Soi 22

[thailien8]

As a farang, if you want to be well and truly ignored, try wandering around the red-light districts in some Japanese cities--Sapporo, Beppu and Fukuoka especially spring to my mind.

[Khun004]

[color:purple]

This part of town (Sois 18 - 24)has become my "Home away from home" over the past year. Everything that you could possibly want or need can be found here and no hassles....I love it.

[/color]

So do I.

I went over to Soi 22 again last night.

One of my favorite places for Thai massage is there.

 

After two hours of getting kneaded and stretched, I headed to Larry's Bar & Grill for a plate of tacos.

Larry's is one of the few places in Bangkok offering Mexican food.

The tacos are the second best I've found here so far.

 

Those who already know Larry's, will be pleased to know that the remodeling is over, the construction dust has been cleaned out, and everything is back to normal, albeit with a somewhat smaller main room.

 

For those who don't know about Larry's Bar & Grill let me offer this recommendation:

It is a casual, relaxed, local pub/tap/tavern.

If it was in your neighborhood back home, you might be going there a lot:

to eat,

to drink,

to meet friends,

to make friends,

to watch the game,

to talk about the game.

 

One reason the atmosphere is relaxed is because Larry's it is not a bar-fine bar, so customers are never pestered for lady's drinks.

(Two other such bars in the same neighborhood are D'Pelican and Bourbon Street.)

 

Larry's traditional name is "Larry's Dive", because they used to offer scuba diving tours and have a dive equipment shop.

The beach theme is still there, but the diving office is now gone, and the atmosphere seems to have "grown up" with the remodeling.

 

Larry's was possibly the first in Soi 22 to offer free Wi-Fi, and that's still available.

The music tends to be moderately loud, but when I asked for less volume so I could talk with friends, that was done with a smile.

 

Larry's menu offers Mexican food, a wide variety of hamburgers, BBQ ribs, breakfast, and other home-style food.

Take-away girls are not on Larry's menu, but there are plenty on offer at many other bars nearby.

 

Here's the web site: http://www.larrysdive.com/index.php

 

If you are out having a look at Soi 22, Larry's is worth a look in.

[uniformity]

Do you mind if I ask what connection you have to Larrys after such a glowing report......?????

 

As my partner has recently opened a bar on this Soi I have done a lot of 'research' on Soi 22 to see what our competition was like. Larrys was one of the worst places we visited on the Soi. The food was awful, the service was very slow and the whole place was a mess... I drive past this place every night and it is usually empty, at 11.30 last night there was one solitary guy sitting watching the football.

 

A further sign that this place is not doing well is that they have very recently sold off a portion of the bar for a .......yet another tailor shop!!!! as if Bangkok needed another one of these.

 

Please accept this is not an attempt to put people off visiting a bar on the same Soi as my partner's place, the two bars are totally different, as Aloha is a hostess bar and not a restaurant. But when I see a report about a place like this that I totally disagree with I just have to respond, as you must have some connection to this establishment.

[Khun004]

Do you mind if I ask what connection you have to Larrys after such a glowing report? ...[snip]... But when I see a report about a place like this that I totally disagree with I just have to respond, as you must have some connection to this establishment.

Uniformity -

 

First, thank you for the polite way you presented your opinion.

 

That certainly is a fair question, and deserves a complete answer, so I will go into some detail.

 

I have no connection whatsoever with Larry's Bar, other than being a paying customer.

They have never "comped" me with anything free there.

 

In the past year, I have been in to Larry's perhaps 5 times.

In the previous year, perhaps another 20 times.

(I moved away from that area, but still go back often.)

 

I only go in on weekday evenings, because I don't care for the rowdy crowd that frequents sports bars -- such as Larry's -- on weekends.

On weekday evenings, the bar is very quiet -- usually only a handful of customers at most.

 

Do I have complaints about Larry's?

Sure: the loud music.

Overly loud music is a consistent distraction at Larry's, and it keeps me from going there more often.

But most bar customers like/expect loud music so that's not likely to change for my benefit.

 

The new/current manager of Larry's, on noticing me for the first time, came over, introduced himself, and we chatted for a few minutes.

And I've chatted with him a few other times since.

He always has a pleasant welcome for me, but that's it: no other connection.

The new manager did say that he is new to Bangkok (but with many years elsewhere in Thailand), and he wondered how to attract more customers.

I suggested he become active on some Internet forums, and I gave him a list of forum names, including Thai360.com.

What he will do with that suggestion, I have no idea.

 

Now, you've mentioned your bar, the remodeled and renamed, Aloha Bar (formerly Sweet Home Bar).

