Archive for the ‘Bars’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Narcissus Club – Bangkok

Sunday, February 15th, 2009

112 Suhkumvit 23 Road
Soi 23, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel. +66 (0) 2258 4805
Opening Hours: 7:00pm-2:00am
Website: http://www.narzbangkok.com/
Parking
Pool
Multiple Bars
Food is available
Credit Cards: Yes
Prices: Moderate (Admission fee: 300 baht weekdays includes 2 drinks; 500 baht weekends includes 3 drinks)

Narcissus is a very large club with many different levels from which you are able to look down on the seething masses. It has a state-of-the-art sound system that will literally blow you away!

Photo above: Valentine’s 2009

Narcissus caters to a mainly Thai crowd although it is also popular with foreign expatriates; recognized as one of the top club venues in Bangkok.

The music is usually trance or house, with internationally recognized DJ’s often headlining special events.

Tags:
Posted in Bangkok, Bars | Comments Closed

Q Bar – Bangkok

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Q Bar Bangkok
#34 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel. +(662)252-3274
Fax. +(662)252-5366
www.qbarbangkok.com/

David Jacobson first opened Q Bar in Saigon many years ago and when the government’s interference became too intolerable, he moved the operation to Bangkok.
Q Bar has the most extensive stock of spirits and cocktails in Bangkok. They pour everything from Absinthe to Zubrowka!

They include a full page on their cocktail list of Long Island Iced Teas including variations such as the “Paris Iced Tea” (substituting Chambord for Cola) and the Q Bar original “Bangkok Iced Tea” (substituting Red Bull for Cola).
Q Bar features over 60 different vodkas from around the world, including the wonderfully intriguing Polish vodka Zubrowka (with the buffalo weed in the bottle), stored in their vodka freezer where the spirits are chilled to -19C, they also have 20 different tequilas, and over 30 special whiskeys.
The bar also features one of the largest selections of liquors in any freestanding bar in South East Asia. They pour a large drink, so it unnecessary to order a double, as you must do elsewhere in this part of the world; where they pour you a thimble full, a standard 1.5 oz (45ml) in each standard drink is 50% larger than a normal drink found in Bangkok bars. They even have Absinthe that has just recently been legally approved as safe (see my post: http://restaurant.kitmarshal.site/lucid-absinthe-critics/us-prohibition-of-absinthe-finally-over/ And, if you really don’t give a damn, try an American nightclub favorite the Jello Shot or the newest shot the Ice Shot that will definitely freeze your brain; and if at this point you don’t have a brain anymore, it will freeze whatever else you still have left!
In addition to their stock of Blended, Rye, Irish and Bourbon Whiskeys, whisky lovers will find over 20 fine Single Malt Whiskeys on the shelves ranging from the popular Laphroaig 10-yr.-old to Lagavulin 16-yr.-old, a total of over thirty special whiskeys.

If you are planning to have a fun night on the town in the City of Angels, and what would be holding you back, then, this is the place to head to immediately after dinner!

Tags:,
Posted in Bangkok, Bars | Comments Closed

Baccara Go-Go Bar, Soi Cowboy – Bangkok

Monday, December 22nd, 2008


Soi Cowboy, Sukhumvit 23, Bangkok
Tel. 02 258 4332
Opening Hours: 17:30 to Closing
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderately Expensive

This is Bangkok, afer all, and a great deal of tourists from all over the world travel here to check out the nightlife, in addition to the delicious and varied selection of cuisines available in Krung Thep.

Baccara is probably the best Go-Go Bar on Soi Cowboy (the entertainment area located between Sukhumvit Soi Asoke and Soi 23) flaunting a double decked dance floor with the upper floor constructed from glass so customers on the bottom level have a view of the girls on the top level who are dressed in school uniforms sans knickers and very often the uniforms suddenly disappear. Girls in bikinis dance to the music on the bottom floor and there is also a Terrace Bar, which opens from 17:30 daily, directly in front of the Baccara where smoking is allowed.
The bar stocks a selection of Belgian, German and Japanese beers in addition to the local Thai choices. You may order a bottle of whiskey, or any other spirit and receive unlimited soft drinks and ice with your bottle order. Espresso coffee is also available.

