In this guide you'll find the ten rooftops that are genuinely worth it, what a rooftop night costs, the dress codes to know about, and the one famous name we'd skip.
What a night at Bangkok rooftop bars costs
First, set your expectations: rooftops are the expensive corner of a cheap city. A street dinner in Bangkok is about €7 (265 ฿) and a cocktail in a regular bar €4-5 (150-180 ฿). At the rooftops below, a signature cocktail sits between €10 and €22 (370-800 ฿), and passes €30 (1,100 ฿) at Sky Bar and Sirocco.
Also good to know: several rooftops have a minimum spend per person, especially the famous names. You'll find the current policy on each venue's own site, and checking it before you go up saves surprises at the bill.
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The 10 Bangkok rooftops worth visiting
1. Sky Bar at Lebua (State Tower)
The rooftop that made rooftop bars a Bangkok thing! Sixty-three floors up at the tip of a gold dome, with a 360° view over the Chao Phraya river, and world-famous thanks to The Hangover Part II. Go once for the icon rather than the drinks: cocktails here are the priciest in town.
Sky Bar doesn't take bar reservations, so arrive by 5:30 pm to get a spot at the ledge before sunset. The dress code is checked at the elevator: long trousers and closed shoes for men, no beachwear.
2. Vertigo & Moon Bar (Banyan Tree)
Sixty-one floors above Sathorn on a completely open deck. No glass, no railing-frame, just you and the wind. Vertigo is the restaurant half, Moon Bar the cocktail half, and together they serve the postcard view without the Sky Bar queue.
Reserve Vertigo ahead for weekend dinners; Moon Bar takes walk-ins. One thing to know: the deck closes the moment it rains, so from June to October keep a ground-floor backup plan.
3. Sirocco (Lebua)
Sky Bar's dressier neighbour on the same building, with a domed colonnade, live jazz, and one of the widest views of any Bangkok rooftop. If you're doing Lebua once: drink at Sky Bar, eat at Sirocco.
The dress code here is stricter than at Sky Bar (collared shirt, no shorts or sandals), and river-facing tables book out a few days ahead on Lebua's site.
4. Above Eleven
A Peruvian-Japanese restaurant with a rooftop garden, 33 floors up on Sukhumvit Soi 11. It's not the highest or the flashiest, but it easily serves the best food on this list. Come for ceviche at sunset and stay for the cocktails.
Book a table for 7 pm to catch the sunset from the terrace. Smart-casual is fine here: jeans and a nice shirt will do.
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5. Octave Rooftop Lounge & Bar (Marriott Sukhumvit 57)
Three tiers, with the bar on the 49th floor and an open-air 360° lounge on top. Octave looks out over Sukhumvit itself: towers, traffic, and the neon spine of the city. This is the living-Bangkok view rather than the postcard-river one, with a DJ most nights.
Come before 8 pm for happy hour (50% off selected drinks; check Marriott's site for the current schedule). With direct BTS access from Thong Lo station, it's also the easiest rooftop to reach without a taxi.
6. Char Rooftop (Hotel Indigo Sukhumvit 22)
A grill-and-cocktails rooftop that's smaller and lower than the skyscraper names: wood, warm light, and a narrower slice of skyline. It suits a two-person evening far better than a group night.
Book a table for the rib-eye rather than only drinks, and ask for the corner seat facing Benjakiti Park.
7. Tichuca Rooftop Bar (T-One Building)
The newest heavy-hitter: a full jungle canopy on the 46th floor, with trees, ferns, and a glowing "tree of life" centrepiece. It's divisive. Some love the theatre, others find it staged, but nobody forgets what it looks like.
Tichuca is reservation-only on Friday and Saturday nights, and the booking system fills 2-3 days ahead. On a weekday you'll get the same drinks without the queue.
8. The Speakeasy Rooftop Bar (Hotel Muse)
A 1920s New York theme with low ceilings, dark wood, and a lit rooftop pool. This is Bangkok's answer to a hidden cocktail bar rather than another skyscraper spectacle, and a nice change of pace once you've done the height thing.
Order from the classics menu: the bartenders are at their best on the old standards. Reservations open a week ahead on the hotel's site.
9. Penthouse Bar + Grill (Park Hyatt)
Understated luxury on the 34th floor of the Park Hyatt, connected to the Central Embassy mall. Steak, martinis, and a calm view over Lumpini Park: this is the important-dinner rooftop rather than the party one.
