8 best bars in Chiang Mai
In short
The best bars in Chiang Mai are Bar.San for cocktails, Bar Not Found, Noir CMI and MAI The Sky Bar.
Eight for a group: three of the city's best cocktail bars, two live jazz bars, two rooftops and the Old City's party square.
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
1Bar.San฿฿฿
Bar.San is where we'd start: chatty bartenders downstairs, a quieter jazz room upstairs, and Japanese plates to eat first. Order the Pizza Pizza, a tequila cocktail with parmesan, tomato and basil, or the Shiozakura Collins. For the group that wants the city's best drink first; come at about 6pm.
The best cocktailsCharoen Prathet Road
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
2Bar Not Found฿฿฿
Bar Not Found is the bar you have to find: a bright orange stairway off a quiet street leads to four coloured doors, and the bar is behind one of them. It's on Chang Phueak Soi 4, just north of the Old City, open from 7pm to midnight. It opened in September 2024, and each of its 18 signature drinks is built on a Pantone colour.
A hidden barChang Phueak
AI3Noir CMI฿฿฿
Noir CMI is a cocktail bar with live jazz every day except Monday, at 33 Charoen Prathet Road. Try the Muskmelon Last Word, or the Caterpillar Colada if the group is brave; it's made with caterpillar. Book ahead for a table near the band.
Live jazz and cocktailsCharoen Prathet Road
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
4North Gate Jazz Co-Op฿
North Gate Jazz Co-Op is the small open-air jazz bar by the north gate of the Old City, a Chiang Mai institution. Go on a Friday or Saturday, when some of the city's best jazz players take turns on the little stage. Arrive by 9pm: the crowd spills onto the street once the room is full.
Live jazzOld City north gate
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
5The Continental฿฿฿
The Continental is a John Wick-themed bar: you walk down a long black hallway, climb two flights of stairs and push a bookshelf to get in. It's open from 6:30pm to midnight and takes reservations, so book ahead for a group.
A speakeasyNimman Soi 5
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
6MAI The Sky Bar฿฿฿
MAI The Sky Bar is on the 22nd floor of the Meliá Chiang Mai, about 63 metres up, with views over the Ping River and Doi Suthep. It's open from 5pm to midnight from September to March and from 6pm from April to August, with no entry fee and closed shoes required. Take a west-facing seat for the sunset behind Doi Suthep. Skip March and April if you want the view: smoke haze from farm burning can hide the hills.
The highest rooftopMeliá, 22nd floor
AI7Rise Rooftop Bar฿฿
Rise Rooftop Bar is on top of the Akyra Manor hotel on Nimman Road, open from 3pm to 1am, with a happy hour from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. Start here at sunset, then walk to The Continental for the next drink.
A Nimman sunsetAkyra Manor
AIPhoto: AI-generated image
Zoe in Yellow is the Old City's party square: a cluster of open-air bars at 1 Ratvithi Road, with chart hits and hip-hop outside and an air-conditioned EDM dance floor inside, from 5pm. The bars sit close enough to drift between them, and the drinks are cheap.
A partyOld City
Side by side
Bar.San
- Area:
- Charoen Prathet Road, by the river
- Best for:
- the best cocktails
- Price:
- premium
Bar Not Found
- Area:
- Chang Phueak, north of the Old City
- Best for:
- a hidden bar
- Price:
- premium
Noir CMI
- Area:
- Charoen Prathet Road
- Best for:
- live jazz and cocktails
- Price:
- premium
North Gate Jazz Co-Op
- Area:
- the Old City's north gate
- Best for:
- live jazz
- Price:
- bar prices
The Continental
- Area:
- Nimman Soi 5
- Best for:
- a speakeasy
- Price:
- premium
MAI The Sky Bar
- Area:
- Meliá, 22nd floor
- Best for:
- the highest rooftop
- Price:
- hotel rooftop
Rise Rooftop Bar
- Area:
- Akyra Manor, Nimman
- Best for:
- a Nimman sunset
- Price:
- mid, with a happy hour
Zoe in Yellow
- Area:
- Ratvithi Road, Old City
- Best for:
- a party
- Price:
- cheap drinks
Which Chiang Mai bars won awards?
Bar.San and Bar Not Found won places on Thailand's 20 Best Bars 2025, revealed at the Bangkok Bar Show Awards.
In the 2025 rankings, Bar.San came 10th and won Best Bar in Chiang Mai, and Bar Not Found came 12th.
Do both on the same evening: they're a short drive apart. Ask Tanner to hold both.
Which other bars are worth a stop?
Nophaburi Bar, Gladwell and The White Rabbit are three more cocktail bars worth a stop beyond our eight. Like most bars here, they're small, themed and built around local ingredients:
- Nophaburi Bar: original cocktails made only from Thai spirits; it's closed on Wednesdays.
- Gladwell: a small Old City speakeasy with communal seating, where cocktails use wild honey and candle-smoked coconut milk.
- The White Rabbit: up two flights of old stairs off Phrapokklao Road, with Thai spirits and a DJ playing 2000s pop and hip-hop. It's small, so we call ahead.
For a group, the small bars work best as one stop each.
- Bar.San, Charoen Prathet Road
- Bar Not Found, Chang Phueak
- Noir CMI and North Gate Jazz Co-Op
- The Continental, Nimman Soi 5
Which bar for your group?
It comes down to the drink, the music and the view. First time? Start at Bar.San.
The best cocktails in the city
- Go to:
- Bar.San
A bar you have to find
- Go to:
- Bar Not Found or The Continental
Live jazz with cocktails
- Go to:
- Noir CMI
Live jazz on the street
- Go to:
- North Gate Jazz Co-Op
The highest view
- Go to:
- MAI The Sky Bar
A sunset in Nimman
- Go to:
- Rise Rooftop Bar
A party and a dance floor
- Go to:
- Zoe in Yellow
How do you do an Old City bar crawl?
The Old City is the easiest bar crawl in town: North Gate for jazz, Zoe in Yellow for a party, The White Rabbit and Gladwell for cocktails, and Bar Not Found just north of the moat, all a short tuk-tuk ride apart.
- Jazz: North Gate Jazz Co-Op, by the north gate.
- Party: Zoe in Yellow, Ratvithi Road.
- Cocktails: The White Rabbit and Gladwell, then Bar Not Found.
The best bars in Chiang Mai Old City close at midnight or 1am, so start the crawl by 9pm and finish on the dance floor.
Nimman, the Old City or the river?
The Old City wins for live music and a party, Nimman for a rooftop and a speakeasy. The best cocktail bars, Bar.San and Noir CMI, sit between the two on Charoen Prathet Road, near the river.
The Old City is the old walled town inside the moat, with small bars in the lanes. Nimman is the modern neighbourhood by Chiang Mai University, and its streets fill with students, expats and Thai friends as the evening starts. The riverside is the grown-up part, with bigger hotel bars and river views.
- Old City: North Gate Jazz Co-Op and Zoe in Yellow.
- Nimman: Rise Rooftop Bar and The Continental, plus the city's best-known club, Warm Up Café.
- By the river: Bar.San, Noir CMI and MAI The Sky Bar.
A car makes the three areas one easy night. See where each area sits in our where to stay in Chiang Mai guide.
How much do drinks cost?
Zoe in Yellow is the cheap end, and the award-list cocktail bars the top end. Check whether service charge and VAT are added before you order.
When should you go out?
Go out at about 5pm for a rooftop sunset, then the cocktail bars from 7pm and the jazz from 9pm. Most of our eight close at midnight or 1am, so get to the dance floor at Zoe in Yellow or Warm Up before 1am. Eat first at the Chiang Mai night market.
What are the best bars in Nimman?
