I thought I would write this as I fear its becoming more and more common, and I think we should do something about it before Bangkok is ruined.

A number of very fine restaurants in Bangkok have been wrecked by corporate diners. Restaurant that were once a wonderful relaxing place to unwind and enjoy the gentle pleasures of excellent food have become no more than hideous public houses for uncouth middle management.

Take La Scala for example. A once very good Italian restaurant serving meals to discerning diners in a relaxed elegant establishment, a  triumph of innovative design, light and comfort, with wonderful food. Ruined.

I stayed at the Sukhothai hotel recently and thought as La Scala restaurant was in the hotel, in fact only one floor bellow my terrace suite on the pool deck, I would go back there and have a relaxed meal after a long and exhausting hot day. i had been before and found it excellent, in fact I wrote a very glowing report on it here before, so I was keen.

After taking a cold shower and frisking myself up I went down to dinner. What a surprise I was in for. Before I even got to the door I could hear strange rude crude shouting sounds like people where screaming at one another. I thought perhaps a little tiff, but it was not so when I went in, it was packed with corporate louts, drunk to their eyeballs screaming at the top of their voices to one-another and behaving in a completely unacceptable way. The food was totally secondary, if anyone was even noticing it I would be very surprised.

Before I had even sat down I was rudely bumped out of the way by a drunk expat loudly making his way to the toilet down the pool deck grasping a three quarters empty red wine to his stained chest. I moved tables three times the noise and vulgarity was so intense. Eventually I threw my napkin to the floor and left. Im not a person to turn down a good party by no means but there are times and places for this and its not restaurants.

Every-time a restaurant becomes popular the fucking corporates move in and fuck it up. It makes me very annoyed. The same happened to the Mango Tree the same happened to my favourite Thai at the Peninsula, its disgusting. And mostly it is always corporate expats usually male and quite often English.

Why cant they leave. I complained to management of the hotel and was promised they would ask patrons to keep it down. I don't think this is good enough. They're turning every half decent restaurant into a drunken raucous pub, its ruining Bangkok as a pleasant and gentle, charming place to be.

I for one think something should be done to stop them.

homintern is on your IGNORE list.

homintern wrote:

Yes, that sort of thing never happens in Hongkers does it?

Unfortunately all the time, but its expected here, its crawling with middle management expats, its almost purpose built for them. And even though there are specific areas especially for them like Lan kwai Fong, to avoid like the plague, they still advance rapidly on any thing vaguely interesting in other areas and ruin them for everyone else.

I just don't get why they have to get drunk and scream their heads off at one another in restaurants. Aren't pubs for that.

Cedric wrote:

Before I even got to the door I could hear strange rude crude shouting sounds like people were screaming at one another.

That's British middle management!

Cedric wrote:

Before I had even sat down I was rudely bumped out of the way by a drunk expat loudly making his way to the toilet down the pool deck grasping a three quarters empty red wine to his stained chest.

So you have meet Beryl!

Cedric wrote:

Why cant they leave.

Believe you me, honey, if they had to pay for it themselves, they wouldn't be within a 1000 meters of the joint. Scratch middle management and what do you find? Lot's of fake Gucci and a mountain of debt.

Cedric wrote:

I for one think something should be done to stop them.

Have you thought about letting the tyres down on their SUV's?

If you want to avoid middle management you need to find the restaurants where the old money goes.

Ah yes, the plebs these days. :-)

La Scala is very pleasant at lunch time when such lager louts are in their office cubicles. For the price of two or three glasses of ice and water in BBB you get an excellent 3 course lunch in La Scala.

s'funny. You'd have thought Ceddy's daddy would have let him in on where the decent clubs are in Honkers, Bangkers and their affiliates in blighty. Damned if I'm going to let on.

Aunty wrote:

[
That's British middle management!

So you have meet Beryl!

Believe you me, honey, if they had to pay for it themselves, they wouldn't be within a 1000 meters of the joint.

Have you thought about letting the tyres down on their SUV's?

