Chiang Mai Night Life

While the nightlife in Chiang Mai may not be as crazy as in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket. You still will be able to find some good bars for a few beers, live music and even some banging clubs that stay open till 5 in the morning. If you are looking for cocktails in a luxury rooftop bar, then Chiang Mai will not disappoint. The lively Nimman area boasts loads of great rooftop bars with views over the city and the Doi Suthep mountain. We have made a list with our favorite bars, clubs and shows to make sure that your nights in Chiang Mai will be ones to remember.

Live Music Bars

North Gate Jazz: The place is packed every night and the crowd often spill out on the street, good atmosphere, good music, make sure to show up early if you want to have a seat. This is a legendary Chiang Mai bar.

Roots, Rock, Reggae: This reggae bar is located close to Zoe in Yellow. Great live reggae and ska music, strong drinks and cool Rasta owners and staff. One of our favorite bars in Chiang Mai.

Rooftops Bar

Oasis Rooftop: Hidden on top of an abandoned building within the old city. This is a great place to enjoy the sunset with fantastic views over the Doi Suthep mountain. They offer a large variety of international and local beers, killer cocktails and chill music for a chill atmosphere.

The Myst: Fancy. On top of the trendy Maya Mall. Good spot to enjoy the sunset while sipping a cocktail and taking in the views over the city. Large selection of drinks and the top-quality bartenders like to put on a show while preparing your drink. There’s a live band and the dance floor fills up in the weekends with a mix of locals and tourists.

Akyra Rise Bar: Including a swimming pool and a great selection of tasty and over the top cocktails, good music, awesome views over the Doi Suthep mountain and romantic atmosphere. The perfect place to impress your first date.

Level 9: An open-air club on top of the Icon Mall. Fantastic views over Doi Suthep. A great place to party during the cool season. They organize a crazy foam party during Songkran Festival.

John’s place: Chill roof top pub overlooking the Thapae Gate in the old city. Serving western food and cold draft Leo Beer towers. Large screens showing live sports. Good place to hang out while your wife is shopping at the Sunday Night Market.

Clubs

Zoe in Yellow: This place is the dynamo of the Chiang Mai night life. Zoe has a big garden to have some warm up drinks. The garden is surrounded by different bars and clubs offering music for every taste. The only downside is that they close at midnight.

Spicy club: Famous after-party “I don’t want to go home at 12” place. When most other bars close, Spicy kicks off. Follow the crowd from Zoe In Yellow and they will show you the way! Entrance fee is 100THB including one drink. Fun place for dancing and meeting people.

Sound Up: Our choice for a late night out. The only banging club in Chiang Mai. Arrive late because the place is empty before midnight. This typical Thai style club offers private tables and bottle service on the dance floor, so bring your friends. Entrance fee is 200 Baht per person and if you come with a group of 4 this will include one bottle of (cheap) local booze.

Warm up café: Located on the trendy Nimman road, Warm Up café is very popular with the Thai crowd. Live music, DJ’s, Sports and places to sit down to eat and drink with your friends. The dancefloor gets busy around 10 PM in the weekends. A great place to mix and meet with the locals.

Pubs/Bars

UN Irish Pub: Every city needs an Irish Pub. If you are craving hearty pies and creamy Guinness, this place should be on your list. They offer live sports, Thursday night pub quiz and good food. They also run a bakery next door. The garden is a good spot to have dinner and chill during the cooler winter evenings.

Piccolo Wine and Tapas: Who says that you can’t find wine in Thailand? The wine selection at Piccolo is incredible. Treat yourself to a few glasses (bottles?) and enjoy the fantastic tapas in this sophisticated bar. Located right next to the popular David’s Kitchen, this is a great place to have a few drinks and bites before you head over to David’s for dinner.

Ram Bar (Gay bar): A.k.a. The friendliest gay bar in Chiang Mai. The Ladyboy cabaret show in this bar is hilarious and a “must do” while you are in Chiang Mai. The shows start around 9 PM and is free of charge. They compensate this with slightly more expensive drinks.

Beer Lab: Beerlab is a household name in Chiang Mai’s night life. Offering more than 15 kinds of beer on draft and about 200 kinds of beer in the bottle. This is where you want to be when you are craving craft beers. Not cheap.

1 Up Bar: This cute Retro Arcade game bar in Santhitam is a great find. Play Frogger, Pacman and Super Mario with your friends while having a drink. They have real Arcade machines, live sports (the owner loves tennis!) and a small snack menu. They lock the bar at midnight, but if you are inside before that time you can stay till late.

Pim’s favorites

Chill Out Bar: Little “hole in the wall” kind of bar located in the old city on Moon Mueang road Soi 9. If you want to meet friendly people, drink cheap strong cocktails and looking for a cool place to start the night then the Chill Out Bar is where you must go. The owner / bar tender Mr. Bom is a character and will take good care of you.

Radost Bar: My favorite sports bar. The friendly Thai and German owner couple is helpful and will show any live sport event that you want to see on one of their 5 televisions. There is a pool table, dart board, foosball table and there are boardgames to keep you busy. The Tiger draft beer is fresh and ice cold.

Shows

Chiang Mai Ladyboy Cabaret (Anusarn Night Market): The famous Ladyboy Cabaret Show in Chiang Mai located inside the Anusarn Night Market nearby the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. The doors open at 9:00pm and entrance fee is 300 Baht per person. A “must do” when you are in Chiang Mai.

TaWanDang: One of the best kept secrets of Chiang Mai. At TaWanDang near Nimman road you will get your own table, bottle of whiskey, food and just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Live music, dance performances, Theater and DJ’s will perform throughout the night. This is a typical Thai night out and it will be difficult to blend in and meet people. Therefore, we recommended TaWanDang only for groups. Many seats and tables are available, and you can enjoy awesome northern style Thai food. After midnight, when the locals get drunk, the party really kicks off here and people start to fill up to dancefloor.

Sports

Chiang Mai Boxing Stadium: The best place to experience a real Muay Thai boxing event in Chiang Mai. You can read more about this in our Chiang Mai Boxing Stadium blog.

Chiang Mai FC: Visit one of the home games of Chiang Mai’s local football club. Chiang Mai FC a.k.a. the Lanna Tigers are currently playing in the highest division of Thai football, the Thai Premier League. They play their home games at the 700 years stadium, just north of the city. The atmosphere is great and friendly, with multiple fan groups playing drums and chanting their team to victory. They sell beers and snacks outside the ground and entrance tickets cost between 100 and 120 Baht.

Karaoke Bars

Sing Along Karaoke: Hidden on the last floor of the Kad Suan Kaew Mall, right next to the bowling alley. It’s quite difficult to find but just ask the friendly security in the mall to assist you to the Karaoke. Sing Along Karaoke offers several rooms with different themes and can accept groups up to 18 persons. Good choice of old western and Thai pop music. Beers and snacks are available, and it’s very reasonable priced. A great night out Thai style!

If you take a tuk tuk, red truck or taxi to Sing Along Karaoke then please don’t mention that you want to go to a Karaoke Bar. Most drivers will bring you to an over priced and shady karaoke bar instead of Sing Along Karaoke. Just tell the driver that you want to go to “Kad Suan Kaew Mall” and you will be fine.

Enjoy your nights in Chiang Mai!