The best bars in Nimman are Rise Rooftop Bar for the sunset and The Continental for the speakeasy, a short drive west of the Old City. The streets fill with students, expats and Thai friends as the evening starts.
Start on the roof at Rise, on top of Akyra Manor, and catch the happy hour from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. Then walk to The Continental on Soi 5 and push the bookshelf.
Of all the best bars in Chiang Mai, these two are the easiest pair for a group: one walk, two very different drinks.
When The Continental closes at midnight, Warm Up Café is a few minutes away for the dance floor. Book The Continental ahead: it takes reservations, and six of you need a table held.
After the bars
After the bars, carry on to Warm Up Café in Nimman or the dance floor at Zoe in Yellow: see our Chiang Mai nightlife guide. Planning a weekend for the group? See our Chiang Mai bachelor party plan, or ask Tanner to build it for you. Coming up from Bangkok? See Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai bars in short
- Bar.San on Charoen Prathet Road won Best Bar in Chiang Mai at the 2025 Bangkok Bar Show Awards.
- Bar Not Found hides behind one of four coloured doors on Chang Phueak Soi 4, north of the Old City.
- Live jazz plays at Noir CMI every day except Monday, and at North Gate Jazz Co-Op best on Friday and Saturday.
- MAI The Sky Bar, on the 22nd floor of the Meliá, is the highest of the Chiang Mai rooftop bars.
- The party is at Zoe in Yellow on Ratvithi Road, from 5pm.
- Most of our eight close at midnight or 1am.
Checked October 2026.
Getting home
The booking, the car and the next stop
Three things make the evening easy: the booking, the car and the next stop. The door: book the small cocktail bars ahead, dress smart casual at the hotel rooftops, and bring your passport for ID. The car: a driver between Nimman, the Old City and the river. The next stop: the dance floor after the bars. Plan it with Tanner.
Written by Tanner Altman · Updated 7 November 2026
Questions
Before you book
What is the best bar in Chiang Mai?
Bar.San on Charoen Prathet Road is the best bar in Chiang Mai. It won Best Bar in Chiang Mai and came 10th in Thailand's 20 Best Bars at the 2025 Bangkok Bar Show Awards.
What are the best cocktail bars in Chiang Mai?
The best cocktail bars in Chiang Mai are Bar.San and Noir CMI on Charoen Prathet Road, Bar Not Found on Chang Phueak Soi 4, and The Continental, a speakeasy on Nimman Soi 5.
Where can you hear live music in Chiang Mai?
For live music in Chiang Mai, go to North Gate Jazz Co-Op by the Old City's north gate, best on Friday and Saturday, or Noir CMI, with live jazz every day except Monday.
What are the best Chiang Mai rooftop bars?
MAI The Sky Bar, on the 22nd floor of the Meliá and about 63 metres up, is the highest rooftop bar in Chiang Mai. Rise Rooftop Bar, on Akyra Manor in Nimman, has a happy hour from 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
Which part of Chiang Mai has the best nightlife?
The Old City has the best live music and the party at Zoe in Yellow. Nimman has the rooftops, the speakeasy and the club Warm Up Café. The best cocktail bars sit by the river, on Charoen Prathet Road.
How much is a cocktail in Chiang Mai?
Zoe in Yellow is the cheap end in Chiang Mai, and the award-list cocktail bars like Bar.San cost the most. Check whether service charge and VAT are added before you order; Tanner can have the first round ready.
What time do bars close in Chiang Mai?
Most of the best bars in Chiang Mai close at midnight or 1am, and Rise Rooftop Bar runs until 1am. Get to the dance floor at Zoe in Yellow or Warm Up Café before then.
Which Chiang Mai bar is best for a group?
Zoe in Yellow is best for a big group that wants a party, North Gate Jazz Co-Op for a band, and The Continental if you book a table ahead, because it takes reservations.
Plan it
Plan it with Tanner
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Sources
Credits: top photo AI-generated image.