48 Hours in Bangkok

A guide to the best places to eat, drink, stay and play when time is at a premium.

Park Hyatt- The Bar Terrace

You’ve seen the temples and spent half your salary at Siam Paragon. Now, it’s time to see why Bangkok is starting to turn heads with its emerging creative underbelly.

With its killer coffee scene, a stunning array of fine casual ventures and creative spaces that beg you to slow down, come back and spend a little longer in the city, Bangkok is red hot. Here’s where you should spend your time and focus your energy during your next trip.

Where to eat

Songwat Coffee Roasters

Thailand’s coffee culture has reached a fever pitch. Wherever you stay, you don’t have to go far to find a perfect pour-over or latte. If you’re looking for atmosphere, too, try Songwat Coffee Roasters. The roasters-slash-coffee shop sits in a renovated shophouse in a neighbourhood that Time Out named one of the coolest in the world last year.

Fran’s

Thick-cut bacon. Perfect scrambled eggs. Fluffy pancakes with a variety of fillings. Fran’s covers all the breakfast classics in a leafy setting that’s hard to find in Bangkok. Book ahead – Fran’s has been slammed ever since it opened last year.

FRAN'S- Thick-cut bacon and scrambled eggs

Err

What do you get when you match the culinary prowess of chefs Dylan Jones and Duangporn “Bo” Songvisava with gap gleam (Thai drinking food)? This rustic-casual hotspot. At both branches — one in Thonglor, the other at the ASAI Bangkok Sathorn hotel — you’ll find the same buzzing vibe, potent drinks and awesome sharing plates that range from the signature Chicken Movie (chicken skin fried with fish sauce) to house-cured Isaan sausages and green curry with chicken on the bone. In short, Err takes what Thailand is best known for and takes it up a notch.

Charmkrung

Talad Noi’s Charmgang rocketed to fame with its no-holds-barred Thai flavours and stunning design. Charmkrung is the second project from the folks behind it. Set on the sixth floor of a factory from the 1950s on Charoenkrung Road, the 60-seat venue serves playful Thai dishes, like vongole clams with a turmeric-laced southern Thai sauce, that go well with drinks.

No Name Noodle

Chef Shin Inoue’s No Name Noodle might be one of the hardest seats to get in the city. That’s because his ramen – the only item on the menu – is as good as it gets. He serves just 35 bowls of it a day, and bookings fill up almost as soon as they open every Sunday.

If you can’t get one of these coveted seats, try his other project, The Shoyu Stand. Also outrageously popular, The Shoyu Stand is Chef Shin’s take on yatai, or food cart dining, and specialises in shoyu ramen served three different ways: piping-hot, lukewarm and cold.

No Name Noodles

Chef Shin Inoue

100 Mahaseth

Chef Chalee Kader makes use of every part of the animal, veggie and fruit at his pioneering Isaan-inspired restaurant. Think dishes like his signature bone marrow with perilla seeds and tangy eggplant purée and beef tartare mixed with bile, curry leaves and tomato mushroom relish.

Choen

Chinatown’s Choen elevates Thai flavours with wood-fired cooking. From smoked catfish relish with grilled free-range chicken and local mushrooms to Surat Thani oysters with chilli jam and burnt acacia seed – and even smoked coconut ice cream with pork cracklings – this year-old restaurant hits you with bold dishes and a fresh perspective of Thai cuisine.

Choen

Where to drink

4th wall

4th Wall

This new bar on Langsuan Road, right in the centre of the city, comes from the crew behind one of the city’s best cocktail bars, Vesper. Along with a never-changing cocktail menu, the 4th Wall aims to break down the barrier between guests and bartenders. It’s a lively, interactive experience, plus the drinks – mostly riffs on the classics – are as excellent as you would expect.

Mahaniyom

Opened by two of Thailand’s best bartenders, Ronnaporn “Neung” Kanivichaporn and Chennarong “Janz” Bhumichitr, Mahaniyom wowed patrons with its clever focus on single ingredients. Meaning, they use every part of one ingredient – from flowers and roots to flesh and juice – to create a single drink. That includes savoury cocktails, like the Squid, which features a dried squid-infused tomato cordial and drops of squid ink.

