The buzz: After turning Mellow Restaurant & Bar into one of the hottest nightspots in Thonglor, and recently expanding it to Crystal Park, the same team has come up with another hip joint just across the street. Since its opening just two months ago, Badmotel has already hosted big parties like the Futura x Hennessy event on Feb 20, DJ sets from Breakbot on Jan 20 and Ladytron’s Reuben Wu on Mar 8, and the latest Urface collection launch party on Mar 15.

The décor: Badmotel was conceived under a Thai street concept. As such, they took a once abandoned three-story building (picture the one in Ratchathewi that’s since been covered with graffiti thanks to BUKRUK) and repainted it all in white, leaving many of the cracks and imperfections as they were (and even adding some for aesthetic purposes). The ground floor is a spacious white room filled with a good number of white tables plus a long bench in the middle. What’s cool is the chairs look just like the plastic ones you see at street stalls, only painted neon green and made from much more comfortable material. Head out back and you’ll find a sizable garden where there’s plenty of seating and a staircase that leads to the second floor for a more private dining room. During the day, this room is filled with wooden sofa seats but at night these are taken out leaving an empty, loft-like space prime for partying. Bathrooms are on the third floor, then there’s the rooftop that offers a nice Thonglor view and what feels like a low-key, residential atmosphere.

The music: On top of all the special events, the bar presents daily live sets from leading Bangkok DJs like DJ Moola from Vacancy and Pipe from Superzaaab spinning the likes of old school r n’ b, boogie and funky house.   

The crowd: Young, pretty Thonglor party people, celebs and Bangkok’s painfully hip.  

The price: Unlike Mellow, Badmotel focuses only on Thai food with some twists in the form of ingredients and presentation. Try the nam prik oong (lanna-style, fried chilli paste) served with papadum (B150), kai look koei (boiled eggs topped with sweet and sour sauce) served with pan fried foie gras (B240). As for cocktails, not only can you expect plenty of Thai herb-infused vodka but also some very Thai-style presentation, like the cute Never Say Never (B220), which is pink Hale’s Blue Boy milk mixed with rum and served with dessert condiments like sweet corn, grass jelly and coconut jelly. Another must-try is Bad Company (B220), their homemade ya dong served with honey and pickled grape.    

Why you’ll come back: Well, to be seen, obviously. But apart from all the hip parties, the team promises that more cultural events are soon to come, including art exhibitions and movie nights on the second floor. Vasachol Quadri