As World Class Cocktail Festival take over the city, we round up the newest bars, cafés, and menus you won’t want to miss.

Welcome to Thirst Traps, a new series and our ongoing excuse to explore Klang Valley’s newest bars and cafés, in the name of research. This round, we bring you fresh openings, updated menus, and a few unexpected collaborations from the city’s brightest drink minds, in conjunction with World Class Cocktail Festival. Every stop has been tasted, tested, and duly approved by our panel (it’s us) of highly trained drinking professionals (also us). So, you’re in safe—and slightly buzzed—hands. Here are the new bars, cafes, and menus you’ll want to savour.

Listen Hifi Café, Chow Kit

Listening cafés are having a moment, and this one leans all the way in. At Listen Hifi, the soundtrack isn’t background noise but the main event. A record collection of over 100 albums set the tone while you settle in with coffee, tea, or matcha. The sessions run for about 90 minutes and cost RM25. You pick the vinyl, they handle the pour, and the room does the rest.

Address: Level 3, 2, Jalan Kamunting, Chow Kit, 50300, Kuala Lumpur.
Booking: listenhifi/booking.com | +6012 644 2264
IG: @listenhifi

Photo: Catia Climovich | Unsplash

Padoo, Shah Alam

Padoo is a neighbourhood café that doesn’t try too hard, and frankly, it doesn’t need to. Think comfort-first brewing with drinks like white chocolate pistachio matcha and sea-salt maple lattes. There’s also a steady rotation of baked goods: fresh baguettes, pulled beef sandwiches, and French pastries that disappear faster than they’re restocked.

Address: 17-1, Suasana 2, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla 31/93, Kota Kemuning, 40460, Shah Alam.
Booking: +6012 931 8717
IG: @padoo.my

Photo: Mahesa Tyo | Unsplash

Coal, Bangsar

If you know Coley, you’ll want to meet its daytime alter ego. Coal takes over the space when the sun’s up, trading alcohol for zero-proof cocktails and coffee with intent. The drinks are built like mocktails with a coffee obsession—bright, bitter, and designed for mid-day resets rather than late-night decisions.

Address: 6-G, Jalan Abdullah, Bangsar, 59000, Kuala Lumpur.
Booking: +6019 270 9179
IG: @drinkcoal

Photo: Anil Sharma | Unsplash

New Menus Alert

Frank’s Bar, Avenue K

Immerse yourself in a New York–style intimate bar, the kind you’d imagine Frank Sinatra slipping into in the mid-’50s—cigar in one hand, whisky in the other, and nowhere else to be. Helmed by Ngie Kok Kiong, the bar pours newly created sips like Path of Pandan, Annona Daiquiri, Solero Melon, and of course, The Golden Age. It also turns the menu into a bit of a game—scratch cards reveal your drink personality, after which the bartender takes over, mixing a custom concoction just for you. Careful not to go overboard, as Sinatra’s not picking up your tab.

Address: Unit 06 Level 03, Avenue K. 156, Jalan Ampang, 50450, Kuala Lumpur.
Booking: frankskl.com/booking | +6012 674 4860
Website: frankskl.com
IG: @franks.kl

Photo: Ash Edmonds | Unsplash

World Class Cocktail Festival Special

The country’s cocktail circuit is back in rotation as the World Class Cocktail Festival returns, running until 31 May 2026 across Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Anchored by names like Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Don Julio, and Ron Zacapa, bars across KL city are reworking menus and revisiting classics with a fresh lens.

Photo courtesy of World Class Cocktail Festival

B.E.D, The Exchange TRX

For the festival, B.E.D goes into remix mode, reworking house signatures with a sharper spotlight on the star spirits. On the list: Yuzu W Sour, Ron Banana, DJ Tom, and Say “10”. These are familiar names but with slightly reimagined personalities.

Address: Lot GS.03, G Floor, The Exchange TRX, Persiaran TRX, Imbi, 55188, Kuala Lumpur.
Booking: +6010 976 7223
IG: @letsgoto.bed

Bar Trigona, Four Seasons Hotel KL

At Bar Trigona, expect combinations like Tequila With Roselle And Citrus, Whisky With Miso Honey And Sesame Mist, Rum With Five Spice Char Siew And Lapsang Souchong Bitters, and Gin With Chamomile And Lychee. Sounds like they shouldn’t work, but they do, and you’ll love them.

Address: Level 6, Four Seasons Hotel KL. 145, Jalan Ampang, 50450, Kuala Lumpur.
Booking: fourseasons.com/booking
Website: fourseasons.com
IG: @bartrigona

Cacao Mixology & Chocolate, Park Hyatt KL

For the chocolate-inclined drinker, this one commits fully to the bit. On the limited-time menu, The Cacao Club, Cacao Coffee Martini, Cacao White Negroni, and Vesper Martini are created to make you fall in love.

Address: Level 75, Park Hyatt KL. Presint Merdeka 118, 50118, Kuala Lumpur.
Booking: hyatt.com/booking | +603 2303 2721
Website: hyatt.com
IG: @cacaomixology

Cabinet 8, Chinatown

Dim lights, a velvet mood, and the sense that a cabaret dancer might appear at any moment—Cabinet 8 doubles down on tea-led cocktails. Pu-er, jasmine green tea, Lapsang Souchong, and oolong weave through drinks like Oolong Walker, Ron Fashioned, No. Ten Sour, and Don Sang’s Rosita, setting the night into a slow, smoky swing.

Address: 70, Jalan Sultan, 50000, Kuala Lumpur.
IG: @jwc.cabinet8.kl

Penrose, Chinatown

A bar that doesn’t hide its intentions—fruit-forward, playful, and dangerously easy to drink. Find pours like Caledon Passage, Din Verde, Vasco, and Ron Oro, built on kiwi, lychee, blackberry, and pear. This is Penrose, where the bartenders know exactly what they’re doing and their concoctions rarely miss.

Address: 149, Jalan Petaling, 50000 Kuala Lumpur.
Booking: penrose.com/booking
IG: @penrose.kl

Please drink responsibly.

Opening photo: Yan Kolesnyk | Unsplash