Wong’s Place is a legendary dive bar in Bangkok. Popular with locals and expats alike, it’s rarely a spot you’ll find tourists – most likely because they just haven’t heard of it.

Bring your sunnies.

If you’ve ever partied late in Bangkok, you’ve probably been surprised that most clubs and bars wrap up at 02:30 due to strict drinking laws, and everyone, seemingly, goes home. You’d heard Bangkok was a party town?! Where’s the party? Well, for Bangkok’s hardest drinkers, it’s at Wong’s.

For legions of die-hard fans, it’s the only late-night drinking establishment they’d consider going to and that’s only in part because the choice of late-night bars in Bangkok is extremely thin on the ground. The biggest appeal is the history of the bar, which opened in 1987 in what was then the backpacker heart of the city. When the original owner passed away in 2003 his brother, Sam Wong, bowed to popular demand and re-opened the bar. While the backpacker district has long since moved to Khao San Road, the popularity of Wong’s has never waned.

True, it's where red-eyed zombies also party.

It’s not hard to imagine what the bar must have been like all those years ago, because the decor probably hasn’t changed much. The fact is, it’s a dive bar in the truest sense; it’s smoky, it’s tiny, it’s reasonably cheap and everything looks a little bit dirty and worn. The walls are plastered with photos of the most dedicated patrons, ragged Chinese lanterns hang from the ceiling, ancient VHS’s are piled up behind the bar, and regulars prop up the bar to play Connect 4. Still not sure where the appeal lies? We suggest arriving after 02:00 on a weekend night (be warned, it looks like it’s very much closed from the outside) and soaking up this lively atmosphere of this very cramped and very smoky bar.

If you’ve got real staying power, the bar starts to empty out to a more comfortable level at around 04:00, leaving the most sociable (i.e. drunk) regulars to sing along on a mic to the ’80s videos that are played on loop, help themselves to a beer or three from the honesty bar and then, at some point in the morning, stumble out into the daylight. There are no real opening hours, as such, though the bar tends to start serving around 22:00 and closes when people start to ease up on the drinking (usually around 07:00 or 08:00). If you’re heading for a night at Wong’s, remember to bring your sunglasses for the walk home.

Wong’s Place
27/3 Soi Sribamphen, Rama 4 Road
T: 081 901 0235

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