HOTSHOTS – A COOL VENUE FAVOURING YOUR EAR
AND YOUR POCKET!
It is unusual to find a good bar that is
both inexpensive and centrally located.
Hotshots, near to the Payatha BTS station
(and just a hop away from the classic Saxophone
music bar) qualifies on both counts. It
is a small pub and restaurant cheap and
cheerful and built on two levels. The ground
floor is open for business all day, while
the upper deck only opens after 10 of an
evening.
One’s first impression of Hotshots, is
that it could be small pub somewhere in
the outback of the US. The pub is physically
small but the tables have been arranged
so as to maximize floor space. The walls
are adorned with everything American as
well as old musical instruments and there
is an old cello on the wall with a banjo
from a by-gone era hanging nearby. The wall
behind the bar has even more antique ornaments.
Meanwhile the live music on the ground
floor level is provided by a duo apparently
known as the Duo Band. Although they have
been performing here for a few months they
still have not got round to choosing a name!
And I always thought the best part of forming
a band was finding a suitable name!
Not withstanding the lack of a name the
pair play very well. They performed both
Western and Thai songs and readily accepted
requests from customers. They happily covered
everything from standards from Sinatra to
reggae and everywhere in between.
They are very talented and clearly have
a growing following. All this gave it a
somewhat homely atmosphere and the feeling
that you were more than just another customer
and rather a part of the family.
The staff too were on the ball, and there
was a manager in evidence the whole time.
We ordered draft beer and fish cakes, which
arrived promptly and the food was to the
standard expected. Bearing in mind the central
location, this pub definitely one of the
most competitively priced, for booze, in
Bangkok with draft beer running at less
than half of what similar establishments
charge!
After 10 we moved upstairs to the second
level of the bar where a band was playing.
The upper level of the pub is new and to
be fair, more comfortable than the ground
floor. The new set of staff at hand also
seemed very efficient and dealt with us
promptly when we arrived upstairs. The sound
system, compared to the bottom level is
also far better.
It was much fuller than the downstairs,
so the usual rule about getting in ahead
of the crowd applies if you want a seat.
I was impressed with the bar, not just for
the essentials on display but as much for
the woodwork which makes it a very attractive
feature of the room.
The band upstairs was called The Ninety
Nine, an energetic lot who kept the crowd
on their toes with a lively set of rock
and pop music. It was good to see another
band with a sax in the line up which I feel
makes bands sound so much more versatile
and produces a much better sound.
It is interesting how bands have developed
over the decades from all-guitar line-ups,
to guitar plus keyboards and now guitar
plus keyboards plus sax, with, of course,
the key man, the drummer. The crowd up here
appeared to be younger than those downstairs
- or maybe it was just that they were all
young-at-heart! Cheap booze and good music!
What more could a guy ask for?
This is an all-round nice little operation.
The downstairs is for those who want to
be entertained but don’t want to shout over
the music, while the upstairs is for those
who want the music to matter a little more
than the conversation.
Drop by and see how much fun the
Thais are having!
