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Bangkok’s bar scene just got a whole lot funkier with the opening of F*nkytown, a new cocktail bar that’s stirring up the city’s nightlife with its unique concept. Located on Sukhumvit 37, this old-school disco-inspired bar spans the 4th and 5th floors, complete with a rooftop alfresco area in the heart of bustling Phrom Phong.
Behind F*nkytown’s innovative approach is a team of seasoned professionals. Group Beverage Manager Pae Ketumarn leads the bar, whose award-winning career includes stints at two of the World’s 50 Best Bars – Sober Company in Shanghai and The SG Club in Tokyo. In the kitchen, Chef Theo Tomasa, formerly of The Connaught and Annabel’s in London, collaborates with Group Head Chef Luqman Hakim Hamzah, Sarnies Group, to create a menu that’s as funky as it is flavourful.
F*nkytown’s signature is its funkiness scale, ranging from 1 to 5, allowing guests to choose their drinks and meals based on their adventurousness. This scale is a creative way for patrons to explore and experience big flavours, with drink names and flavours mimicking food in a funky liquid form.
Funkytown Bangkoks Fresh Spin on Cocktail Culture
The drink menu at F*nkytown is a journey through taste and creativity. For instance, the Tokyo Banana, with a funkiness level of 2, blends miso butter, Haku vodka, banana, white cacao, lemon, and egg white. More adventurous drinkers might opt for the Caesar Salad drink, rated 4 on the funkiness scale, featuring caesar cordial, Widges ecoSpirits gin, parmigiano foam, romaine lettuce, tomato, lemon, and tonic. The Som Tum, at the top of the scale with a funkiness of 5, is a daring mix of som tum cordial (spicy), Roku gin, fish sauce caramel, honeyed wine, and dried shrimp.
F*nkytown also offers twisted takes on classic drinks, like the Cold Brew Martini with coffee kombucha, Plantation 3 Stars ecoSpirits rum, Mr. Black cold brew liqueur, and jasmine, and the Sundae Old-Fashioned, featuring red beans, Suntory Chita whiskey, kinako, black sugar, and hinoki bitters, both at a funkiness level 3.
The food menu is equally inventive, with bite-sized snacks like the Hamachi Crudo Tart, Crispy Pig’s Ears with fermented spicy durian sambal, and the savoury Bone Marrow Canele. For larger plates, the Jasmine Wagyu is a standout, featuring grain-fed Thai wagyu striploin with miso-yuzu bearnaise, sourced from N.Nuea, a local premium-grade wagyu farm.
F*nkytown’s ambience is completed with funky music playlists covering funk, soul, R&B, and 80s disco, and live DJs spinning from Thursdays to Saturdays. This new venture by the Sarnies Group is their first foray into the cocktail bar concept, and it’s already raising the question: Is this funky enough for Bangkok’s vibe?
A: 1, 39 Sukhumvit 37 Alley, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand◼
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© This article was first published online in Jan 2024 – World Travel Magazine.
