In the basement of the Bangkok Novotel Fenix Silom Hotel you will enter to the above sight and proceed down a flight of dingy stairs to what appears to be an old Chinese noodle shop. A few small tables line the room, but if you see the hostess, a curtain will part revealing a large bar space behind filled with velvet swings and small, brick lined, vault-like alcoves. One of the most prominent features is barred cage above the central bar where a couple of scantily clad women lounge about lazily. This is Maggie Choo’s bar.

The decor is beautiful and detailed as are all of Ashley Sutton’s interior designs, but I will say, I did find the caged women a bit off putting. I’m not a staunch feminist, but this did make my eyebrows arch. I decided to put that aside and enjoy the rest of the environment – and of course – the cocktails.

This evening I tried both the Anna Mae’s (330 THB) and the Shanghai Fever (300 THB). Unfortunately, I found them WAY too sugary. For the price of the cocktails here I was certainly expecting a quality mixed drink and was very disappointed by these syrupy concoctions.

Despite being on of Bangkok’s most talked about bars, I am NOT a fan. The clientele was a very typical Bangkok ex-pat mix – that is to say a lot of older guys flirting with the beautiful, young Thai hostesses (that’s right, these women weren’t even pretending to be waitresses). While I did enjoy the live jazz music – another one of the bar’s claim to fame, there are plenty of better places in Bangkok to listen to good jazz and I think I’ll be enjoying those from now on.