As a bonus, it’s located above 100 Mahaseth.

Cloud Wine

Located in The Commons Saladaeng, Silom’s casual food hall and community mall, this bar comes from Wine Garage, one of the first importers to emphasise natural wines. The bar stocks 80-plus labels of organic and biodynamic bottles imported by Wine Garage and others. There are always bottles on special, making this a great place to get your night started – or to grab a bottle or two to bring to dinner.

Messenger Service Bar

Ask nightlife veterans where they drink, and they’ll tell you Messenger Service Bar. It’s a bit of a journey to reach its location on Phattanakarn Road – although the new MRT Yellow Line makes it much easier – but it’s worth the trek. This intimate drinking den, an Asia’s 50 Best Discovery bar with a “message in a bottle” theme, is all about experimentation. If you can’t make it out here, you can visit its partner venue, Bar Us, on Sukhumvit Soi 26 in Phrom Phong.

What to see and do

Talad Noi and Chinatown

Bangkok’s oldest districts are two of the best to get lost in, whether it’s your first or 40th time in the city. Talad Noi has been overhauling itself with creative ventures, cafés, bars and restaurants for years. New event and hangout spaces like The Corner House and The Warehouse further cement its status as Bangkok’s most interesting address for indie crowds.

Chinatown, meanwhile, is undergoing its own makeover. A branch of Hong Kong and Los Angeles gallery Over the Influence opened in 2022, and last year, the renowned chef David Thompson opened a new project, Chop Chop, on Yaowarat Road, Chinatown’s beating heart. Then, a new southern Thai restaurant called Phukej opened just up the road. While you can’t beat street stalls like Guay Jab Ouan Pochana, which specialises in peppery rolled noodles, suddenly there are more great ways to occupy your time and satisfy your appetite.

The EmSphere

The latest project from Bangkok’s Mall Group – the creators of Siam Paragon, IconSiam and EmQuartier, among others – won’t necessarily wow you with its shopping options, unless you love Ikea. But it does have a tremendous food hall, plus an all-day beach club overlooking little Benjasiri Park. On the food floors, you’ll find everything from Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen and Bar to Shake Shack and Panetti, a pizza spin-off of award-winning Peppina.

Meanwhile, Tribe offers a pool to splash around in, drink in hand, during the day and a thumping nightclub to let loose after the sun sets.

Siwilai Radical Club

The folks behind Siwilai, founders of day clubs, restaurants, vinyl bars and other awesome places to hang out, have focused on circularity with their latest project. Located in Thonglor, Siwilai Radical Club is part café and kitchen, part nightclub. The best part is the building was made from five tonnes of recycled plastic waste, so you can feel good about dancing late into the night.

Siwilai Radical Club

Slowcombo

Founded by the head of the Sretsis fashion label and the brains behind the Slowmotion design studio, Slowcombo wants you to slow down and explore your inner creative. Weekly workshops and pop-up events range from meditation and yoga to mindful dinners. There’s a café on site and loads to explore in one of the Samyan neighbourhood’s best community spaces.

Soho House

The global members-only club opened in Bangkok in early 2023, marking Thailand’s first Soho House. The brand transformed the former Eugenia Hotel in Phrom Phong into the tropical modernist escape of your dreams, featuring three floors of drinking, dining and socialising space, including three bars and a striking, chessboard-tile pool. Every House members know the drill: your membership allows you to bring three guests and see what all the fuss is about.

Where to Stay

Ad Lib Bangkok Hotel

Set within a quiet alley on Sukhumvit Soi 1, this hotel puts you in the centre of the city but without the noise and bustle. It’s surrounded by creeping vines and banyan trees, and the lobby features gorgeous wooden decor that makes you feel at one with nature. The rooms span from a cosy 28sqm Superior, which boast big windows that bring in natural light, to suites ranging from 65 to 89sqm featuring bathtubs, Jacuzzis and even private terraces.

