Dive Bar is a top lady bar on Soi Chaiyapoon in Pattaya. In a city with almost as many bars as people that is really saying something. The owner has put a lot of effort into the bar. And the staff is right behind him making this one of the better places to be. When you consider that this venue opened right in the heat of the pandemic and subsequent shutdown you know you are dealing with something special.
In the scope of reporting on the commercial sex industry around the world I have written about things as varied as barber shops and cafes. But these places were all covered for a reason. They had relevance to the subject at hand. But I am not in the habit of reviewing “regular bars”.
That said Dive Bar is not all that regular. Sure it could be classified as just another beer bar in Pattaya. There are enough of those around around to make a new wiki! In fact I think Dive Bar is a real stand out in a crowd of otherwise average facilities. I will explain my reasoning as I go on.
Tons of fun
Dive Bar is easy to find. If you can manage to make it up Soi Chaiyapoon without fracturing an ankle you can find the bar about three quarters of the way up from the intersection with Soi Bukhao. The place is located on the right hand side next to the large new High Rollers Sports Bar which seems to have taken over location of The Den.
Despite the name, Dive Bar is actually not a dive bar at all! It is a double wide bar closed in by glass all along the front. That glass is blacked out and covered with images of the bar girls from behind. This is a nice touch and it really makes the place stand out on the street. Of course the closed door may make you think of Pattaya’s gentlemen’s clubs. But this is not that sort of place even if there are some nice booths inside.
Frankly this is just a really well run bar staffed by some nice ladies. It probably helps that several of the ladies are extremely busty for Thai women. If you’re a fan of Tittiporn then there’s a great chance you will like what you see here. But the big boobs are not all there is to love.
A great place to spend some time
The women are of course the main draw at this place and any other like it. Luckily they are a friendly and fun bunch. That goes for the handful of bra busters right along with the ten or so other women who are mostly pretty fit and attractive.
They’re also quite willing to entertain yet not pushy at all. The bar fine is a mere 300 Baht ($8 USD) and the ladies don’t ask the world for themselves either. Unlike some other bars where prices have doubled or tripled the women at Dive Bar are still happy to go with a customer for 1000 to 1500 Baht ($28-42 USD).
Most importantly these are some of the friendliest and warmest bar ladies I have come across in quite a while. One really feels welcome when visiting this place. I don’t know the reasoning behind it but I would guess that the bar must be quite the decent place to work.
Beyond the babes the bar is simply done the right way. The customer comes first at the Dive Bar which unfortunately can’t be said about many other businesses of any sort these days. The wait staff is extremely attentive without being aggressive in any way. And that sort of customer oriented feeling continues throughout.
For instance the pool table is free to use. That might not sound like much depending on where you are coming from. But the truth is that many girly bars do charge to play pool. The owner of Dive Bar has made things clear by putting large white letters reading “FREE POOL” right along the side of the table. Small things like this stand out to me after all these years.
So does the fact that the bar is air conditioned. This sure beats fan blown open air bars especially on those hot and sticky days that are all too common in Thailand. Of course those who do like to sweat it out in the heat will find an outside drinking area with seats too.
Dive Bar is a real gem in the midst of an ever changing city. This place reminds me of the best of times in Pattaya even if it is not a clone of the some of the old raunchy places like the original Pump Station. Dive Bar is a great place to spend some time in Pattaya. And it shows me that Pattaya still has space for old regulars like me. I happily Dive Bar four stars. 
Dive Bar. 383 30/31 Soi Chaiyapoon, Pattaya, Thailand. Click here for a map. Open every day from 2:00 PM until 2:00 AM.
Dean just sold it, according to Trev at Buzzin Pattaya. An older Thai-lady bought it, dont know if she will keep the venue as “Dive Bar”, but that rearly happens?
Otherwise a great review. A very inviting kind of Bar for sure. Cheers.
Thanks for the info. Cheers.
Hi
I’ve been to Dive Bar a few times over several months, and can definitely agree with the friendly, non-pushy atmosphere which the predominantly lovely girls create. This sort of behavior always come from the top down, so hopefully a change of ownership won’t disturb that.
Speaking of “top down”, I don’t remember that many well endowed ladies, but it’s been a while so maybe another visit is on the cards!
One feature I found is that the girls were a mixture of salaried and independents. Not sure if that’s unusual but not noticed that elsewhere. Apparently the salaried wear “uniforms”, and the others don’t.
I also noticed that a lot of the customers seem to know each other. When it was busy it felt a little cliquey but if you’re looking to make blokey chums then it’s ideal.
This all combined to make it feel like a bunch of mates and their girlfriends having a beer and a chat on a Sunday afternoon before the game started.
And win, lose or draw, you were going to get laid!
Very British!!!
Thanks for the comment mate. Cheers!
Dean has a YouTube channel, which goes by the name “Dive Bar”, might change soon. He posted a video on the sale. His thoughts on the future of the bar and his plans. Regardless, Dean & Dive Bar were/are great. I was last in Pattaya for a few weeks in September, I dropped into Dive Bar to meet Dean. I had such a good time that it quickly became a regular spot for me. I offered to buy Dean a beer, he declined, but was still willing to hangout and chat for close to an hour. Rare for this town.
Thanks for the information J. Dean sounds like a good bloke. As you may be able to tell I have not been keeping up with the Pattaya YouTube channels. Perhaps you could summarize his reason for selling. The bar was incredibly well run and seemed to be a labor of love. Cheers.
Sure, thing Rockit.
Dean sold because he was exhausted. He started out running the bar with his brother. For the last year, due to medical reasons, his brother has been unable to help with the day to day. This means, Dean has not had a day off in over a year. Originally, he came to Thailand to retire not work or at least not work that much.
I also got the impression that money was a factor too. In the video, Dean said, he broke even on Dive Bar. Earlier this year, he tried to expand his business to include a bar across the street. The renovation turned into a bit of a nightmare. He ended up selling a 90% complete bar to someone else, breaking even. This was all outlined in the “Build a Bar” series on his channel.
This clears up a lot! Thanks again for the information J. Cheers.