood as a destination, not a drop-in.

A Chinese theatre-themed bar on Sukhumvit 45 designed by AvroKO out of New York. The Shanghai Express is the headline cocktail. Live DJs and aerial performers from 10pm. Loud, crowded, and one of the only big-room nights worth doing in central Bangkok.

A Sukhumvit 51 bar built around the sound systems of Khun Chris Maene, with mor lam and luk thung DJs most nights. The Mekhong Highball is right. Closed Mondays. The room is small, the bass is heavy, and it is one of the only Thai music bars Westerners reliably enjoy.

A three-storey townhouse on Suanphlu Soi 1 with a bar, a restaurant, and a rooftop jazz room. The Smalls Mai Tai is the call. Open daily until 2am. The rooftop is the reason to come, but the ground floor is where the regulars sit.

A Charoen Krung 32 hideout with peeling concrete walls and a soundtrack that runs from soul to disco to early house. The Bad Old Fashioned is the order. Wednesday through Sunday. The kind of room that makes a Tuesday night feel like a story you tell later.

If you are not in the mood for a late-night bar tonight, here is what else is open across the city.