One of the things I was looking forward to was visiting a live bar in the evening. Bangkok has a lot of different styles of live bars, so there were a lot of places I wanted to try. In this post, Introducing you to TEP BAR (Cultural Bar of Thailand) in Bangkok’s Chinatown. It’s a unique live bar with live traditional Thai music.
Tep Bar Location
Tep Bar is located just off the main street of Chinatown. But if you follow the map sideways through the bustling Chinatown, you’ll find it in a quiet alleyway. Hours of operation vary slightly depending on the day, so please check Google Maps.
Tep Bar Waiting / Inside
I had heard that Tep Bar is a popular live bar, so I was worried if I would have to wait for a table. But there was a staff member managing customers at the entrance.
When I walked into Tep Bar, I got a good view of the bar. There was a show going on right away and the bar was packed with customers in a small space. The seats were very close together, so it was uncomfortable to move around.
I was sweating profusely from all the walking around in the hot Bangkok heat. So when I first walked into the small space, I was nervous that I would smell like a sweaty mess.
Since I was visiting Tep Bar alone, I was shown to a table at the bar. Which was a great spot to watch the show as there was a performance right in front of me. But I had to move out of the way each time as the staff came and went with drinks and food behind me. As the aisles weren’t wide enough.
Tep Bar also has two floors, so some guests were ushered upstairs instead of down.
It was dark in the bar itself, so it’s hard to take good photos with just a smartphone. Even with my iPhone 14 Pro, some of the photos were too dark.
Tep bar has no physical menu board. But you can access the menu by using the QR code in front of the bar.
I started with the signature cocktail Songkran, which is like the signature cocktail of Tep Bar. With a very photogenic presentation in a traditional Thai bowl. It was a sour flavored cocktail with passion fruit. As I sat at the bar, I kept seeing other customers ordering it, and it was the most ordered cocktail. Apparently, this cocktail is so famous that it was served at a Michelin dinner. Normally, I would have ordered it. But I had to keep watching the show, so I was a little bit sneaky.
We ordered the mango sticky rice to go with it. I had heard that the mango sticky rice here was delicious, so I ordered it. The mango was delicious, and the sticky rice that came with it was warm and went well with the mango.
Finally, I ordered the Thai liquor, which was described as a wine made from glutinous rice. It was a bit sour and bitter at the same time.
If you’d like to see a more detailed menu of the tep bar, please see the link below.
Thai music performance
The music at Tap Bar is traditional Thai music, as I mentioned earlier. I enjoyed listening to the unfamiliar songs with a Thai flavor. It consisted of exciting and fast songs rather than calm music. So it was fun to listen to even if you don’t know the songs well. The singing style and instruments were all different and exotic, so it was fun to watch.
As for the performances, I think they had breaks in between. I went in around 10pm and watched the show for about an hour until 11pm and then left.
I introduced you to Tep Bar in Bangkok’s Chinatown. It’s a unique place with traditional Thai music and a live bar, and I recommend you to visit.
