Ad: On the beach road in Phuket, very close to 3 Spices. Tel: 076-34 0138.
This is a wicked little nightspot located on the beach road at Patong Beach. The whole place feels kind of like an oversized train carriage, but it’s totally chic and very cool, with pictures of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara on the wall.
Salsa is the order of the night. The house band is great and keeps the music flowing while patrons are encouraged to strut their stuff on the dance floor. If you’re shy, you can just kick back with a cocktail and watch the rabble pass by outside. Even the waitresses get involved with the dancing.
Cocktails are about 200 baht each and are well made. La Salsa is a great place for a night out in Patong. They also serve food in the form of tapas. La Salsa is located just up the road from 3 Spices, which is actually run by the same guy behind La Salsa.
Ad: Kata Beach, located on the corner of the new road with the Dome Resort. Tel: 084-8382685. Web: www.tapasandwinephuket.com
Tapas and Wine is a wine bar in Phuket that offers, well, tapas and wine. There aren’t a whole lot of wine bars in Phuket, certainly not in Kata, but this one really suffers through its location. There are noisy bars nearby and motorbikes blazing back and forth all night. This would be one of the best bars in Kata if it had a little bit more character.
Tapas and Wine is a small Phuket wine bar spread over one room with one side opening out onto the road. The open-air approach would have been better next to the sea or somewhere quiet. If you can overlook the iffy location, the wine list is small, but reasonable, with a concise selection of bottles going for about 1,000 baht or so. Nothing on the menu really stands out, but you should be able to find a palatable tipple to suit your taste.
The tapas menu has a variety of dishes for 100 to 150 baht. The nachos, however, are decidedly average. Not a bad wine bar in Phuket, but it somehow lacks that real edge.
Ad: The beach road, Patong, next to McDonalds. Tel: 076-292771. Web: www.mollymalonesphuket.com
Yet another Irish bar in Patong. Molly Malone’s is possibly Patong’s most famous Irish bar. It’s been open for close to 10 years and being located on the beach road, it attracts a sizebale crowd of partygoers every night.
We really don’t spend too much time in Irish bars in Patong because they feel a bit out of place, but if you must succumb to pints and pub food, you may as well do it here or at Scruffy Murphy’s.
Patong nightlife is full of small, tired bars and large behemoths such as Molly Malone’s. The food is decent, but expensive, although the portions are famously enormous. This Patong pub stays open until about 2 am every night. Being right on the beach road, Molly Malone’s is close to a bunch of Patong’s other bars and clubs, such as Rock City and Club Lime, which are just around the corner.
Soi Bangla is one of those places that you will either love or hate. It’s the cornerstone of nightlife in Patong and it’s not likely to change in the near future. There has been some talk of Patong becoming more of a destination for families, but with the bars and clubs at Soi Bangla still touting cheap sex, we’re unsure how true this claim is. There are less go-go bars along Bangla than in places such as Pattaya and Patong. What you’ll find are more beer bars and street walkers.
On the up side, if you want the chance to meet random sexy Thai girls, Soi Bangla is an easy place to do it. Just don’t forget that most people around Soi Bangla want your money.
A typical example of this are the games the bar girls of Soi Bangla play with customers. Chances are you’ll be hustled at Connect 4 or that weird game of hitting a nail into a tree trunk with the wrong side of a hammer. Bar girls know how to get free drinks, so bear that in mind.
If you simply must sample the delight of Patong’s beer bars, you need only stroll around Soi Bangla to find some of them. Soi Bangla has several of its own little sois, each filled with bars and discos. The atmosphere is pretty hectic and the crowd an odd mixture of people.
We don’t usually venture up these sois much, but for the benefit of those who might, here’s a run down.
Soi Easy is not an open-air soi, but it is one of the most boring areas in all of Patong. This soi isn’t far from the beach road and is where the Aussie Bar is located. There are a bunch of other nightspots here, too. Nothing to write home about.
Soi Gonzo is generally considered a step up from Soi Easy, but that isn’t saying much. There are a few bars and some places to nab cheap booze, otherwise, the main draw of the soi is that its less crowded than some of the other areas.
Perhaps the most busy part of Soi Bangla is Soi Crocodile, which usually finds itself packed with people every night. In this soi you can experience the delights of having your photo taken with ladyboys, who pretty much have the run of the soi. It’s primitive entertainment at its worst and it’s incredibly popular.
Probably the second-busiest soi is the oddly named Soi Eric. We don’t know who Eric is, or was, but his ideas for Patong nightlife haven’t exactly set the world on fire. Lots of bars and places to wax your loose change. A DJ plays the music for the whole soi and keeps the sounds blaring.
Soi Tiger is more of the same off Bangla. There are numerous beer bars, many full of sexy Thai girls ready to go one-on-one at Connect 4. Soi Tiger is usually one of the busier Bangla sois. Soi Tiger is, of course, home to Tiger nightclub.
Known as a haven of Soi Bangla bar scene, Soi Seadragon is the place to be if you want to get up close and personal with bar girls in Patong. There are rows of bars all around. This is a large, popular soi.
