See also: The 20 most popular restaurants on the BK website for 2016

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20. Top Knot

This eighth-floor bar may not be exactly riverside, but the 360-degree views are amazing and the beers cheap—just be careful with those stairs afterwards. 

 

19. Riedel Wine Bar & Cellar

Riedel, Austrian maker of expensive crystal wine glasses, licensed its name to this new wine bar in Gaysorn equipped with a state-of-the-art wine dispenser which allows for up to 40 open bottles to be stored without oxidizing.

 

18. Vesper

This Soi Convent institution went from strength to strength in 2016. Head bartender Pailin "Milk" Sajjanit was named the best in Southeast Asia by Diageo World Class, while a new drinks menu charted 14 boozy creations each inspired by a famous work of art.

 

17. Changwon Express

Though little more than a hole-in-the-wall, this Korean beer bar bursts with character with its shipping-container decor, cartoon wall paintings and effervescent owner.

 

16. Le Cafe des Stagiaires

Another year of packing in the Euro crowds at this Sathorn expat haven known for its drink specials and boisterous terrace. 

 

15. Hanakaruta (Sathorn)

The Japanese bar with its wall of booze continues to do what it does best. You may not get the service of a Japanese barman personally carving each ice ball these days, but the prices still make it well worth repeat visits. 

 

14. The Iron Fairies

The Ashley Sutton-designed jazz bar remains like no other in Bangkok—a Dickensian factory with crumbling brick walls and a scattering of ancient, industrial machinery—and the tourists just can't get enough. 

 

13. A.R Sutton Engineers Siam / Iron Balls Distillery

This steampunk-indebted home of Iron Balls gin may well be Ashley Sutton's finest moment. 

 

12. Smalls

David Jacobson's corner shop-house was a home away from home for way too many of us way too often. 

 

11. Q&A

Named one of Asia's 50 Best Bars in 2016, this secret speakeasy was a favorite among all who could actually find it. 

 

10. Barisa

A pop-up rooftop bar that arrived just in time for winter and wowed readers with its chill backyard vibe.

 

9. Maggie Choo’s

Ashley Sutton's Chinoiserie underground hide-out was named one of Asia's 50 Best Bars. 

 

8. J. Boroski Mixology

This secret bar has no menu and no official address. Is it worth the effort? Yes, if you can afford it. 

 

7. Tep Bar

If you don't mind paying over the odds for ya dong, this bar amid Chinatown's beautiful crumbling walls is a must-visit. 

 

6. Teens of Thailand

Another of Asia's 50 Best Bars, this Chinatown bolthole is the place to go for gin. 

 

5. Havana Social

Sukhumvit Soi 11's hidden Cuban haunt unveiled a second-floor cigar lounge and some of the very best Cuban sandwiches in town.  

 

4. Brewski

Cheap craft beers + rooftop views = Facebook pandemonium. 

 

3. Sing Sing

Ashley Sutton's colonial Shanghai fetish at its most ambitious. The standing-room crowds don't lie.

 

2. Rabbit Hole

Open almost a year, Rabbit Hole stakes a claim as one of the city's most exciting cocktail bars. Its recently-added food menu is also anything but ordinary. 

 

1. Beam

The Thonglor nightclub with its fancy laser lighting and expensive sound systems is easy to love (bar the drink prices) thanks to music that’s nowhere near as cheesy as Levels or Demo.