Tags:,
Posted in Bangkok, Bars | Comments Closed

Hollywood’s Nightclub Scene is Booming! – Los Angeles

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

In the past, as far as nightlife was concerned, downtown Hollywood was a wasteland of bawdy tattoo parlors, neon-lit liquor stores, and dirty sidewalks and save for
Les Deux
1638 North Las Palmas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323-462-7644
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive

Owners Mike Malin, Lonnie Moore and Sylvain Bitton have transformed this restaurant/club, which was one of the first on the scene many years ago when there was virtually nothing. L.A.’s hottest restaurant of the ’90s has had a soft reopen in 2006, the Parisian-style main room still features familiar peach-tinted mirrors and curvy-black architecture accented by Louis XVI candelabras. An added Ultra Lounge offers a dimly lit bar area with overhead projection of foreign films and vintage fashion shows to DJ-spun house music. The patio is still the best place to see and be seen
Presently, there are almost too many clubs that have opened in Hollywood, starting with The Highlands Hollywood, which really never caught on with the club scene set, although it opened the doors for what was to come, namely the
Kress
6608 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 785-5000
Website: www.thekress.net
Opening Hours: Tue-Sat. 5:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Smoking: Outdoor Area/Patio Only
Prices: Expensive

A 38000 sq. ft. multi-floor entertainment center, located in the former quarters of Frederick’s of Hollywood, including a basement nightclub. It was developed by Mike Viscuso—who was at least partly responsible for the renovation of the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego.

Avalon
1735 Vine St
Hollywood, CA 90028
Phone: (323) 462-8900
Opening Hours: Show times vary
Pros: Music, Crowd, Service, venue
Cons: Strict bouncers, 18+ nights
Parking: Pay lot
Live Music: Yes
Credit Cards: Visa, MC
Music Types: Alternative Rock,  Rock & Pop, Hip-Hop & Rap, Techno & Industrial, Funk, Soul & R&B

It first opened in 1927, this classic Hollywood art deco landmark and former Palace location has played host to almost every entertainer. Extensive renovations and posh additions have brought the art deco landmark into the 21st century–think minimalist, modern decor; an outdoor smoking lounge with its own bar; an entirely new upper lounge built over the existing balcony; reserved seating; and a private club-within-a-club called the Spider. The impresarios behind the venture are a pair of ex-East Coasters with a string of successes, including the Limelight and Tunnel in New York, and Axis and Embassy in Boston.
Entrance to the Spider Club is handled separately from the Avalon. You must be on the guest list. The line forms just north of the main entrance, near the alleyway.
DJ Mr.White spins good selections. Service is very good, the bottle girls are pleasant. A 33000 sq. ft. club that holds rock shows on weekdays and electronic extravaganzas during the weekends has been open since 2003 and now with the recent opening of its exclusive lounge and Bar BARDOT atop the Avalon, they are expecting to attract an elite crowd who will enter through a separate entrance.

Bar Delux
1624 Caheunga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Tel. 323-461-6800
Restaurant / Bar
Music: Pop / Top 40
Cross Streets: Selma Ave.
Dinner served
Dress Code: Casual Chic
Alcohol: Full Bar
Smoking: Outdoors Only
Bar Style: Whiskey, Lounge, and Martini
Audience admittance: 21+
Atmosphere: Upscale
Prices: Expensive
Credit Cards: All Major

This is the latest venture from Adolpho Suaya and designer Kristofer Keith (Spacecraft), Delux is an Art Deco cocktail lounge featuring elegant chandeliers and a massive emerald stained glass mural.

Ecco Ultra Lounge
Located on Cahuenga corridor this club is L.A.’s first green nightclub that features organic cocktails, energy-efficient LED lighting and waterless urinals.
Katsuya a late-night sushi bar and the adjacent Philippe Starck designed S Bar at the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine are both very popular venues.

Playhouse
6506 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028
Bar / Club Type: DJ / Dance Club

Robert Vinokur’s Playhouse is emulating a bit of La Vegas blended with a healthy dollop of South Beach in the center of newly-revitalized downtown Hollywood.
The 13,000-square foot nightclub (designed by the same design firm behind STK and Villa, Manhattan-based Icrave), situated inside the Fox Theater on Hollywood Boulevard at Wilcox Avenue will feature top name DJ’s from Europe and a 24-hour diner type of operation. It will have top-name DJs from Europe.
The sound system is state of the art and was designed by Dan Agne from Sound Investments (known for work at Cielo New York, Vanguard, and Beta Nightclub in Denver).  The lighting system at the Fox was designed by Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting, known for his work at Tao Las Vegas, Cherry Las Vegas, and Crobar New York. One can easily see they have spared no expense on the technical side.
Projected Opening: Mid-December 2008

Vanguard
6021 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028
Driving directions: Located on North side of Hollywood Blvd. between of Gower St. and Bronson Ave, 3 blocks East of Vine St. Entrance from the back (parking lot).
Tel. 323-463-3331
Website: www.vanguardla.com
Type:  Afterhours, Club

