Pattaya Bars
The busy bars scene is Pattaya is a colourful melting pot of tastes and styles, and with more than six hundred known establishments to choose from, you’re sure to find something to suit your mood. The open air, hostess filled ‘bar-beers’ make up the majority of drinking spots, and plenty of go-go bars have made a name for themselves also. Whatever your tastes and morals there is something for everyone here. There is also a thriving gay and lesbian scene boasting a large concentration of bars and clubs in Pattaya.
List of recommended bars
Pattaya bars are an ideal place to let your hair down and drink the night away. The main bar areas are all easily linked by songthaew routes, but most of the time your destination will be near enough to walk to. The neon illuminated Walking Street is as good a place as any to start the night off, with a host of bars offering reasonable happy hour prices throughout the day and until mid-evening.
For more bars in Pattaya the nearby Pattayaland ‘ups the ante’ somewhat with a choice of go-go bars (both straight and gay) filled usually with scantily-clad females dancing in lacklustre fashion to a pounding bass line that tends to be a conversation spoiler. Along the Beach Road there are lots of outdoor ‘bar-beers’ which offer cheap beer, similar chat, and not a great deal else, There are also wine bars, a German brew house playing nightly live music, and a selection of bars doubling up as restaurants.
At the north end of the Beach Road, sois 6, 7 and 8 are very popular ex-pat hangouts. More bar-girl laden open-air venues get boisterous in a friendly way as the night progresses, situated in the vicinity of some of the town’s best English and Irish Pubs. Pattaya 2 Road serves up more of the same as does the Jomtiem area a little up the coast.
While government restrictions have made an impact on the former 24-hour drinking scene in Pattaya bars, the effect hasn’t be quite as severe from the new 1am closing time. A lot of bars in Pattaya either pay the police, or simply do what they please, so you can be guaranteed a late night drink somewhere. Nightclubs tend to stay open a bit later and there’s usually something going on which completely disregards the law and stays open all night.
Many of the bars in Pattaya are run by ex-pats, and offer a wide range of themes, bar food and facilities, including pool tables, sports TVs, music videos and live music.
Whether you fancy a bottle of champagne on the cliff overlooking the sea at Jomtiem, or a bottle of Chang beer in a go-go bar overlooking a pole-dancing routine in Pattayaland, there will always be someone on hand to fill your glass or replace your empty bottle.
Below is a list of recommended Pattaya bars:
Queen Victoria Inn: authentic traditional English pub, with excellent international menu and a good selection of imported beers on tap. Live music and carvery on Sundays. 437/137-8 Soi Yodsak (Soi 6), Pattaya, Chonburi 20260, Tel: 038 425 418, 38 362 523, Mobile: 086 060 6210, Fax: 038 424 941
Bamboo Bar: live music plays nightly in this busy bar and streetside lounge. Reasonably priced drinks. Near the seafront on South Pattaya Road. 410/35 Thappraya Road (near Jomtien Beach), Tel: 038 232 315, Fax: 038 232 315, Email: bamboopattaya@hotmail.com
Hard Rock Café: DJ and house band spin discs and cover tracks in this popular international franchise bar with large cocktail menu. 429 Moo 9, Pattaya Beach Road, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi 20150, Tel: 038 428 755, Fax: 038 421 673, Open: Mon-Sun 11.00 to 02.00.
Hopf Brew House: popular German beer hall hosting live music and fresh ale and a lively atmosphere. 219 Moo 10, Soi Yamato (Soi 17), Beach Road, Pattaya, Tel: 038 429 008.
Pig and Whistle: often packed English local with sports, quiz nights and a damn fine breakfast. 217/34 Moo10, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Tel: 038 361 315, Fax: 038 361 272, Email: contact@pigandwhistlepattaya.com, info@pigandwhistlepattaya.com, open: 8.30 to 24.00.
Shamrock: fun and lively British-run ‘family’ bar, an oasis of sanity among the girlie bars of Pattayaland, South Pattaya, tel: +66 (0) 38 425 417. Email: pattayashamrock@yahoo.com
Kum Pun: Thai country-and-western-style bar with nightly live music of the Thai folk, and soft rock variety. 380/5 Soi 2, Pattaya 2nd Road, Central Pattaya, Tel: 038 424 673
Mojo Club: relaxing jazz club where you can sing your blues away with the talented musicians. Jomtiem Complex Condotel, off Thanon Thep Prasit, Pattaya.
Green Bottle: cosy, well-run pub with a good reputation and central location. 216/3 M.10, 2nd Road, Pattaya, Tel: 038 429 870, Fax: 038 424 566, Email: dianagrp@loxinfo.co.th, open: daily 11.00 to 02.00.
Girlie - Beer Bars
These are the sorts of bars most punters come for in Pattaya. Known locally as ‘beer bars’ they are where you’ll find plenty of lovely ladies waiting to drink, play pool, have fun and ultimately go home with you. There is a specific protocol to these, ladies usually outnumber the men, if you don’t sit down with one of them, eventually one will approach you. You get to buy them overpriced ‘lady drinks’, and get to know them, but it all leads to the; ‘you go with me? How much you pay” question. However, the atmosphere is pretty informal and easy going and you’re under no pressure. Just relax and enjoy yourself, you can move on to another bar if you wish. More on Pattaya bar girls.
These bars are all clustered together along a series of sois (lanes) that lead off Beach road, divided into three sections; Walking Street (at the southern end, very touristy), middle section (most convenient and strictly punters), and The Northern end (quieter, more discreet, insterspersed with regular bars).
See our comprehensive list and details on beer bars and go go venues.
