Nightlife in Bangkok's Chinatown
In short
Nightlife in Bangkok's Chinatown is street food on Yaowarat from 6:30pm, then small hidden bars on Soi Nana.
Street scorecard
How Chinatown scores
Top marks for food and small, clever bars; lowest for dancing. See where it fits in our Bangkok nightlife guide.
- Food
- Yaowarat is one of the great eating streets of Asia, with stalls from about 4pm to midnight.
- Bars
- Soi Nana's shophouse bars, from Thailand's first gin bar to Thai moonshine with live music.
- Price
- Street food costs little; the cocktails are where the money goes.
- Late
- The bars run until midnight or 1am; there are no big clubs.
- Getting around
- Walkable from MRT Wat Mangkon; don't drive down Yaowarat at 8pm.
The walk by time of night
The walk, hour by hour
Start with the food stalls at dusk and finish with noodle soup after midnight, the car waiting at the end.
Photo: Haneul Trac via Pexels
Yaowarat lights up. TAT's China Town page calls the road a source of popular street food, with restaurants inside the buildings and stalls along the road (checked November 2026). The golden window is 6:30pm to 9:30pm, when the full line of stalls is out and the neon is on. Stalls start folding around 10:30pm. Monday is the weekly street-cleaning day, so many stalls stay closed.
Be here: The middle of Yaowarat Road, under the neon signs.
The bars
The bars and stalls worth your evening
Seven stops worth planning around: the shophouse bars on Soi Nana, Opium above Potong, and the late food on Yaowarat. Want a table at any of them? Ask Tanner.
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
Tep Bar Bangkok pours house-made ya dong, the Thai herbal moonshine, in tasting flights and cocktails, with traditional Thai music. Hours: 6pm to midnight, to 1am on Friday and Saturday. Where: 69 Soi Nana.
Photo: Tony Wu via Pexels
Teens of Thailand is Thailand's first gin bar, behind a big wooden door. Hours: from 7pm. Where: Soi Nana.
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
Thai herbs, fruit and wild Thai honey in strong drinks, in a small room that fills fast. Hours: every day, 6pm to 1am, its own Instagram says.
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
A 1930s Shanghai-style bar with dim sum bites alongside cocktails. Hours: 5pm to midnight, to 1am on Friday and Saturday, its own site says. Where: 8 Soi Nana.
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
A garden bar above a flower shop, for a slower drink under the sky. Where: Soi Nana.
Photo: Tony Wu via Pexels
A small cocktail bar reached by a tiny lift up from Potong restaurant, inside an old pharmacy building, and No. 25 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026, the organiser's list shows. Ask the Potong staff to point you to the lift. Where: above Potong, Chinatown.
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
Charcoal-grilled seafood on the corner of Phadung Dao. Hours: 4:30pm to 2am.
Insider tips
What the regulars know
Three things first-timers miss.
Chinatown, Thonglor or Silom?
Chinatown wins for food and small hidden bars. Thonglor is for cocktails and a dressed-up crowd, and Silom for rooftops and a late finish. Licensed entertainment venues in Bangkok and licensed venues inside hotels may open until 4am; ordinary bars and restaurants close earlier, usually by 2am. The licensed clubs are in Silom, RCA and Ratchada.
Our groups eat and drink here first, then take the car to RCA for the clubs. Ask Tanner to hold your VIP section there for after.
Street food and hidden bars
- Go to:
- Chinatown
- Why:
- Yaowarat and Soi Nana
Cocktails and a smart crowd
- Go to:
- Thonglor
- Why:
- Rabbit Hole, Octave
A rooftop and a late finish
- Go to:
- Silom
- Why:
- Sky Bar, a 4am zone
Big clubs until 4am
- Go to:
- RCA
- Why:
- Onyx, VOID
When is the best time to go?
Come Tuesday to Sunday from about 6:30pm. The stalls peak from 8pm to 10pm, and the bars fill after 9pm. Skip Monday, when many stalls close.
Tep Bar fills up at the weekend, so get there before 8pm for a table near the band. Yaowarat is also the stage for Chinese New Year and the Vegetarian Festival, TAT's China Town page says, so plan around 6 February 2027 or book early for it.
- Yaowarat Road and Soi Nana, Samphanthawong, MRT Wat Mangkon
- About 4pm to midnight; best 6:30pm to 9:30pm
- From about 6pm to midnight or 1am
- Craft cocktails in the Soi Nana shophouse bars
- Most food stalls on Monday
Is Chinatown safe at night?
Yes. It's busy, well lit and fine for a group that keeps an eye out. The only real hassles are the crowds and the traffic on Yaowarat.
- Crowds: the pavements are packed at peak food time, so pick one meeting point for the group.
- Traffic: cross Yaowarat at the lights; it's a busy road even at night.
- ID: bars check it, so bring your passport.
- Host: we can put a host on the walk with you, so nobody loses the group in the crowd.
Chinatown at night: staying safe
Pick one meeting point: the pavements get packed
Cross Yaowarat at the lights
Bars check ID, so bring your passport
A host can walk with the group so nobody gets lost
Take the MRT to Wat Mangkon; don't drive down Yaowarat at 8pm
Your car waits off Yaowarat Road all evening
Checked Nov 2026
How do you get to Chinatown?
Chinatown has its own MRT stop, Wat Mangkon, a short walk from Yaowarat, TAT's page notes. Soi Nana is 8 to 10 minutes on foot from Wat Mangkon or Hua Lamphong.