Aloha Bar is also in Sukhumvit Soi 22, directly across the street from Coffee Max and Admiral Suites Hotel.

 

Based on your earlier post here, I did go in there a few weeks ago with friends.

We sat on the comfortable sofa at the back of the room, underneath the karaoke TV.

Our drink order was delivered quickly and with a smile.

The hostess served a generous bowl of nuts/nibbles, which was a nice addition.

 

We only stayed for about 30 minutes.

During that time I noticed only one other customer sitting at the bar.

So I bought a round of ladies drinks for the three girls working there that evening.

 

Prices at Aloha were reasonable, service was good, atmosphere was pleasant enough.

No complaints at all.

So why didn't I write a glowing review about Aloha Bar?

Because there was nothing special, nothing distinctive, nothing to draw me back again, no reason to recommend it to others.

It seems just like many other small bars in Bangkok.

I wonder what makes Aloha Bar worth the long walk down Soi 22 (from the BTS station)?

 

In that same section of Soi 22 -- South of Queen's Park hotel -- there is also New Cowboy Bar (which is no longer new), Cafe 22 Bar, the Scottish 22 Bar, plus a handful of Japanese bars.

On many visits to soi 22, I've never seen many customers in any of those places.

Even now -- high season -- that segment of Soi 22 is rather quiet.

I wish I could be more optimistic and more encouraging for your new bar venture.

If anything changes, I hope you'll post about it here so I, and other readers, can have another look.

 

[kangaroobar]

About soi 22, larry and aloha.

 

I too checked those places as they obviously are competitors.

 

I liked aloha but must say nothing impressed me particularly.

 

About larry, I like it for the wifi and as long as wifi is not put in my bar & BB I will continue to go to larry's dive.

[SingaporeSteve]

I went into Larry's Bar about 6 months ago. Mediocre to average food, everything else was so-so but the toilets were disgusting. That alone would cause me never to return to that place. if you can't look after your toilets, what confidence do you have in the cleanliness in the kitchen?

 

Bourbon Street is way better food and way better standards of hygiene from what I observed.

 

Cheers

SS

[Khun004]

I went into Larry's Bar about 6 months ago. Mediocre to average food, everything else was so-so but the toilets were disgusting.

SingaporeSteve's comment points out the huge difference a few months can make.

Six months ago is when the renovations started and the management changed there.

 

I hate to sound like I'm advertising Larry's, because I'm not, but the place has gone thru a major renovation in the past 6 months, including a new manager with a new approach to the food.

The hamburger has been moved up in quality -- and that was a badly needed improvement.

The Reuben sandwich -- always delicious -- now has more pastrami than before.

The toilets have been moved upstairs, and are now clean, spacious, and bright.

 

Alas, the style of the chips (french fries), at Larry's, has not yet been renovated.

Still the local potatoes (I think), with soggy texture and somewhat sweet.

 

SingaporeSteve mentioned Bourbon Street -- also in the Soi 22 neighborhood.

I can't explain just why, but I rarely go into Bourbon Street any more.

Perhaps it's because all the meat dishes have a lot of pepper.

Even the sauce for eggs Benedict is loaded with pepper.

Perhaps it's because the tacos are miniature size: each taco offers only two bites.

Perhaps because the Mexican buffet -- while ample in quantity -- just doesn't have much Mexican flavour.

Or, perhaps, because I so often see surly American women in there -- and I sure didn't move to Bangkok to endure that spectacle.

 

Yes, I should give Bourbon Street more of a chance.

Must go there soon for another look in.

 

[Weird]

I went there 6 months ago also.

 

Can't say it's the best service I've had.

 

It was only one visit, and to be honest I wasn't inclined to go there again. (Maybe they were having a bad day when I went in).

[Khun004]

Can't say it's the best service I've had.

That's a good point which can be extended to most bars and restaurants in Soi 22.

Soi 22 is relaxed, casual, and, yes, a bit slower on service than you'd find in the up-scale neighborhoods of, say, Langsuan or Sathorn Road.

If someone is looking for "jump-to-it" service, you won't find that in Soi 22.

 

 

[samak]

Larry's Dive is beside some Washington Square Evergreens one of the oldest bar in the Soi!

the bar opened around 8-9 years ago. the concept (best beach in town) was pretty unique and fun, they also had some hot girls as waitors, so the bar was very popular and i went there quite often. then they started to experiment (sand in, sand out), had a lot of changes in management and staff and the bar went downhill.

i have not been inside for 2-3 years now.