Good Places To Drink In Chiang Mai

[Austhaied 0]

To me, it would be wonderful if there were a really good wine bar in town. Do we have one, in anyone's opinion, humble or otherwise? I would love to be able to stop off and have a glass, a good sized glass but still just a glass (or two), of really good -- there's that word again -- or even excellent wine, that one could select out of, say five to ten wines that were available at that time for choosing.

Darling Wine Bar on Huay Kaew Rd almost opposite The Pub is a dedicated wine bar. It has just changed management so i don't know if it's still good, it used to be good for the odd glass here and there.. http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/042/dining.shtml

[SamSipEt 141]

To me, it would be wonderful if there were a really good wine bar in town. Do we have one, in anyone's opinion, humble or otherwise? I would love to be able to stop off and have a glass, a good sized glass but still just a glass (or two), of really good -- there's that word again -- or even excellent wine, that one could select out of, say five to ten wines that were available at that time for choosing.

Darling Wine Bar on Huay Kaew Rd almost opposite The Pub is a dedicated wine bar. It has just changed management so i don't know if it's still good, it used to be good for the odd glass here and there.. http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/042/dining.shtml

The Old Bell on Loh Kroh has a fair selection of wines by the glass (and a cheese selection to go with it) Just around the corner is Charlies Fish and Chips that sells nice cold Tiger (and the best fish and chips in town). ( )

[Austhaied 0]

Personally I Like Warm Up, Monkey Club, and Bangrak.

I am younger (25) so these are more aimed towards the younger crowd.

Warm up has a "lounge" where a DJ spins techno (usually a house varient) Monkey is great for drinking outside the live band area and bangrak has one of the best Thai rock setups IMHO

There is a new bar opening on the corner of Chang puak and Tapae right after the moo kata, looks like they are going to open a cool place.

How about a more extensive review? I have been to the Monkey a couple of times and it is a nice place. THe others I don't know and not eveyone here is in the pension guild so I would like to see postings of these other venues.

thanks

Did they give you the pensioners discount ?? ROTFLMAO..

[Ulysses G. 26,188]

There is a partially outdoor wine bar with luxurious couches that looks very nice very near Gecko Books Junior on Rachamanca Road (right inside the moat on the same road that becomes Loi Kroh Road).

I am not much of a drinker, but the place looks great and I think that they might have expensive cigars as well.

[Ta22 10]

I'm a davidoff person ,

But i had not smoke for a long time ,

but i do miss the taste

[Rasseru 166]

Many thanks for all the great suggestions on the wine bar, guys! I'm stoked!

[mcgriffith 421]

To me, it would be wonderful if there were a really good wine bar in town. Do we have one, in anyone's opinion, humble or otherwise? I would love to be able to stop off and have a glass, a good sized glass but still just a glass (or two), of really good -- there's that word again -- or even excellent wine, that one could select out of, say five to ten wines that were available at that time for choosing.

Darling Wine Bar on Huay Kaew Rd almost opposite The Pub is a dedicated wine bar. It has just changed management so i don't know if it's still good, it used to be good for the odd glass here and there.. http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/042/dining.shtml

Definitely good selection, great wines, and Cuban cigars for sale. A buddy of mine who studied U of Heidelburg went there for a German "Schtamlitz" (sp?) where everyone drinks wine, and discusses (in German, of course) Kirkegard, politics, whatever. I was invited along, just drank wine. New owner is English, lived in Wales for many years. Somewhat pricey; nice largish glass of the good stuff- 300 B and up. But the owner is a wine expert and very amenable.

Does the Writer's Bar serve wine?

Edited March 23, 2007 by mcgriffith

[Chiangmai Foxy 12]

Personally I Like Warm Up, Monkey Club, and Bangrak.

I am younger (25) so these are more aimed towards the younger crowd.

Warm up has a "lounge" where a DJ spins techno (usually a house varient) Monkey is great for drinking outside the live band area and bangrak has one of the best Thai rock setups IMHO

There is a new bar opening on the corner of Chang puak and Tapae right after the moo kata, looks like they are going to open a cool place.

How about a more extensive review? I have been to the Monkey a couple of times and it is a nice place. THe others I don't know and not eveyone here is in the pension guild so I would like to see postings of these other venues.

thanks

yeh warm up is cool.many different rooms - house,hip hop,old skool etc

V club is fantastic - open til 6am,great crowd.dj plays house and trance

fashion house is a cool club as is volume 1,monkey and discovery

as for good bars to drink,personally i like

rooftop bar

number 1 bar

lucky bar

shamrock

peak

cm saloon

the what and old bell are quite cool

too many to mention

[BlackArtemis 506]

Personally I Like Warm Up, Monkey Club, and Bangrak.

I am younger (25) so these are more aimed towards the younger crowd.

Warm up has a "lounge" where a DJ spins techno (usually a house varient) Monkey is great for drinking outside the live band area and bangrak has one of the best Thai rock setups IMHO

There is a new bar opening on the corner of Chang puak and Tapae right after the moo kata, looks like they are going to open a cool place.

How about a more extensive review? I have been to the Monkey a couple of times and it is a nice place. THe others I don't know and not eveyone here is in the pension guild so I would like to see postings of these other venues.

thanks

Monkey was undergoing a bit of a face lift last time and I have yet to get back there. But they have always had a decent live band, they have a large sitting area outside which is nice if you want to drink and talk to friends. Live acoustic music is played here, while the rock / hip hop is played inside.