The bar area doesn't require a dinner reservation. Arrive after 9 pm and you'll usually find a stool without booking. Smart-casual is enforced.
10. Yao Rooftop Bar (Bangkok Marriott The Surawongse)
The different one on this list: Yao looks over Chinatown (Yaowarat) instead of Sathorn or the river. From 40 floors up you watch the neon, the tuk-tuks, and the night-market chaos below. It shows you a Bangkok the other rooftops don't!
Come right at sunset, when Yaowarat's neon starts to light up. Afterwards, the Yaowarat night market at the foot of the same building is the natural next stop.
The one to skip
Red Sky at Centara Grand. Fifty-five floors up in the CentralWorld shopping complex, with a view of towers on all sides rather than the river. If you're already shopping at CentralWorld it's a fine drink. If you're crossing town for it, Vertigo or Octave gives you more for the same taxi ride.
Which rooftop matches your night
- Your first rooftop ever: Sky Bar for the icon, Vertigo for the view without the queue.
- Best food: Above Eleven (Peruvian-Japanese) or Char (grill).
- Cocktails over height: The Speakeasy at Hotel Muse.
- Date night: Char or Penthouse Bar + Grill.
- A different Bangkok: Yao, over Chinatown.
- The full spectacle: Tichuca (book a weekday).
- On a budget: Octave before 8 pm, when happy hour halves the price of the same view.
How to plan your Bangkok rooftop night
Dress code. Nearly every rooftop on this list is smart-casual at minimum: closed shoes, no vests, no flip-flops. For the strict ones (Sky Bar, Vertigo, Sirocco, Penthouse) go a step up with long trousers and a collared shirt or blouse. When in doubt, dress up rather than down, because it's the elevator staff who turn people away.
Reservations. Vertigo, Tichuca, Above Eleven, and Penthouse: reserve, especially for Friday and Saturday. Sky Bar and Sirocco don't take bar reservations. For dinner at Sirocco or Vertigo, book at least a week ahead.
Rainy season. From June to October, rooftops close as soon as a storm rolls in, sometimes for the whole evening. November to February is the sweet spot: dry season, lower humidity, and the clearest skyline.
One-night plan. A quarter of the Bangkok trips planned on Stippl run to just a single night in the city, so if that's yours: sunset at Vertigo (arrive around 6 pm), then a cocktail at Octave or Above Eleven from 8 pm. Two rooftops in one evening is plenty; the magic wears off by the third elevator ride.
Editor's tip: There's a moment on every rooftop, right when the sun hits the horizon and Bangkok turns gold, when the whole terrace goes quiet. If you only have one rooftop night, plan it around those thirty seconds.
Fits your Bangkok stay. On average, travellers give Bangkok two or three nights. Plan the rooftop for your first evening (a view is the nicest way to land) or your last, as a send-off. The middle evening is usually better spent at street-food stalls or on a Chinatown walk.
Plan your Bangkok evening
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Building a Bangkok evening? Add the two or three rooftops you like to a Stippl trip, and the app plans the taxi times and cocktail hours around your day. Free forever.
Read next: where to stay in Bangkok, since Sukhumvit and Silom put most of this list within a short ride, the 10 day north route for where to head once the city is done, and the 10 day island route if the Gulf tempts you more than the mountains.
There is more to find — browse the map in Stippl and save what you like straight to your trip.
Frequently asked questions about Thailand
Smart-casual at minimum: closed shoes and a shirt with sleeves for men, no vests. For the famous rooftops (Sky Bar, Vertigo, Sirocco, Penthouse) go a step up with long trousers and a collared shirt or blouse. Most venues publish their dress code on their own site.
Sky Bar for the icon, Vertigo for the best view without the tourist queue. With two nights, do both; with one night, pick Vertigo.
Compared to a normal Bangkok bar, yes: a rooftop cocktail costs three to five times as much. Compared to rooftops in New York or Singapore, they're reasonable. Budget €12-22 (450-800 ฿) for a signature cocktail, and more at Sky Bar or Sirocco.
Sky Bar doesn't take bar reservations: arrive by 5:30 pm for a sunset spot. Vertigo does, and booking is worth it on weekends. For dinner at Sirocco or Vertigo, a reservation is essential.
Most famous Bangkok rooftops are hotel bars; that's simply how the scene grew. Tichuca (T-One Building) and Cielo (Sky Walk Condominium) are the two exceptions at real height.
