I have been coming to Bkk for several years now, and really like the Ari area - great food, nice mix of locals and visitors, etc. But I have not found a good place to just sit and have a drink, maybe a chat, maybe some people watching, or even some farang sports on tv (including rugby). I spend most of my time immersed in Thai culture, but every once in a while I get homesick for a bit of Western culture.

There is a place in the shopping center next to Ari BTS (House of Beers?) but it is the anti-pub - not particularly welcoming, 200 baht for a beer, and not the kind of place to sit and have a drink.

I mention Brits and Aussies ( and I want to include the Scots and Irish, but is there a word for all those from Great Britain and Ireland?). We Yanks are not good at pubs - we call all the beers "craft" beers so we can double the price, put in free wifi so everyone is texting and uploading photos to their Facebook account (I am at a bar!), and maybe even tweeting.

But a bit more serious - does anyone know of a place from Victory Monument up to Ari that might qualify?

Cheers..

People from Great Britain, which includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are British (not Brits, unless, for example, it is acceptable to call Americans "Yanks"). Irish people are Irish, Ireland is not part of Great Britain.

People from Great Britain, which includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are British (not Brits, unless, for example, it is acceptable to call Americans "Yanks"). Irish people are Irish, Ireland is not part of Great Britain.

I know that, that is why I said "Great Britain and Ireland"

Not trying to offend anyone here, just trying to get some info.

Cheers.

The best bar, IMO, in that area is Saxaphone. Not really a traditional British style pub and a bit pricey for beers too (not quite 200B) but good live music (some of the best in Bangkok probably), a great atmosphere, nice mix of locals, expats and tourists. You've probably been there before though I'm guessing if you've been coming to BKK for years.

People from Great Britain, which includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are British (not Brits, unless, for example, it is acceptable to call Americans "Yanks"). Irish people are Irish, Ireland is not part of Great Britain.

Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales. These countries are also part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also the description on the passports. The nationality is British.

The Republic of Ireland, Eire, is not part of the United Kingdom and is not located on the island of Great Britain. The nationality of it's citizens is Irish.

The Raintree Bar at top end of Soi Rangnam, down a soi but forget the name, is a cool local spot. Live Thai folk music and rowdy but friendly locals.

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Would be a great addition. I often stop by at a restaurant, right hand side walking down to Sanam Pao from Ari, Sawassdee I think, where you can sit outside with a reasonably priced beer, Thai folk music inside but it's not a pub.

Like the look of the Raintree and will check it out next time.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Raintree+Pub/@13.759019,100.541247,2a,90y/data=!3m5!1e2!3m3!1s-Lx3vfOCXvRs%2FUjGWyw3PSPI%2FAAAAAAAAAMM%2F3RJAEpLM6S8!2e4!3e12!4m6!1m3!3m2!1s0x0:0x2ad6394ac9342752!2sRaintree+Pub!3m1!1s0x0:0x2ad6394ac9342752!6m1!1e1

The Raintree Bar at top end of Soi Rangnam, down a soi but forget the name, is a cool local spot. Live Thai folk music and rowdy but friendly locals.

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I'll have to try that one day.

The Raintree Bar at top end of Soi Rangnam, down a soi but forget the name, is a cool local spot. Live Thai folk music and rowdy but friendly locals.

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I'll have to try that one day.

Also Mezzanine at the end of Soi Rangnam - away from VM. You can sit outside and count the coaches filled with flocks of Chinese tourists being taken to King Power to be fleeced. Apart from that you can enjoy a nice beer, but probably by yourself because I have never seen the place busy.

The place is always dead and if I remember rightly quite overpriced for a beer compared to the other bars in Soi Rangnam, it's been a while since I've been in.

The only people ever in there are a handful of tourists, it's not a local spot so doesn't have much character really.

Better options on Soi Rangnam include Bangkok Bar, Raintree, Skytrain Jazz Bar (not to be confused with Saxaphone and easily missed as it's on the roof and only reached by going through a dodgy looking door into a rundown stairway next to Eat Am Are Steakhouse), and the bar just to the left of Saxaphone behind the toilets / square / viaduct thing that you could quite easily miss 100x over because it's obscured from the main street (has a Thai name and don't know what it's called)

There was another 2 bars until earlier in the year on Soi Rangam - Water Bar and another next to tesco that was pretty small. Both had live music every night and were OK but they've both closed due to dwindling crowds.