Havana Social

Going for a ‘40s-50s Havana high-life vibe, this hidden bar specializing in rum is Cuban pastiche done right: shuttered windows, spare lighting and crumbling walls spruced up with colorful tiles, murals and live Afro-Cuban music. The entrance is tucked inside a small alley opposite Fraser Suites on Sukhumvit Soi 11. Find the telephone booth labeled “Telefono,” then call the place (on your modern-day smartphone) for the night’s unique entry code. 

Let The Boy Die

From locally-brewed craft beers to crumbling walls, this new Chinatown bar ticks plenty of boxes. The quirky name is take from a Game of Thrones quote—“Kill the boy and let the man be born”—that's meant to symbolize the bar's position operating on the fringes of legality. Here, architect-turn-brewer Pieak Pipattanaphon, who founded Golden Coins brewery, and Avi Yashaya, the guy behind the Brewtopia beer meetups, serve a small selection of Thai-made home-brews on tap (starting from a pretty appealing B160, too). There’s also regular live music and a short list of classic pub grub.

Myst

Thonglor's molecular cocktail specialist has found a new home on Thonglor Soi 10. Out front sits a spacious outdoor terrace with lots of couches, similar to the original venue, while inside the purple-lit glass-house you'll find nightly live bands—plus room for dancing before moving onto the neighboring clubs. They are sill working on the new food and drink menus, but they're talking about proper meals now. The new cocktails stick to molecular techniques, but get a slight refresh. You can still order their most famous drinks like the Flaming Lamborghini (Blue Curacao, Sambuca, Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlau and Fireball, B300), if shots and liquid nitrogen is your thing, but we'd also recommend long drinks like Tiki Tonga (rum base, mixed berries tea and wine, garnished with fresh grapes, B300).

I Hate Pigeons

Black Beer'd

This new addition to the arty 9:53 Community Mall is the brother bar of fellow beer specialist White Beer'd at Crystal Design Center, and offers a narrower, more specific selection of craft beers in an intimate setting. The tiny black box-like interior mixes black-coated steel with wooden furniture. Naturally, there's also a bunch of vintage bulbs and beer-loving quotes strewn about the place. Pull up a bar stool to talk shop with the with bartender, or grab a beer and head to the outdoor terrace (where you can actually order from other bars in the mall, too). Bonus: there's a free pool table. There are only nine craft beers on tap, though this rotates almost every week. When we dropped by, stout seemed to be the order of the day, with options like Stochholm's Omnipollo Hypnopompa Imperial Stout (B380/pint) and Utah's Epic Imperial Stout (B280), but they say this won't always be the case. The food focuses on burgers and grill, while there are also milkshakes.

The Balvenie Lounge

Lurking in the rafters above a vast cigar and spirits-specializing boutique called Cohiba Atmosphere. Nearly everything is blanketed in rich woods, from the floor to the wall cabinets to the bar and the ceiling, while a few Christian Develter commissions of Cohiba-smoking celebrities add a modern touch. The main room offers seating in deep leather armchairs, at the bar, or around upturned whiskey barrels. A couple of smaller rooms host more intimate parties looking to smoke and drink in private. The drink line-up only consists of Whiskey, ranging from plenty of Japanese names to the Old & Rare Port Ellen 35.