In Hollywood where most clubs shut their doors by 2 A.M., the Vanguard’s dedicated after-hours dance scene has become a mainstay for house music and late-night action in L.A.  with a rooftop patio.
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive

The next massive development to be opened in the next year or so will be the W Hollywood operated by one of Las Vegas’ top nightlife destinations.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Bars, Los Angeles | 2 Comments »

Conga Room – Los Angeles

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

The New Conga Room
Neighborhood: Downtown L.A.
800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca 90015
Tel. 213-749-0445
http://www.congaroom.com/

Bar, Club Type: Rock Club, Latin Club, DJ, Dance Club, Dinner and Dancing

Brad Gluckstein who describes himself as an “inherently Jewish” guy “with a corazón Latino” has opened the new Conga Room where long-time patrons might be astonished by the expanded musical bill-of-fare. The offerings naturally will include voluminous amounts of salsa and merengue, the club’s signature sound. But there also will be a tapas bar’s worth of World Beat, tropical, rock en Español, jazz, mariachi, Brazilian and alternative Latin sounds, all under the guidance of the Conga Room’s newly appointed musical director Oscar Hernandez, leader of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and collaborator with the likes of Paul Simon and Ruben Blades.

Hernandez will direct the club’s house band, hand-picked, crack musicians who Hernandez vows will be not only danceable but as listenable as any concert-hall ensemble. “My vision is to basically create the perception that this is an elite team, this is an elite ensemble of musicians.”

Hernandez, who moved to Los Angeles from New York two years ago, said he’s grateful to have the chance to bring to Los Angeles audiences “some hard-core, real-deal salsa.” One key challenge for the club’s owners, he believes, will be to create a congenial space that’s equally accommodating to the hoi polloi burning up the dance floor and the velvet-rope crowd stashed away in Barcelona chairs sipping cocktails in the VIP lounge.

Chef Alex García, a pioneer of Nueva Latina cuisine, promises to replicate the classics — arroz con pollo, churrasco grilled meat, green plantain fritters — while also inventing new dishes infused with culinary tips he absorbed from his Cuban grandmother. “We’re trying to do a menu where everybody’s going to feel included,” he said. “It’s really a nostalgia corner for every Latin American person around.”

From its perch on a noisy, light-swept public plaza where on any given night there could be thousands of Lakers, Clippers or Kings fans plus mobs of concert-goers and tourists milling around, the Conga Room also must strive to maintain an atmosphere that’s both intimately human-scale and cosmopolitan. “It’s a deliberate balance to really keep it elegant and sophisticated in a setting that would want you to be more like a sports bar,” Gluckstein said.

This sounds to me to be a hard bill to fill, if they can squeeze elegance and sophistication from a mainly sports fans audience, then they have amazing magical powers. K.M.

Tags:,
Posted in Bars, Los Angeles | 1 Comment »

Bed Supper Club – Bangkok

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

26 Soi 11
Tel. 02-651-3537
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30pm-midnight and until 1am on weekends
Dress Code: No shorts, sandals for men
Web site: www.bedsupperclub.com
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate-Expensive
Set menu 1,250B-1,600B

If you can tolerate Asian-Med fusion food, and do not mind to dine in a most uncomfortable position while prone in a bed, you might find Bed one of the trendiest places in town, I personal despise it!  The decor is industrial style tubular, interspersed with neon lighting and throbbing repetitive sounds. The small adjacent disco is always jammed.

Tags:
Posted in Bangkok, Bars | Comments Closed

“Street Bars” & Girls an Expanding Trend – Bangkok

Friday, November 21st, 2008

As the current Thai government tries to stifle their biggest money-making attraction for tourists, by forcing the closing hours of the bars in the entertainment areas to be earlier and earlier; the bars and the girls are fighting back by taking to the streets. The latest trend is “Street Bars”, bars on carts that appear on the sidewalks around 11p.m. and stay open as late as the last customer can lift a drink, at least until 5 in the morning. The girls, as well as “ladyboys” gravitating to these bars after the legitimate bars must close at around 1a.m., granted these creatures of the night are not the “cream of the crop” as the best have already been spoken for much earlier in the evening. The trend started in the Nana Entertainment area although I would think that it will expand into other entertainment areas, unless the powers that be, rethink their strategy and make some much needed changes in their policies. There is little control on the streets and I would imagine that to keep sex on the streets as contained as possible, the best way to do so is to keep things under one roof and more importantly, keeping it liberal instead of constraining what has always been a lively, growing, entertainment industry that contributes, in no small measure, to the coffers of the national treasury and to the economy of the country in general.

In Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, found out the hard way that by demolishing what he considered a dreadful, sinful, disgrace (Bugis Street and other areas) he in fact, brought the tourist industry to its knees. After he realized his error, It cost him millions to rebuild what he had already torn down, and in fact, the new structures never garnered their original popularity, even to this day many, many years later.

Tags:,
Posted in Bangkok, Bars | Comments Closed

Edison Bar & Lounge – Los Angeles

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

108 West 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel. (213) 613-0000
Opening Hours: Wed-Fri 5:00pm-2:00am
Sat 6:00pm-2:00am
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate-Expensive

If you have had enough of makeovers of huge industrial complexes transformed into frenzied nightspots, and there are many around the world, than this is not the place to spend your time after dark. Although, if you appreciate the planning and effort of the individuals involved, spearheaded by Andrew Meieran (Mercury Liquors), to maintain the original structure of the Edison Power Plant (the first building to have electricity in Los Angeles) as it was, wherever possible and still windup with a reasonably comfortable space, sprinkled with old Edison Company murals and touches of art deco here and there.
The target market for this venue—bar, lounge, music, and dancing is—up scale loft residents in the immediate area. It seems that L.A. is now obsessed with renovating formerly seedy areas such as LA’s downtown and Hollywood’s Hollywood Boulevard and adjacent neighborhoods. There is massive on-going demolition to build more loft spaces. My guess is; do it or its out to the desert!
If all of this has not peaked your interest, then maybe a 35-cent martini will, every Thursday evening between 5-7pm.
The Edison Drink: lavender-honey infused Woodford Reserve Bourbon with pear liqueur accented with fresh pear juice, a selection of rare Bourbons, an extensive Scotch menu, hand-made cocktails to everyone’s requirements; all are available in the various bar lounges. They even have a dance floor but don’t get electrocuted—the static is extremely high.
There is a small menu of bar fodder and a very poor wine list; stick to alcohol selections.

The entrance that leads into the Edison Lounge is located in the alley off 2nd Street, between Main Street and Spring Street.
They have had the good sense to enact a strict dress code prohibiting athletic wear and sports shoes of any kind, regardless of the designer label or the cost. Shirts with collars are preferred for men; women should dress accordingly.
You should definitely take advantage of the “Happy Hour”: Save 40 percent on classic drinks during the “cocktail hour,” which takes place Wednesday through Friday from 5pm to 8pm, and Saturdays from 6pm to 8pm.

Tags:,
Posted in Bars, Los Angeles | Comments Closed

Chez Castel – Paris

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008


15, rue Princesse
75006 Paris
Tél. : 01 40 51 52 80
Private Club – Members and their Guests only!

Opened in the 1960’s by Jean Castel in Saint-Germain des Prés, Chez Castel has welcomed almost every famous luminary in the world who passed through the red door and were quickly escorted to their waiting tables.
I remember spending some time in the disco downstairs in the late sixties when visiting Paris, the dance floor is about the right size and it is a fun room; in more recent times the bar and small dining room on the ground floor were more interesting to me. Chez Castel has always been a chic destination on the Parisian club scene and is now owned by Phillippe Fatien.
Once inside the unmarked red facade there is a check-in window at the right and a small dining room and bar on the left. The disco with a small dance floor is downstairs and upstairs is the formal dining room. The club screens and selects entry at the door; it is doubtful that without knowing a member who happens to be in the club when you arrive, or has left your name at the door, that you will be able to gain entry.

The amazing thing is, Castel is the only club that I know of that has been able to bridge the generation gap. They are able to pack the younger generation in the basement disco, and at the same time the more sophisticated crowd dine in the gourmet dining room upstairs, and the rest of the crowd that are  somewhere in between, frequent the ground floor bar and small adjacent dining room.
There are over a thousand members and membership cost per year is in the range of 600 euros for which a discount on consumables is given.

Tags:
Posted in Bars, Paris | 1 Comment »

Centro Bar & Lounge – Beijing, China

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Shangri-La Kerry Centre Hotel
Level 1
Tel. (86 10) 6561 8833 ext. 42
email: hbkc@shangri-la.com
Opening Hours: Centro is always open.
Dress Code: Smart casual
Smoking Policy: Centro accommodates smokers and non-smokers
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive

Centro is both the main bar and lounge at the Shangri-La’s Kerry Centre Hotel, and also one of the best nightspots in Beijing. Centro combines a world-class bar and wine selection with modern decor, live music and seductive design.

The lounge serves light, uncomplicated dishes, and people from all over the city gather here during the daytime until late into the night.

Through the Month of October enjoy delicious hairy crabs at the hotel’s Horizon Chinese Restaurant.

Tags:
Posted in Bars, Beijing | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »