- Getting there
- BTS Thong Lo (Soi 55) and Ekkamai (Soi 63) on the Suk…
- Price
- Design hotels and boutique stays at a premium
- Best for
- Dining and nightlife travelers
Where stylish Bangkok eats and drinks
Thonglor and Ekkamai are the trend-setting heart of east Sukhumvit — two long sois, numbered 55 and 63, that have become the city's default answer to where design-conscious Bangkok goes for dinner and drinks. This is where you find the cocktail bars with a serious drinks programme, the third-wave cafés, the izakayas and the modern Thai and international restaurants that a stylish local crowd actually books. It is residential and a little more local than the tourist core of Sukhumvit, which is exactly why the food and nightlife are so good: these venues are built for people who live here, not for passing coach tours.
Thonglor (Soi 55) is the polished, see-and-be-seen strip, dense with rooftop and speakeasy-style bars, lifestyle malls and design dining. Ekkamai (Soi 63) next door is a touch more relaxed and residential, with its own deep run of cafés, craft-beer rooms and restaurants and a younger, more neighbourhood feel. Together they form one of Bangkok's best date-night zones — the place to come for a long evening of cocktails and a memorable dinner rather than for monuments and markets.
Base here if your trip is built around dining, bars and a stylish local atmosphere, and you are happy to ride the BTS to the sights. It is not the place for temple-on-the-doorstep convenience, but for food-and-nightlife travelers, couples and repeat visitors who already know the headline sights, it is one of the most enjoyable corners of the city to call home.
- Bangkok's trendiest dining-and-bars district, on Sukhumvit Soi 55 and 63
- Cocktail bars, third-wave cafés, izakayas and design restaurants
- Thonglor is polished and see-and-be-seen; Ekkamai a touch more local
- Best for dining, nightlife and date nights over sightseeing
Watch out
This is a polished local scene rather than a tourist trap, but check bar tabs at busy venues and agree taxi fares or use the metered app on late-night rides home
Book ahead
Stays cluster near the station ends of the sois; book a design or boutique hotel close to the BTS so late nights and the long sois stay easy
Find your bearings
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Where to stay in Thonglor & Ekkamai
The standout places to stay right here, by price tier — tap a card for the property. We don't quote rates, so check live prices on each hotel's own site.
- Sukhumvit · Thong Lo฿฿฿ · ~฿4,500/night
Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit
Home to the Octave Rooftop Lounge & Bar, a four-storey venue topping out with a 360-degree circular bar on the 49th floor.
- Sukhumvit · Thong Lo฿฿ · ~฿4,000/night
Akyra Thonglor Bangkok
A Small Luxury Hotels of the World member with a 1920s aesthetic and a rooftop double infinity-edge pool with 180-degree views.
- Sukhumvit · Thong Lo฿฿ · ~฿3,500/night
Staybridge Suites Bangkok Thonglor by IHG
IHG's first Staybridge Suites in the Asia-Pacific region, with every suite including a full kitchenette plus washer/dryer for extended stays.
- Sukhumvit · Thong Lo฿ · from ~฿300
Hostel @ Thonglor
A tiny 26-bed hostel with mixed and women-only dorms, a four-minute walk from BTS Thong Lo's bars and restaurants.
Cafés by day, cocktails by night
By daylight, Thonglor and Ekkamai are café country. The sois hide some of the city's best third-wave coffee bars, brunch spots and design-led patisseries, many doubling as cool refuges from the midday heat — a slow morning over a pour-over here is a genuine pleasure. There is a strong Japanese presence too, with izakayas, ramen counters and Japanese cafés threading through both sois, echoing the wider Sukhumvit pattern. It is an easy area to graze and linger rather than rush.
After dark the districts shift gear. Thonglor's cocktail bars, speakeasies and rooftops are a destination in themselves, and a night here can run from an aperitif at a design bar through a long dinner to late drinks without leaving the soi. Ekkamai adds craft-beer rooms and a more laid-back local scene. For couples, this is one of Bangkok's premier date-night zones; pair a cocktail bar with a design restaurant and you have the makings of a standout evening. Book ahead for the best tables and the busiest bars on weekend nights.
- Standout third-wave cafés, brunch and patisseries by day
- A strong Japanese izakaya, ramen and café presence on both sois
- Cocktail bars, speakeasies and rooftops that anchor the nightlife
- Ekkamai adds craft beer and a more laid-back local scene
Staying here, and the long-soi trade-off
Accommodation in Thonglor and Ekkamai skews towards design hotels and boutique stays rather than big chains, matching the area's stylish, local-led character; prices reflect that, and dining and drinks are pitched at an affluent local crowd. Stays tend to cluster near the station ends of the sois, which is where you want to be — book a hotel close to the BTS so that the long sois and the late nights stay easy. We never quote rates or ratings; confirm both, and any pool or design features, directly with the property.
The defining practical issue here is the length of the sois. Thonglor and Ekkamai both run deep off Sukhumvit, with much of the best dining and nightlife well away from the main road, and the walk is hot and largely unshaded. The fix is local: ride the motorbike taxis that wait at the mouth of each soi to zip to the far ends for a few baht, and use a metered taxi or a ride app for late nights home. On the BTS you are a few stops from the Asok interchange and the rest of the city, so the sights remain an easy ride even though they are not on your doorstep — which is the central trade-off of choosing this most enjoyable, least sightseeing-focused corner of Sukhumvit.
- Design and boutique hotels rather than big chains, at a premium
- Book near the station ends of the sois for easy late nights
- Use motorbike taxis along the long, hot sois; ride apps home late
- A few BTS stops from Asok and the wider city for the sights
