Wine in Pai · 35/1 Pai Walking Street
Wine in Pai: a supermarket bottle, or a glass at the bar?
Tops Daily is now open in Pai — the town's first supermarket-brand store, with a proper wine shelf. Good news for anyone who wants a bottle to take back to the villa. It also makes the question clearer: when is a supermarket bottle the right call, and when is a measured glass at a wine bar the better evening? Here is the honest version from the bar on the walking street.
Buying a bottle in Pai today
Right now the minimarts in town carry a short wine shelf, and Tops Daily Pai now adds a proper supermarket wine shelf to town. By Thai law (as of 2026) shops may sell alcohol only from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to midnight, and not on major Buddhist holidays or election days. Plan the picnic bottle around those hours.
When the supermarket is the better choice
A bottle for the garden villa, a sundowner at the rice fields, something to carry home, a group that wants to pour its own: that is what a supermarket is for, and we would never pretend a bar replaces it. Vermut Café is a bar, not a shop.
When a glass at Vermut Café is the better evening
Around 60 wines and every one of them is poured by the glass — 120 ml, to a brass line on the carafe, at your table. You can taste a Chilean Carménère next to a Loire white without buying either bottle, ask the counter what goes with what you brought in from the market stalls (street food is welcome at the table, one drink per person), and walk home along the walking street. Opening a bottle you have never tried is a bet; a measured glass is a tasting.
Side by side
Supermarket: a bottle to take away, during legal shop hours, you choose from the label. Vermut Café: by the glass or by the bottle at the table, 17:00 to midnight every day, a list chosen by tasting, cocktails, small plates, live music on selected evenings, two floors and a balcony over the street. Different jobs, both useful — most guests use both in one trip.
Where to stay so the walk home is the easy part
The Arch Casa is three minutes on foot from the door. BestHotelPai lists it with five other stays in town, booked direct with the owners — including garden villas with a kitchen, which is where the supermarket bottle belongs.
Wine in Pai — questions
Is there a Tops Daily in Pai?
Yes — Tops Daily Pai is the town's supermarket-brand store. Check opening hours on the door; Thai law allows alcohol sales 11:00–14:00 and 17:00–24:00.
Where can I buy a bottle of wine in Pai right now?
The minimarts in town carry a short wine shelf, within Thai legal sale hours (11:00–14:00 and 17:00–24:00; no sales on major Buddhist holidays or election days). Tops Daily Pai has the supermarket wine shelf.
Does Vermut Café sell wine by the glass?
Yes — around 60 wines, all available by the glass, poured to a marked 120 ml line at your table. Full bottles are on the list too.
Can I bring street food to Vermut Café?
Yes. Food from the Walking Street stalls is welcome at the table, one drink per person.
What are the hours at Vermut Café?
Every day 17:00 to midnight, last orders 23:30, walk-in only.
Where is Vermut Café?
35/1 Walking Street, Wiang Tai, Pai, Mae Hong Son 58130 — in the middle of Pai Walking Street, a two-minute walk from the bus station.
Find us
Vermut Café Wine & Cocktail
35/1 Walking Street, Wiang Tai, Pai, Mae Hong Son 58130
Call 097 153 6565 ·