TUBA Bar & Restaurant
34 ซ. เอกมัย 21 Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Come for the late-night kitchen and the room itself, not for a quiet dinner. Order a Thai dish and an Italian dish, sit near one of the stranger pieces of furniture, and ask the staff what is for sale. The 2 AM closing time is the real flex on this side of Ekkamai.
You walk in past a life-sized Yoda, a 19th-century diving helmet and a wall of nude portraits, and the first decision is which chair to take, because every chair in the room is from a different decade and a different country. TUBA has been operating on Soi Ekkamai 21 since 2005, and the design-furniture concept has stayed the same: mismatched antiques, vintage lamps, paintings and home decor pieces, all priced and ready to leave with you if something catches your eye.
The kitchen runs an Italian-leaning menu with Thai dishes alongside it. Drinks lean colourful: bright cocktails, beers, whiskeys, and a long list designed for a long sitting.
The room comes alive later. TUBA opens at 11 AM and runs until 2 AM daily, which makes it one of the few Ekkamai rooms that holds both a relaxed weekday lunch and a 1 AM table without a change of scene. Soi Ekkamai 21 is narrow and the bar is on your left as you walk in from the main road.
Book ahead if you want the bigger banquette near the front window on a Friday or Saturday. Walk-ins land at the smaller tables and the bar counter, both of which work fine. The room photographs well from any angle, which is half the point.
Bring a group that likes to graze across menus and stay past midnight. Order a pizza, a Thai larb, two cocktails to start, and let the room do the rest.