Pattaya Beer Bars

It’s been said many times, Pattaya, Thailand is the party capital of the world. There are more entertainment venues packed into this small city than anywhere else on Earth. There are literally thousands of go-go bars, massage parlors, discos, hostess bars, coyote bars, short time bars, karaoke bars, brothels, pubs, sports bars, and hang outs. It boggles the mind. But the most prolific of all of the Pattaya entertainment venues is the famed Pattaya Beer Bar.

I honestly don’t think it’s possible to count the actual number of Pattaya Beer Bars. They’re everywhere. There is not a single block or street in Pattaya that doesn’t have at least one beer bar. In fact, most streets in Pattaya have dozens of beer bars, not just one.

The history of Pattaya beer bars goes back to the 1960’s and the Viet Nam war era. The US Air Force was flying planes in and out of U Tapao RTAFB airfield located just about 20 minutes from Pattaya. The very first pilots stationed at U Tapao started coming into town during leave. At first, there wasn't much for them to do.

In those early days, there were really only a couple of establishments that could be characterized as beer bars. The one that’s most remembered by Viet Nam Vets was called Barbo’s. I think it can safely be said that Barbo’s was the original Pattaya beer bar.

It was located at what is now the intersection of Walking Street and South Pattaya Road and was run by an ex-pat from Greece. Barbo’s served up plenty of cold beer in those days, along with pretty good food. Barbo’s also offered music and dancing.

In those very early days, Barbo’s had no bar girls. The fly boys would have to go all the way up to Bangkok to invite the girls down to Pattaya. That arrangement, of course, didn’t last long. Once word spread among the working girls in Bangkok, the girls poured into Pattaya as fast as the boys.

Eventually, the U.S. military began to regularly use Pattaya as the main R & R destination for troops on temporary leave from the war. That brought in a whole flood of soldiers, sailors, and pilots and the rest is history, as they say.

Many thanks to Steve Lott who provided the photo of Barbos which is featured below. Steve was stationed at U Tapao in 1968 when he took this photo. At the time of the picture Steve was an Electronic Warfare Repairman. Steve and his buddies were the pioneers of the Pattaya Beer Bar scene.

Today, beer bars in Pattaya come in all shapes and sizes. Typically, a Pattaya beer bar is an open-air location where they serve beer and other alcoholic beverages. When I say open air, I mean that the bar area will be open to the street. There may only be three walls. There may only be one or two walls. There may be no walls at all. They will always be covered by a roof.

Some of the Pattaya beer bars are housed in large beer bar complexes. There will be one huge roof area that contains a number of small independent beer bars housed underneath this common roof. In this type of set up, the actual bar is typically a small horseshoe shaped affair surrounded by stools.

Besides the horseshoe shaped bar with its stools, most Pattaya beer bars will also have some lounge chairs set up away from the main bar where customers can relax and watch the world pass by on the street. Usually, these lounge chairs will be made of rattan and will have a comfortable cushion to sit on. More often than not, they will face the street.

When I go into a Pattaya beer bar, I like to sit in these rattan chairs. I’m a people-watcher and I can sip beer and watch the parade go by on the street for hours. Sometimes the cushioned seats are more like small couches where two people can sit. This makes it nice for chatting with the Pattaya Girls that work there.

Some Pattaya beer bars also have small entertainment areas within the bar. This can be as simple as a small raised platform with a brass pole where the bar girls can dance. Many of the beer bars scattered around Pattaya have large screen televisions where sporting events are shown.

Pool tables are also a popular form of entertainment that can be found in almost every beer bar and many of the bar girls are quite good at the game.

A good number of Pattaya beer bars have a small entertainment stage set up where they actually put on choreographed stage performances. They may have a magician or a singing transvestite. A lot of them feature dancing girls in elaborate costumes. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t like a major Las Vegas review, most of these beer bar stages are no more than a raised 10 ft x 10 ft wooden platform. Many are even smaller. Nevertheless, the shows are entertaining.

The Siren Beer Bar complex (formerly The Pier) actually has a Muay Thai boxing ring set up in the center where matches are fought every night. After each match the winner will circulate throughout the complex to collect tips from customers.

There is one form of entertainment, however, that can be found in each and every beer bar no matter where it’s located. That one indispensable mainstay of Pattaya beer bar entertainment is, of course, the bar girl. If you think there are a lot of Pattaya beer bars, just imagine the number of Pattaya bar girls. Some estimates put the number as high as 20,000. The bar girls are there to entertain and to be entertained. Most beer bars employ 20 to 30 girls. They serve the drinks, make conversation, dance, and will even go home with you as long as you're willing to pay.

Frog Bar

The Frog Bar is located right on Walking Street, Pattaya's main entertainment area. It's very "upscale" as far as beer bars go in Pattaya. I like this beer bar for one reason, they have the best go go dancer in all of Patttya. She actually knows how to dance. This Pattaya beer bar is situated in the New Simon Complex with a bunch of other similar bars. The Frog Bar is the most popular within this complex and always draws a good crowd on almost any night of the week. People will stand out front on Walking Street just to watch the dancer.

Whenever I'm visiting Walking Street, I'll stop in for a quick beer and watch a couple of dances before heading off to the Go-Go's.

The only drawback to this beer bar is that it's very expensive relative to other beer bars in town. They charge 90 baht for a bottle of beer (that's almost $3 US). The same beer at other Pattaya beer bars would only cost 50 - 60 baht.

We-Are-The-World Beer Bar

This Pattaya Beer Bar is on my favorites list because they have the best Happy Hour prices in all of Pattaya. Simply put, it's the cheapest place in town to have a drink. You can get a shot of Thai Whisky for only 25 baht (78 cents US). Draft beer as well as bottled beer is only 45 baht.

Every night they have a group of Thai musicians that perform Western Music on a small stage set up in the front of the bar. The place is always packed with local expats who are there for the cheap drinks.

We-Are-The-World Bar is located on Beach Road between Soi 7 and Soi 8. I like to stop in for a cold beer after a long stroll up the Beach Road promenade all the way from Walking Street.

Rosco's Good Everything Beer Bar

Whenever you spot a bunch of ballons hanging in front of a Pattaya beer bar, you know there's a party happening. I like Rosco's Good Everything Beer Bar because they throw the best parties with the most free food.

Rosco's will ususally have an entire whole pig roasting on a spit during the parties. They also have a huge spread of food featuring such items as spring rolls, chicken wings, Western style sandwiches, fried rice, several Thai dishes, Thai soups, fruits, and vegetables. All this food is free to partygoers. You can join the party and get stuffed.

Their parties will also feature several entertainers and musical acts. Once I saw a Michael Jackson impersonator that performed magic tricks at Rosco's. People will be dancing out front and I've also seen patrons swinging on the brass poles. On party nights this place really rocks.

Rosco's Good Everything Beer Bar is located on Pattaya 2 Road at the corner of Soi 10 in a complex with a few other beer bars. Rosco's is the largest beer bar in the complex and takes up two horseshoes.