Ku Bar is built on the smallest plausible footprint a serious cocktail room can take in Bangkok: eight bar seats, one counter, two bartenders, no music. To find it you climb three flights of unmarked stairs off Henri Dunant Road, knock on a plain wooden door, and are either let in or told to come back later when there is room. It is one of the best drinking rooms in the city.
Bookings are taken direct through the bar or through Hungry Hub for parties of four or more.
The owners worked at Japanese cocktail bars before opening this one in 2017, and the influence runs through everything. Ice is hand-cut at the counter. Stirring is timed. The menu is mostly built around Japanese spirits and Thai botanicals: shochu, Japanese gin, calpis, makrut lime, palm sugar, mango. Drinks are precise rather than playful.
Prices are ฿380-460, which is fair for the level. The bar does not do food beyond a small plate of nuts. The atmosphere is quiet, almost monastic, with a single jazz record on low in the background. This is a bar to sit at the counter and watch the work. Booking is essential because of the eight seats.