Soi Sukhumvit Road off Rat-U-Thit Road at the end of Soi Bangla is another fairly dull place that lacks any of the real buzz of some of the other sois. They do have pool tables though.
Ad: Kata Road, Kata Beach, next to Kata night bazaar
Zanzibar is located in one of the busiest areas in Kata. Kata nightclubs aren’t exactly renowned as being the most interesting places for nights out, but Zanzibar is all right and it does its job.
Zanzibar has a lounge, a disco bar, some pool tables and the obligatory large TVs for people to watch sports on. Zanzibar is predominantly aimed at tourists, so while it has a dance floor, there are better place to go clubbing in Phuket. If you’re in Kata, though, your clubbing choices are really limited.
Check out Zanzibar for cheap drinks and good times.
This bar in Phuket City is something of an institution. Recently renovated, they have everything you could possibly want from a bar in Phuket City, including a pool table, draught beer, cocktails and a mediocre wine list.
They have a happy hour every day from 4 pm to 8 pm, during which time all beers are 60 baht. This is also a bar in Phuket City that offers free Wi-Fi Internet, a rarity in Phuket.
They show sports on large TVs and have some pretty waitresses to ogle at if that’s your thing. It’s a popular pub in Phuket City with tourists as it appears in pretty much every guidebook under the sun. It’s not the most exciting place for a night out in Phuket City, but it’s cheap, cheerful and popular.
Karma Lounge is a real hub of live music in Phuket. There aren’t many bars in Karon with as infamous a history as Karma Lounge. We’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say that the place is well known. Don’t let that put you off, though, because the owner and his crew are some of the friendliest people you could ever wish to meet on a night out in Phuket. The place has its haters.
The live music ranges from rock and blues to jazz and soul. The musicians are a mix of expats and locals who all come together for the love of jamming. Karma Lounge comes highly recommended. There’s no attitude in the place and it stays open as late as it can.
As the night wears on, the owner usually blasts out some trance music for the benefit of the remaining punters. This is a great place to meet some of the cooler expats on the island.
Ad: Soi Eric, Bangla Road, Patong. Web: www.letsgobar.com
Cheap drinks, a big TV to watch sports on and, yes, more sexy Thai girls doing their thing. Welcome to yet another of Patong’s charming beer bars. We have to admit that the girls are pretty, but this isn’t the most exciting place to spend an evening clubbing in Phuket.
That being said, they are a friendly bunch down at the Let’s Go Beer Bar and they do serve food if you start feeling hungry. Bars in Patong like this one are 10 a penny, so don’t go expecting any life-changing experiences. Pull up a chair, order your beer and drink until the novelty wears off. There are far better places to party in Phuket.
Ad: 516/20 Patak Road, Karon Beach. Web: www.otools-phuket.com
O’Tools is an Irish pub located at Karon beach. As Irish pubs in Phuket go, this one is about standard. They have a cocktail menu with a range of drinks all under 200 baht and they serve three types of cider, which is a great thing for all Brits visiting Phuket.
In terms of cheap beer, expect to pay under 100 baht for a bottle of Singha, Chang or Tiger. They claim to have one of the best selections of draught and bottled beers of any pub or bar in Phuket. Who knows, they might be right.
They show sports on massive TVs and you can also order food throughout the day. Irish pubs in Phuket don’t exactly get us excited any more, but if you want some home comforts and to meet some friendly faces, this is a decent place for it.
There’s also an O’Tool’s at Kata Beach next to the Centara Kata Resort with more of the same.
Perhaps the best draw of the O’Tools pubs is the live music on Monday and Wednesday in Karon and on Tuesday in Kata. Those nights have been picking up steam for the past two years and remain a firm favourite with the island’s music fans.
Ad: Soi Crocodile, Bangla Road, Patong. Web: www.dingosbar.com
NOTE: Quick note to all Phuket clubbers that dclub is currently closed for renovations and is due to reopen September 2009, so keep a look out for that. In the meantime, the agogo on the third floor of the dclub building is alive and well. The Body Nude Club (www.bodynudeclub.com) is billed as Patong’s only gentleman’s club, so check it out if that sounds like your cup of tea. Anyway, back to dclub…
Located up the stairs from Dingo’s Bar, dclub is a reasonable club in Patong where people go to drink cheap beers and dance until the sun comes up. Located on Soi Bangla, this Patong club isn’t exactly family friendly, but if you want to meet bar girls and party with them, this is as good a place any to do it.
They have coyote dancing shows, which means that you can watch almost-naked girls gyrating about on a stage to obscure techno music. Every now and then they have live bands at dclub.
dclub is far from the mellowest disco in Phuket, but if you want to people watch, this place may warrant your attention.
Patong is full of clubs such as this one. If you know that you’re going to be appalled by the sight of naked Thai girls then don’t bother going. It is what it is and has been for a long time.
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Phuket Vogue is a resource dedicated to bringing you up-to-date information about restaurants and nightlife in Phuket. This website is constantly expanding to bring you the most vogue clubs and eateries on the island. Whether you want to party in Patong or dine out in Phuket City, we have the info for you. We love Phuket. Privacy policy
