Beer Bars in Pattaya

They are loud, cheap, in your face but often lots of fun. Pattaya's beer bars are legendary! Some are found in enclosed shop-houses, but most come jam-packed together inside tatty open-plan sheds, each comprising little more than a few stools and raised speakers assembled around a central bar.

Beer bars have long been the ‘face’ of Pattaya, and many visitors come here just to get a taste of them, while many more end up life-long ‘addicts’. Brightly lit with pink neon, the ubiquitous beer bars, for better or for worse, offer a true taste of Pattaya nightlife.

What’s a Beer Bar?

There are hundreds scattered around town, with many opening from around midday onwards and serving beers (during happy hours especially) for around the 50 baht mark. Each 'establishment’ employs numerous hostesses to lure you in, serve you drinks and flirt with you. Be warned, their mission is to (1) make you feel a 'handsome man', and (2) to get you hooked to the point of no return. Can you guess what (3) is? If the conversation is a little stilted, and their seductive strokes don't smooth things along, they'll try connecting with you on another level: with a game of Connect 4 to be precise, or, failing that, Jenga. As with go-go girls, for a fee you can relieve a girl of her duties, after which you both settle on a price and place. If you have no intention of picking up, most will happily just chat with you, but you'll be expected to drink more than water and to offer them a drink.

Where to Go

You’ll find them all over Pattaya, but the densest concentrations are to be found in and around Walking Street, lower Beach Road, at various points on Second Road (around Soi 2 and 3, between Soi 7-13), and Sois 6, 7 and 8. Those in Central and North Pattaya Beach are mellower than in South Pattaya. Many commence dispensing their irritating-to-some, irresistible-to-others mix of cheap beers, frenetic Issan (Northeastern) music and shouts of “Hey handsome” long before midday, though many of the girls don't look so good in daylight. In addition to beer bars, Soi 6 (also known as Soi Yodsak) is also renowned for its many 'short-time' bars (we don't need to spell it out do we?).

Been There, Done That?

Needless to say, Pattaya Beer Bars are not for the faint hearted, and definitely not the place to bring family or kids. But they’re ideal to find cheap beer, pick up chatty girls willing to do more than you think (as long as you foot the bill), or strike up a conversation with fellow countrymen drowning in their own fantasies. Or just come to get a taste of it, so that you can happily tick the ‘been there, done that’ box and store it away in your memory forever.