Cocktails in Rawai: Inside the Bar Program That's Changing How South Phuket Drinks

The cocktail bar scene in Phuket is bigger than most people give it credit for. From beach shacks with a blender to rooftop bars with a view, the island knows how to serve a drink. But somewhere between the blended tourist traps and the overpriced hotel bars, there's a gap for something genuinely creative.

Groov Gastrobar in Rawai is filling it.

Cocktails Built for This Climate

The bar program at Groov starts with a simple premise: this is Phuket, and that should mean something in the glass. Tropical fruits aren't a garnish here — they're a foundation. Lemongrass, fresh lime, tamarind, mango, coconut — all of it makes appearances in a menu that tastes unmistakably like the island it was created on.

Layer that with premium international spirits, house-made infusions, and fresh herbs, and you get cocktails that hold up to serious scrutiny. These aren't drinks that hide behind sweetness or novelty. They're balanced, intentional, and refreshing in a way that makes sense in tropical heat.

Built to Pair

One of Groov's smartest design decisions was building the cocktail menu in conversation with the food. The result is a bar program where every drink has a natural food pairing — and where sitting down to a Rib Eye or a Picanha and asking the bar team for a recommendation yields genuinely interesting answers.

The negroni variations and spirit-forward options pair well with the heavier grill dishes. Lighter, citrus-driven cocktails work beautifully with the seafood and vegetable-forward starters. It's the kind of coherence that happens when a kitchen and a bar team actually talk to each other.

Classics, Done Right

Alongside the signature creations, Groov's menu includes reworked classics — Margaritas, Old Fashioneds, Spritzes — that have been adjusted for the Groov context rather than just reproduced from a recipe book. Small ingredient changes, local substitutions, seasonal adjustments. The classics are familiar enough to order on instinct but interesting enough to pay attention to.

The Bar as a Destination

You don't have to be eating to come to Groov for drinks. The bar area is its own environment — active, social, well-lit in the right way — and the team behind it is hospitable without being performative. If you're in Rawai and looking for somewhere to have two or three excellent drinks before heading somewhere else (or just staying), the Groov bar delivers.

Open daily from 6 PM to 1 AM. The DJ sets from 8 PM add a dimension to the bar experience that's hard to replicate anywhere else in the south.

📍 39/123 Soi Raengkla 1, Rawai, Phuket | 📞 +66 98-686-3787