For comfort and convenience, you won’t find a better destination. The BTS Skytrain’s Ploenchit station is a short walk away, so you can easily zip across the downtown core, and behind the hotel is the Saen Saeb canal boat, giving you easy access to all the sites in the Old Town.

After a day out on the town, you can cool down in the 20m rooftop pool, get a drink at the poolside bar or grab a bite to eat at Ad Lib restaurant.

Ad Lib Bangkok Hotel

Park Hyatt Bangkok

Located along the city’s golden mile, at the intersection of leafy Wireless Road and the Ratchaprasong shopping district, the Park Hyatt occupies some of Bangkok’s most prime real estate. It even connects directly to the luxury mall Central Embassy.

The hotel’s design and services more than match the setting. Rooms feature stately interiors elevated with Thai accents, amenities that include Le Labo bath products and sizes that start at 66sqm and climb all the way up to 381sqm in the Presidential Suite. (This stunning penthouse features private pools, a spa room, a private gym, a home theatre, a dining table, kitchen appliances and a 20m outdoor terrace – the home away from home of your dreams.)

The drinking and dining venues are worthy of a visit on their own accord. Embassy Room serves exquisite Catalan cuisine, while Penthouse Bar + Grill serves succulent steaks and seafood alongside classic cocktails. Not to mention the Johnnie Walker Depth of Blue Room, which serves the exclusive whisky in a lavish setting. Altogether, the Park Hyatt Bangkok is the living definition of the word posh.

Park Hyatt Bangkok

ASAI Hotels

This young Thai hotel brand offers the perfect destinations for today’s on-the-go travellers. With its Bangkok properties, ASAI puts you in the heart of two of the city’s most exciting destinations. ASAI Chinatown is near vibrant Yaowarat Road — a mecca for street food — while ASAI Bangkok Sathorn, located on Sathorn Soi 12, sits among a dozen red-hot bars and restaurants.

Both properties emphasise great food and drinks and fun, community-oriented activities. Think rustic-casual Thai restaurant Err and Chinese-influenced Jam Jam, plus rotating events such as movie nights, wine and painting workshops, and block parties.

The rooms keep it comfy with clean whites and pops of grey, plus all the essentials: work desks, smart LED TVs and more. In Sathorn, you can even go halfsies with your friends, courtesy of well-appointed twin rooms and four-person bunks. When you plan on spending all your time on the town, these rooms have all you need plus an abundance of style.

ASAI Hotels

The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon

In 2022, the Standard brand planted its first flag in Bangkok, taking over dozens of floors in the pixelated Mahanakhon Tower. It quickly became the destination for the city’s see-and-be-seen crowds. Splashed with pop art and tropical deco touches, plus hip bars and restaurants like The Parlor, 78th-floor Mexican restaurant Ojo and Hong Kong export Mott 32, the hotel is as much a lifestyle destination as it is a place to stay.

Rosewood Bangkok

The 30-storey Rosewood Bangkok lives up to the globe-spanning brand’s lofty reputation, occupying a prime perch of real estate along the city’s new golden mile, at the intersection of (relatively) leafy Wireless Rd. and the Ratchaprasong shopping district. Of the hotel’s 158 beautifully equipped guestrooms, the best are the 20 distinctive suites and three signature “houses,” which span from 189sqm to an incredible 291sqm and boast their own private pools and terraces. The property also boasts one of Bangkok’s best hotel bars in Lennon’s, which savvy viewers may recognise from its cameo in The Creator.

Capella Bangkok

This low-rise oasis has it all: river views from every room, including the lounges and gym; private gardens; a selection of bars and restaurants, led by Côte by Mauro Colagreco and Stella, that dare you to stay on-site all weekend; and plunge pools in the poshest suites. If you want to feel both firmly in Bangkok yet far removed from its inherent commotion, the Capella is the destination for you.

Capella Bangkok