Bon Bon

Seenspace has had a little makeover. The front spot that used to be Mr. Jones' Orphanage has been transformed into a dimly-lit, sci-fi concept bar by the same old Fico Group—now shorn of mad genius Ashley Sutton. Bon Bon’s moody 19th-century steampunk design sure looks familiar, though. In contrast with the stark surrounds, the menu goes for vibrant Mexican cuisine with twists, such as kimchi pulled pork tacos (B140) and grilled Australian steak served with Thai nam jim jeaw (B460), plus frozen cocktails with lots of liquid nitrogen. The real fun can be had in the ice bar, where the temperature plummets to -13 degrees Celsius. Gather a group of five and enjoy unlimited free-flow herb-infused vodka for 10 freezing minutes (B300). There’s also a ping pong table. 

Seenspace, 251/1 Thonglor Soi 13, 02-185-2378. www.fb.com/BonBonBarAsia

Chi Ultralounge

After closing down in October, 2013, the legendary Bed Supperclub is back. Or at least the building is. The avant-garde spaceship building has been relocated to Sukhumvit Soi 13, just a few steps away from the original spot, and reborn as Chi Ultralounge by designer Daryl Scott (Mystique and The Tunnel). No longer white and futuristic, the good old building is now decked out in trending Chinoserie style with a big dragon head inside the clubbing room and the shape of the bar now representing its body. The layout inside keeps pretty much the same vibe as before, with a lounge room with seats on the second floor for the not-yet-launched restaurant and a clubbing room on the other side. Expect Soi 11 resident DJs like DJ Octo and electro house on the sound system.         

32/8 Sukhumvit Soi 13, 02-102-0013. BTS Nana. www.facebook.com 

Beam

Thonglor's nightlife scene welcomes its first club worth getting excited about in years this Jan 29, when Beam becomes one of the first venues to open in the hotly anticipated new 72 Courtyard complex. Joining late-night neighbors Badmotel (across the street) and Mellow (next door), the club offers a more minimal, warehouse style experience that keeps things raw, casual and loud, with state of the art sound and visual equipment. The lounge area, dubbed the Dalmatian Room, promises easy-going electronic beats (think Flume, Disclosure, Jamie XX and James Blake), while the main room upstairs brings quality, energetic, deep house and techno tracks from live DJs. Here, you'll also find Asia’s first bodykinetic dance floor that shakes vibrations into dancers' feet—meaning you'll literally be able to feel the rhythm inside you as you dance. After two teaser nights in December featuring Jacques Green and Alex From Tokyo, the club is now set for their official soft launch party this Jan 29 (Friday), when it welcomes Dutch DJ and label owner Tom Trago to take over the stage with the best of his house and techno tracks. He'll be supported by Marmosets, Mendy Indigo, NT66 and Nudsko.

1/F, 72 Courtyard, 72 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thonglor). 02-392-7750. www.fb.com/beamclubbkk  

Bricks & Bone

The Rama 9 area has welcomed a new bar for serious cocktail drinkers, run mainly by bartenders from Vice Versa and the Drinks Academy family. The American-themed Bricks & Bone specializes in bourbon-bassed craft cocktails influenced by US history, such as the Texas (B285), in which bourbon is mixed with rum, vanilla, butterscotch, Amaretto and ginger ale, and served in a beer glass covered by a leather patch for that cowboy touch. To eat, try the hot and spicy barbecue ribs (B350), wings (B125) or pulled pork burger (B200).

2 Muban Seri 1 Soi 10, Rama 9 Soi 41, 091-040-5174. www.fb.com/Bricksandbone

Rabbit Hole

Thonglor's latest speakeasy bar sits between Soi 5 and 7. There’s no proper sign out front so look out for the wooden door between Auni Japanese bar and Ramen Ajisai. Step inside and you'll find a charming red-lit narrow bar with a huge rose gold booze rack behind a marble bar serving a solid mix of drinks that breaks the monotony of Thonglor's typical bars. Two veteran bartenders from Diageo World Class stage man the space, focusing on classic drinks with technical twists and infusions. There's plenty of variation on the spirit shelves, with a good number of Scotch, American and Japanese whiskeys available by the glass or bottle. Don't miss their White Truffle Martini (B450), which they make using a process called "fat wash." White truffle oil-infused Tanqueray Gin is chilled to -18 degress then served straight into a martini glass washed with dry vermouth. The oil is skimmed from the top before the drink is garnished with an olive. They don't serve any food, so be prepared before coming for a drink. 

125 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (between Thonglor Soi 5 and 7). 081-822-3392. Open Tue-Sun 7pm-2am. www.fb.com/rabbitholebkk    

Rong Lao Phra Arthit

Khao San’s sister street Phra Arthit Road has changed a lot this year as more of the abandoned shop-houses have been transformed into bars. This latest space called Rong Lao (an old Thai world for bar) Phra Arthit looks like the area’s classic zero-attitude bar where you can open a square bottle of Sangsom (B240) or Blend 285 (B450) and share it with your friend while listening to live acoustic daily. Local beers like Singha (B100/750ml), Leo (B110), Chang (B100) and Heineken (B140) are available in large bottles. The twist here is that they have an izakaya theme, with Japanese drinking dishes on offer like edamame (B40), takoyaki (wheat-flour dumplings, B70) and hiyashi wakame (seaweed salad, B60) as well as mains like tonkatsu (B110) and chicken teriyaki (B90).

Phra Sumen Rd., 083-544-6364.        

Wing N’ Thing

This other new space on Phra Athit Road offers a solid drinks list for those who want to move on from frozen kamikaze. Gin and rum dominate the bar, resulting in a refreshing drinks list including highlights such as the Master Peach (gin, peach schnapps, syrup, lime juice and bitter served with popcorn, B200). We also like the savory Bacon Blah Blah (B230), which uses bourbon mixed with lime juice, syrup, egg white and bacon oil, topped with grilled bacon and lemon peel. There's also a neat list of classic gin tonics made using syrup twists, like the Gin Rose (B180), in which rose syrup is added to the gin and tonic and garnished with rose petals. As you probably guessed by the name, trhey sell some incredible fried chicken wings, too.   

Phra Sumen Rd., 086-605-0158. on.fb.me/1Va1rGL