Bar Us

Bangkok's Cocktail Scene and the Case for Culinary Format

Bangkok's bar program has matured considerably in the past five years, moving from high-concept rooftop theatrics to a more focused, technique-led tier where the content of the glass matters more than the view from it. A handful of bars — among them Asia Today, BKK Social Club, and Dry Wave Cocktail Studio — have helped push the city into the Asia-Pacific conversation on technical grounds. Bar Us on Sukhumvit Soi 26 sits at the far end of that shift, having translated the logic of a restaurant tasting menu into a cocktail program that Tatler Asia recognised with its Leading Innovation award in the Tatler Leading Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list. By 2025, the bar had also reached No. 4 on Asia's 50 Best Bars, a position that places it in a very small peer set globally.

The Room and How to Find It

The address is deliberately understated. Bar Us occupies the first floor of a building at 61/37 Sukhumvit Soi 26, accessed through a glass door opposite a security kiosk , the kind of entrance that requires intent rather than accident. That physical modesty is part of the point. The bar describes its format as a 'drinking room,' and the term earns its keep: the space prioritises intimacy and focus over volume and spectacle, a deliberate counterpoint to the rooftop-and-terrace model that still dominates much of Bangkok's premium drinking scene. For reference points in a different register, Octave Rooftop Lounge and Bar in Khlong Toei operates on exactly the opposite logic. Bar Us is the indoor, close-quarters alternative, where what happens at the counter holds the attention rather than the skyline behind it.

The bar opened in September 2023, founded by Sudarat 'Taln' Rojanavanich and Veerach 'Aum' Sawaengsupt, both of whom have backgrounds in art direction. That training is visible in the spatial choices , the room's visual language and service flow read as considered design decisions rather than hospitality defaults. Google Reviews currently hold at 4.8 from over 522 ratings, which for a bar that opened less than two years before those reviews accumulated, reflects a consistency of execution that most new venues take considerably longer to establish.

The Menu as Architecture

Cocktail program at Bar Us is structured around a tasting menu logic, with sections titled Starter, Mains, After, and All Night. The framework borrows its grammar from fine dining: the progression is intentional, the serves are sequenced to build on one another, and the decision about what to drink first is made for you by the format rather than left to chance.

Starter section opens with lighter, more refreshing serves designed to prepare the palate rather than dominate it. The Mains represent the heart of the program , food-inspired cocktails built around Thai ingredients including guava leaf, green chilli, and makrut lime, where familiar flavour references from Thai cuisine are translated into liquid form with layered technique. These are not cocktails that gesture toward food pairing; they are cocktails that function as the food equivalent itself, drawing on the savoury register that most bar programs actively avoid. The After section moves into nostalgic, softer territory, with serves that close a sitting the way dessert closes a meal. The All Night portion offers more conventional, refined drinks for those who want to extend the evening beyond the structured sequence.

Logic maps closely to what fine dining bars in other cities have attempted with varying success. For a comparative point outside the region, the structured-menu format echoes the approach taken by venues like Jewel of the South in New Orleans and Julep in Houston, where a defined editorial perspective on the menu does the work that atmosphere does in other bars. Bar Us applies that same premise through a Thai culinary lens, which is what earned the innovation designation from Tatler rather than simple technical proficiency.

Evening Service and the Tasting Room Mood

Editorial angle assigned to this bar's format , and the format itself , favours evening over daytime. Bar Us operates as a drinking room in the truest sense of the term: a place where a full sitting through the menu structure becomes an occasion rather than a transaction. In the evening, the sequenced Starter-to-After progression makes contextual sense; the room's intimacy supports the pace of a structured session in a way that a lunchtime or early-afternoon slot simply does not replicate.

That said, the All Night section of the menu provides an exit ramp for visitors who arrive later or who prefer to skip the progression and drink in a more conventional way. The format is structured but not rigid. The bar's 4.8 Google rating across a large review base suggests that the experience works for guests who engage with the tasting logic and for those who do not.

For the full tasting-menu experience, arriving earlier in the evening, before the room fills and service density increases, allows the pace of the program to breathe. The bar does not publish hours in the venue data available here; contacting directly at +66 89 500 1656 before visiting is advisable, particularly given the bar's current recognition profile, which is generating demand well beyond its local audience.

Where Bar Us Sits in Bangkok's Current Hierarchy

Bangkok now has several bars with international recognition, but the No. 4 position on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 is a different tier from list membership alone. The bar also ranked No. 41 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2024 and No. 21 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2024, showing upward movement in both regional and global rankings year over year since opening in 2023. Top 500 Bars placed it at No. 30 globally in 2025. This is an ascent that most bars do not achieve in their first two years of operation, which places Bar Us in a peer set that includes Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu , bars where format discipline and technical specificity have translated into sustained critical recognition rather than a single-year anomaly.

Within Bangkok, the bars that occupy a comparable recognition tier tend to approach the craft from different angles. Bar Sathorn and the Hansar Bangkok bar program operate in a hotel-adjacent context with different competitive dynamics. EAT ME Restaurant in Bang Rak represents a different integration of food and beverage. Bar Us, by contrast, operates as a standalone concept with no hotel infrastructure or restaurant parent to anchor the experience , the bar is the entire proposition.

The Chiang Mai market offers its own distinct bar culture; the Chiang Mai Cabaret Show represents a different category of evening entertainment altogether. Bar Us is specifically a product of Bangkok's Sukhumvit corridor, where international visitors, expat residents, and a sophisticated local clientele create demand for exactly the kind of precision-led, concept-driven bar that the drinking room format delivers. For broader orientation across the city's food and drink scene, the EP Club Bangkok guide maps the full range of options across neighbourhoods and categories.

Planning Your Visit

Bar Us is located at 61/37, Floor 1, Sukhumvit Soi 26, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok. The glass-door entrance opposite the security kiosk requires attention; first-time visitors occasionally walk past it. The bar's Instagram at @bar.us.bkk is the most current source for hours and any updates to the program. The website is us-bar.com. Phone contact is available at +66 89 500 1656. Given the bar's current ranking trajectory, booking ahead is a practical necessity rather than a preference.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I drink at Bar Us?

The bar's Tatler Leading Innovation 2025 award , part of the Tatler Leading Bars Asia-Pacific list , is grounded in the liquid cuisine concept, meaning the Mains section of the menu is where the program's point of difference is most concentrated. These are food-inspired cocktails built on Thai ingredients: guava leaf, green chilli, makrut lime. The menu is structured to be experienced in sequence, so starting with the Starter section and progressing through Mains to After gives the full picture of what the bar is arguing for. Guests who prefer a less structured experience can use the All Night section, which offers refined, modernised classics without the tasting-menu format. The bar ranked No. 4 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 and No. 41 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2024, which contextualises the program's ambition , these are not bars at that tier by accident.

What should I know about Bar Us before I go?

Bar Us sits on Sukhumvit Soi 26 in Khlong Toei, on the first floor behind a glass door opposite a security kiosk. The entrance is not marked in a way that invites casual passersby, so knowing the address before you arrive matters. The bar opened in September 2023 and has moved from No. 21 on Asia's 50 Best Bars in 2024 to No. 4 in 2025 , a ranking that has widened its audience significantly and created corresponding demand for seats. Price range data is not published in available sources, but a bar at this recognition level in Bangkok will sit in the premium tier for the city; arrive with that expectation. For the most current hours, the bar's Instagram (@bar.us.bkk) is the reliable source. Calling ahead at +66 89 500 1656 before your first visit is the practical approach.