If you want to avoid middle management you need to find the restaurants where the old money goes.

Tend to agree with that though Australians are not far behind. I realise that expense accounts are to blame, lets hope this recession kicks hard and where it counts. That's quite a good idea about the tyres except then they will hang around even longer. Yes I see Beryl is still on the job.

Well problem is even if it was a corner cart on wheels selling green mango salad and it was a wow, they would soon be on your heels.

It's encouraged, feed the barbarians pop as many bottles as possible get them drunk and take home a nice big tip, everyone happy.

Maybe, as draconian as it sounds and as much as I would miss my glass of icy New Zealand riesling, banning alcohol in restaurants is the only way. For Thailand's sake you understand.

asiagayboy wrote:

Ah yes, the plebs these days. :-)

For the price of two or three glasses of ice and water in BBB you get an excellent 3 course lunch in La Scala.

For the price of a few nights at the BBB you mean. Anyone stayed there it's the first I've heard of it, its billed as alternative gay, close to the airport.

Yes... it's unfortunate corporates can be like this... part of the 'big swinging dick' mentality I guess...

There is a lot of money in attracting corporate swingers into venues though... it's no perfect world...

I don't think they have invaded the Italian restaurant Zanotti under the Colonade in Soi Saladaeng. It was a nice place with a nice crowd the last time I went there.

cedric - how old are you?

Cedric wrote:

its ruining Bangkok as a pleasant and gentle, charming place to be.

If somebody asked me to describe Bangkok, I'm extremely doubtful that "pleasant" or "charming" would be in the description; but, then again, I don't hang out with the upper crust there.

Young Master Cedric, you almost made me feel sorry for the snobs.  Almost, not quite.

what a shame they are making so much money  and business is so good for them.

In Bangkok of all places. Who cares, I eat at the various food vendors I have come to like, even if it means I have to ride in a cab for half an hour. I never go to restaurants in Bangkok (except Vientiane Kitchen on some occasions). Street vendors are cheap, I don't have to wait ages for my food, and my favourite som tam vendor, is just one minute from home. What more could I want ?

No Vertigo or Sirocco for me, just to name a few, bland overpriced food. Le Normandie is beyond my budget anyway.

The only Western restaurant I would consider (great staff !) is Crepes and Co in Suk 12.

Ja very street cred Sjaakie. I also have my favouriten. But I'm also not as limited as that or much of a creature of habit. I am also a man of the people, I love drinking whiskey and going mad on a dance floor, I love taking back a little plastic bag of goodies from a street vendor too, but a formal restaurant is a different matter and sometimes thats what I also like, nice company, good food, setting, gentle chat melodious laughter, dressed up, a charming appreciation and sense of place. And yes that should also be able to be had right on the street under the twinkling lights at a charming little side street food stall.

A pig trough is just that and not something I find in the slightest bit delightful.

It's got nothing to do with being a snob nothing at all or for a distaste for corporate America. Or how successful a restaurant should be allowed to get. Its got all to do with the behaviour of the patrons. It's simply unacceptable. If the "swinging dicks" really had the goods it might be a different matter, but swinging shrunken dripping weenies in your face all night is hardly fun. Hack them off of at the root is the only way. Ban alcohol sales in restaurants in Bangkok for a few years, get rid of them!

Can anyone tell me that screaming drivelling aggressive bloody drunken rubbish about someone else's office politics all night is at all interesting? Do we all need to know it even sitting ten meters away?

Yes and Bangkok is still full of gentle smiling people, there might be even more in the provinces but why should Bangkok suffer. They are yobs and thats all there is too it, British and Australian middle management are uninteresting yobs and are the worst culprits, the Americans not far behind. The French can behave themselves the Italians can, in fact most can, and most importantly the Thai's do.

Its just unacceptable for the rest of us. Some people might have to save up hard to take a loved one to such place how truly disgusting that their night should be ruined. That they should even witness this. They are no better than louts walking down the street holding bear bottles and harassing local woman.