MY WORLD CUP QUEST: THE BEST IRISH PUB IN THE WORLD IS JAPANESE

13/32 WORLD CUP TEAMS COMPLETED

WHERE IS THE BEST IRISH BAR IN BANGKOK?

Irish bars are easy to find on planet earth. I have yet to visit a country without seeing the Irish tricolour splashed liberally over the over-sized dark wood counter surrounded and held hostage by an ever-increasing number of flatscreen TVs. Irish bars around the world are generally good at what they do. Sadly, I don’t care much for what they do. They rarely contain Irish people be they the staff, the clientele or the proprietor. They are uniformly more expensive than the local bars in their vicinity. They peddle a parody of the Irish bar tradition often through the lense of British or American eyes that bares only a surface relation to the bars that exist in the country known as Ireland. More is the pity. These global Irish bars leverage the friendly Irish bar image brilliantly to charge unsuspecting Peruvians an arm and a leg for a pint of Guinness that hasn’t been poured correctly.

JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION

So when faced with the question "What is the best Irish bar in Bangkok?", I answer this question with a question. What is it about an Irish bar that you want?

If you want dark-stained bar counters, stolen Irish road signs, badly poured pints of Guinness and expensive food then pick any of the dozen Irish bars around the city. The international Irish bar is a copy and paste gone wrong. Some of the elements are there but the essence of the place has been corrupted.

If you are looking for the traits associated with an Irish bar; good booze, easy conversation and craic, then go to an izakaya.

THE IDEAL FORMATION

An izakaya is a Japanese establishment that serves booze and food that goes well with booze. It is part tavern, part restaurant, part house party. These "red lantern" restaurants are most often frequented by the after work crowd. As you lift back the curtain and enter an izakaya you receive a boisterous and warm welcome. All members of staff great you like a lost puppy returning home. Soon you are kicking off your shoes and lounging on a comfortable mat. The tables are often sunk into the floor so as to allow you sit on the floor comfortably. I'm rarely more relaxed than when you I can swig a highball whiskey while swinging my legs. The whole layout of an izakaya invites communal eating and talking. There are TVs but they hang like pictures in the centre of a wall. The focal point of the izakaya is the table where you sit. In the natural sitting position you are facing other people.

The izakaya is almost the perfect bar. If only they served Guinness.

IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Picking a venue to watch Japan play a World Cup game was always going to be easy. We plumped for Shakariki 432 in Thong Lor. This chain of izakayas was first established in Osaka, Japan in 2002 (The year Japan held the World Cup). They have a number of branches in Bangkok. All of them are pretty much the same. They are multi-floored, colourful and offer one of the best drinking buffets in the country. The best way to enter an izakaya is with friends and I watched the game with a group from the US, the UK, Thailand and of course Japan. Our Japanese friends cared little for the game but seemed to enjoy this home away from home while on holiday in Bangkok. The well-dressed but loose-collared Japanese businessmen at the next table were far more invested in the game though.

There is always an ambient sound of commotion in an izakaya. This sound was upgraded to a racket when Japan surprised Colombia by taking the lead. Colombia got their equaliser before half time. When the Japanese got the winner with fifteen minutes to go there was once more a collective yelp of excitement across the three floors of this bustling izakaya. Chopsticks were carelessly abandoned and were still bouncing on plates as glasses of beer clashed together in honour of the Japanese football team. It was almost 9pm on a Tuesday night and I couldn't think of a better place to be watching the World Cup in Bangkok.