Welcome to the City Directory and Reviews page for Sukhumvit Soi 33.
Sukhumvit Soi 33 is best known for the "Dead Artist" bars but also for the many massage places (mostly catering to the Japanese) and a few good restaurants. The "Dead Artist" bars are basically higher-end Beer Bars named after famous artists like Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, etc. The bars cater to white-collar expats and sex tourists looking for a more upscale experience than Nana Entertainment Plaza/Soi Cowboy/Patpong. The Soi 33 bars fall somewhere between Nana Entertainment Plaza/Soi Cowboy/Patpong and Hostess bars like the Pent and Sopranos.
Soi 33 has been a popular destination since the early 90's but over the years business has tailed off and many of the more attractive hostesses have fled to other areas. This put Soi 33 in a tailspin. Many of the bars charge double the barfine of other areas and drinks were generally more expensive. Customers quickly figured out that it wasn't a bargain paying those prices for the same if not lower quality bargirl even if she was wearing an evening gown. In fact, the evening gown hides more than it reveals so unwrapping your 1500-2000 baht barfine sometimes led to a disappointing experience. The Soi 33 artist bars have basically become obsolete with the growing popularity of Hostess bars.
The most popular bar though on a sub-soi of soi 33, soi 33/2, is a bar called The Office. The Office is a white-collar sports pub and has packed them in for a while. Livingstone's and Lookie Lookie are also pretty popular destinations that have departed from the artist theme and have helped keep the soi afloat as a decent alternative destination. Other Soi 33 attractions include the many Massage places and a few quality restaurants like Pan Pan, Basilico, and Tenderloin's.