Vesper
Vesper has ranked on Asia's 50 Best Bars every single year since the list began in 2016, and in 2025 the organization handed it the Rémy Martin Legend of the List Award for that streak. Choti Leenutaphong and Debby Tang of Foodie Collection opened it in April 2014 on Convent Road and named it for the shaken martini.
Why go
The program is run by British bar manager Tom Hearn, who built his career at the American Bar at The Savoy and other London rooms, and it shows in a classics-first list anchored by three house variants of the signature Vesper. The current menu is People of Vesper Vol. 3, built around regulars and staff from the bar's twelve-year history. Asia's 50 Best frames the offer as classic cocktails and a Mediterranean-leaning tapas menu served "in an unpretentious approachable manner to the everyday drinker." Jeff's reason is simpler and first-hand: the mezcal shelf runs deep, and the bartenders improvise against it.
Order this / avoid
- Order: Jeff's standing order,
make me anything with mezcal,
works because the inventory backs it up and the bar builds something new each visit (Jeff, first-hand). Off the menu, start with one of the three Vesper variants, then the White Matcha Negroni, which Asia's 50 Best sayssupercharges this timeless tipple with pistachio matcha and white chocolate.
- Avoid: counting on a weekend walk-in. Reserve through vesperbar.co and start before the post-dinner rush.
What locals & experts say
- Asia's 50 Best Bars (2025): No. 29, plus the Rémy Martin Legend of the List Award 2025, with the profile crediting
bar manager and British transplant Tom Hearn, who built his career at the American Bar at The Savoy and other lauded London establishments.
4 - BK Magazine (July 2026): No. 56 on the Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026 extended list, noting
Vesper has appeared on the Asia's 50 Best list every single year of the event's history dating back to 2016.
5 - Jeff (first-hand): the mezcal selection is vast, and the bar creates something new for him every time.
Good to know
- Timing: open daily, 5:30pm to 2am (venue site, checked July 25, 2026). Late enough to land after any dinner in the cluster.
- Booking: recommended via the reservation page at vesperbar.co; walk-ins work early on weeknights.
- From voco Surawong: about 700m, a 10-minute walk, Surawong to Convent Road via Naradhiwas.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "One of the best bars in the world. Chef favorite. Make me anything with mezcal - he has such a vast selection of different mezcals, and always creates something new for me. The drinks, the ambiance, the music create a very well-executed experience"
- The claim: one of the best bars in the world. Chef favorite.
- Order: "Make me anything with mezcal." He has such a vast selection of different mezcals, and always creates something new for me.
- Why: the drinks, the ambiance, the music create a very well-executed experience.
Verdict
should-visit — A decade-plus of Asia's 50 Best presence, the 2025 Legend of the List Award, and a Savoy-trained bar manager make it Bangkok's reference classic-cocktail room. It slipped to the extended list in 2026 and the format, classics executed extremely well, exists in other cities, so it sits below must-visit on uniqueness. Eleven minutes from the hotel, it should anchor a night this trip.