- MRT: Wat Mangkon for Yaowarat, Hua Lamphong for Soi Nana.
- Grab: fine early; slow on Yaowarat at peak food time.
- Your own car: your own van, waiting off the main road all evening and there when the last bar closes.
The plan for a group
Seven hours, start to finish: Yaowarat at 6:30pm, seafood at T&K at 7pm and Tep Bar at 8pm. Then Teens of Thailand and Asia Today after 9:30pm, and the car to RCA or back to the hotel.
Your car waits off Yaowarat Road the whole time. Plan it with Tanner, and he books every stop.
Things to do in Chinatown after dark
Chinatown Bangkok nightlife is food first. Grilled seafood at T&K on Yaowarat, then a bowl of late-night noodle soup at Guay Jub Ouan Pochana, open until late.
After that, it's the shophouse bars of Soi Nana: Thai spirits and live Thai music at Tep Bar, gin at Teens of Thailand, cocktails at Asia Today.
Tanner's pick: Tep Bar before 8pm for a table near the band, then Teens of Thailand. See more of Bangkok's best bars, and ask Tanner to hold the seats.
What does a Chinatown night cost?
Here are the numbers to plan with, before the group heads on to RCA.
Street food stalls
- Figure:
- about 4pm to midnight
- Good to know:
- Most stalls close on Monday
Best food window
- Figure:
- 6:30pm to 9:30pm
- Good to know:
- Eat first, then the bars
Cocktails on Soi Nana
- Figure:
- priced bar by bar
- Good to know:
- Busy after 9pm
Tep Bar at the weekend
- Figure:
- book ahead
- Good to know:
- Tanner holds the seats
T&K Seafood
- Figure:
- 4:30pm to 2am
- Good to know:
- Arrive before 7pm to skip the queue
Your VIP section at an RCA club
- Figure:
- about ฿10,000 to ฿30,000 for the group at the weekend
- Good to know:
- The club bills it; Tanner confirms the club's total
Your car, 10 hours
- Figure:
- luxury van for up to 4, from ฿6,500; a party van for up to 10
- Good to know:
- Waits off Yaowarat Road
Chinatown in short
- What it is: Bangkok's street-food night out, with hidden shophouse bars a short walk away.
- Where: Yaowarat Road and Soi Nana, MRT Wat Mangkon.
- Food: about 4pm to midnight, best from 6:30pm to 9:30pm.
- Bars: from about 6pm to midnight or 1am.
- Skip: Monday, when most food stalls close.
- After: the car to RCA, one of Bangkok's three 4am zones.
Checked November 2026. Ask Tanner for the walk and the car.
Written by Tanner Altman · Updated 7 November 2026
Questions
Chinatown questions
What is the coolest street in Bangkok Chinatown?
Soi Nana, the lane of hidden cocktail bars in old shophouses near Hua Lamphong: Tep Bar, Teens of Thailand, Asia Today and Ba Hao, a short walk from Yaowarat's food stalls.
What are the best bars in Chinatown Bangkok?
Tep Bar for Thai spirits and live Thai music, Teens of Thailand for gin, and Asia Today for cocktails with Thai herbs and honey. Opium, above Potong, is the hidden one.
What are the Chinatown Bangkok opening hours?
Food stalls run from about 4pm to midnight, best from 6:30pm. The Soi Nana bars open from about 6pm and close at midnight, or 1am on Friday and Saturday.
Is Chinatown Bangkok open on Monday?
The area is, but most Yaowarat food stalls close on Monday, the weekly street-cleaning day. Come Tuesday to Sunday for the food, and the Soi Nana bars after.
What time does the Yaowarat night market open?
The food stalls set up from about 4pm to 5pm, are at their best from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, and peak from 8pm to 10pm. Skip Monday, when most stalls close.
Is Chinatown Bangkok good for nightlife?
Yes. Chinatown Bangkok nightlife is food first and small bars after: Yaowarat's stalls, then the shophouse bars of Soi Nana until midnight or 1am. For big clubs, the car takes you on to RCA or Silom.
Where is the best Chinatown Bangkok street food?
On Yaowarat Road and Soi Phadung Dao: T&K Seafood for grilled seafood, and Guay Jub Ouan Pochana for late-night noodle soup after the bars.
How do I get to Chinatown in Bangkok?
Take the MRT to Wat Mangkon for Yaowarat, or Hua Lamphong for Soi Nana, 8 to 10 minutes on foot. Skip driving down Yaowarat at peak food time; the traffic stops.
Is Chinatown worth seeing at night in Bangkok?
Yes. Chinatown Bangkok nightlife is at its best from 6:30pm, with the stalls lit up on Yaowarat and the shophouse bars of Soi Nana filling after 9pm. Tanner keeps the car close all evening.
Plan it
Plan it with Tanner
Are you in Thailand now?
Sources
- Tourism Authority of Thailand: China Town (Yaowarat) attraction page: street food, Chinese New Year and Vegetarian Festival, MRT Wat Mangkon (checked November 2026)
- Ministerial Regulation No. 3 B.E. 2566 (2023): Bangkok's three late zones, Silom and Patpong, RCA and New Phetchaburi Road, and Ratchadaphisek, open until 4am
- Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026: the 1-50 list, Opium No. 25 (organiser's site; checked November 2026)
- Asia Today, official Instagram: open every day 6pm-1am (checked November 2026)
- Ba Hao, official site: 8 Soi Nana; Sun-Thu 5pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 5pm-1am (checked November 2026)
Credits: top photo by Photo: Haneul Trac via Pexels.