Warm up is the place to be for CMU kids, being that I have quite a few friends from CMU I end up here most of the time. The large outside area is just as good as monkey, but the inside is better. They have a new setup with a live band and the new aircons do a better job. However, get here early, 8:00 or before, or you will not have a place to sit, or you can reserve earlier that day. The lounge is off to the side and is usually empty until 9:00 or later, then it becomes packed. They have comfy couches and such and great A/C Here you can sit and relax to some techno or even get up and dance a little bit.

The beautiful girls go to Warm up BTW, and if you are decent in Thai and aren't bad looking it is easy to make some new friends. Order in Thai in front of some girls and you might get a response or give a "Choke dee".

Bangrak has a massive sound set up, they also cycle through 3-5 bands a night with Hip Hop in between. The girls are not as good looking as Warm Up but the music is much better IMHO. This place is located on Nimm soi 6.

My Finacee claims that Oldschool was one of the best, but now their famous band has moved on. I haven't really been there, because we have stopped by twice (close to 9ish) and it was dead empty both times.

Berlin is a pretty decent place and the best is they are cheap, some mixxed drinks are 40-60b. It is easy to get a seat here, it makes a great warm up or starter pub. Located on the back of Soi 3-5

Fine thanks is kinda Cya, the girls are nice to look at but ehhh

Discovery is expensive and the first time I went there were a ton of younger kids, last time I went it was filled with old thai men with young thai girls.....

I have heard mixed reports about Fashion House. I was intending to go but heard they stopped spinning techno so I ddin't go, I was recently told they are spining it now and will give a better review later.

Btw the new pub/bar I talked about is called dragon, I say less than 2 weeks till it is opened.

I will give more reviews when I can, but my weekends have been taken up with wedding preparations.

[p1p 3]

By far the best place to is ...... home .......

No need to drive, nor worries about losing your wallet. Much less likely to wake up in either the gutter or the drunk tank too.

[lamphun 0]

There appears to be a major age gap here. My son goes to Warm Up. I'm too long in the tooth for the youngsters places.

I'll be taking PIP's advice but only for the Songkran period.

[Crow Boy 0]

Personally I Like Warm Up, Monkey Club, and Bangrak.

I am younger (25) so these are more aimed towards the younger crowd.

Warm up has a "lounge" where a DJ spins techno (usually a house varient) Monkey is great for drinking outside the live band area and bangrak has one of the best Thai rock setups IMHO

There is a new bar opening on the corner of Chang puak and Tapae right after the moo kata, looks like they are going to open a cool place.

How about a more extensive review? I have been to the Monkey a couple of times and it is a nice place. THe others I don't know and not eveyone here is in the pension guild so I would like to see postings of these other venues.

thanks

Did they give you the pensioners discount ?? ROTFLMAO..

ho ho ah ho'dy ho fruckin' ho - such a joker.

The restuarant and the bar at the Monkey is quite good - I don't like the disco because I don't like that sort of music but I was interested to see a review of these places so that others may benefit from his knowledge.

[Crow Boy 0]

Many thanks for all the great suggestions on the wine bar, guys! I'm stoked!

Rasseru - after you check them out - please post up a review. If you find any more let everyone know. These places need to be supported in order to survive and if we want to see them in CM we need to support them by letting others know.

Not a wine bar as such but the restaurant "Just Khao Soi" on Th Chotana has wine available there to drink - and they sell to take home as well. Have a chat to them if you are interested.

I like their Khao Soi as well - not cheap but delicious and beautifully presented. They have a selection of cocktails and mocktails - the wife loves that latter.

[Crow Boy 0]

There appears to be a major age gap here. My son goes to Warm Up. I'm too long in the tooth for the youngsters places.

I'll be taking PIP's advice but only for the Songkran period.

Lamphun - good point, it can be very dangerious over the Songkran period with water (on the road) and alcohol (in the body) being a bad mix.

That said where do people go - presuming here at a bar - for Songkran. Last year we congregated at Mad Dogs which changed a couple of times from being really fun to whoa this is getting really strange as farung guys started going apeshit in the bar.

The previous year I took up residence in the Elephant bar near Taphae on the outside of the moat. It was a lot more fun with a younger crowd.

[chanchao 0]

> By far the best place to is ...... home .......

Let me extend / follow up on that with a genuine question to the readership: What is actually the point of visiting a local pub/bar, say something like Drunken Flower or perhaps the CM Saloon, O'Malleys, UN Irish Pub, i.e. something with tables & chairs and no hostesses? I can totally see the point for a limited number of entertainment venue types, namely:

* Disco's (You actually do something, you dance)

* Sports bars (You actually watch sports, and other people excited about the game add atmosphere that you don't have at home)

* Karaokes (I can totally see why people would like them, i.e. you get to torture total strangers with your singing; again you do something)

* Restaurant/bars (We all gotta eat sometime don't we, but after the food's finished, then what)

* Girlie bars / hostess bars (Chatting with girls from a radically different age and background to your own is highly fascinating culturally)

BUT: For the life of me I can't see the point in brining the Mrs., sit down at Chiang Mai Saloon or Drunken flower and 'spend money' doing the same thing you do at home, i.e. talk a bit.

Can anyone tell me what the attraction is? I have A LOT of trouble finding places that are actually fun or would add something that I don't have at home. Like you just sit there, upstairs at the Irish Pub on the balcony, looking at not much happening on the road below, where the only excitement comes from trying to stop your kid from killing herself falling down the stairs or off the balcony.

Please?