Pocket Kings

You cannot miss it. Step off Soi Diana into the complex and the first two counters, left and right, are both Pocket Kings. The walkway runs between them toward the stage at the far end, so every person who enters the complex passes through this bar before they reach any other.

That position is the whole character of the place. From a stool here you see the entire courtyard laid out in front of you: the two rows of bars, the stage lights at the back, the crowd thickening as the evening goes on. The music reaches you at conversation volume. You hear the band clearly, but you can still talk without leaning in.

Early evening, from six, the place is quiet and the staff are setting up. The light is still soft and Soi Diana is busy with people looking for dinner. This is the hour for a first, cold drink while you decide what kind of night you want.

By nine the walkway is full and Pocket Kings becomes a crossroads. People stop here on the way in, meet friends here, and come back past on the way out. If you like watching a street go by, this is the best seat in the complex for it.

Both counters sit just inside the entrance, so you get the first of the hall's air-conditioning in your face and the last of the street's heat at your back. Reviewers describe the cold reaching the footpath. On an April night that is the reason people step in at all.

First-timers who want to get their bearings before committing. Groups meeting up. Anyone who prefers to see the whole room rather than be in the middle of it. If you want the band in front of you rather than in the distance, walk the length of the courtyard and look right when you reach the stage.

If a friend told you to meet at Wild Card Bar or Lucky Lady Bar, this is where they meant. The two entrance bars were combined and renamed Pocket Kings; the signs changed, the position did not.