Well folks. Think of it as a new promotion night but without any discounts. This is probably the hardest post I will ever write but who knows. With great disappointment I must announce that this Thursday and Friday will be the last nights the Big Mango Bar will be open in Nana Plaza. We are announcing this first here because we don’t want the rumors to fly and we want our customers and readers to know the truth. We have always practiced honest bar-blogging so no reason to change that now.
I won’t say we lost our lease but I will see we have opted not to renew our lease in Nana Plaza. I would love to tell u we know where we are going but as of yet we do not but rest assured we plan on coming back - somewhere, somehow. Can’t really say more than that at this juncture. I hope anyone who can will come Thursday and Friday so that we can say our goodbyes and thank all of u who made the Mango happen. pmmp and I will most likely be around as much as possible on Thursday and for sure on Friday.
keep it real!
Never did like your bar anyway. It’s shit.
View all comments by day walker
dw - I figured JD would be the first comment asking how rainbow was doing. Or chicago bob complaining that we authored another sex free post. But u…
View all comments by smitty
I love you really….
View all comments by day walker
And I was planning my wedding reception at your fine establishment!
The Girls that i’ve shaged were all going to be the bridemaids, Smitty you were going to be the the preacher, Daywalker the flower girl, Jonas the old drunken guy in the back, and Pmmp.. Well he’d be doing the bride before the ceremony… now what!
Dam… its a great place.
View all comments by GoodLife
knowing Smitty & pmmp…. I’m sure their next venture will be more of a success than Big Mango…..
View all comments by day walker
Shit. That sucks. I’ll be there.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
That just sux. One of my main motivations for visiting Thailand is gone.
View all comments by Mark
Long Live the Duke…. and project #4…
View all comments by GoodLife
say it aint so!!!!! NO!!!! i refuse to believe its an april fool’s joke in october!!!
well, it was a fun place to drink, eat, watch the tele and chat with the girls, no matter how crazy they were, they were fun.
View all comments by OmoroiKoto
Hm, actually planned to shag one particular girl at the Mango when I come back in December who I only talked to before.. Guess I have to cancel that plan now…
What will now happen to this blog?
View all comments by Phoenix
@ smitty/pmmp The Nana Plaza real estate saga is proof positive that you can ride a good horse to death! Good move if ya ask me! (Ya didn’t but what the hell. You might have!
Stepping away from Nana Plaza just keeps your deal real, guys.
Of course, I will continue to consult this board for moral guidance as long. . . . . . *sniff sniff ? *
Geez. I, uh, smell formaldehyde
View all comments by Thongsuk
Bring a tear to a glass eye!
I think Cowboy has your name on it.
View all comments by Young Royal
I was looking forward to showing my Brother your place
We are coming DEC. 4 and staying till Mar. 8 2008
Will check with Mike where we might find you
Big John from Florida
View all comments by Big John [The one with 9 kids FL.]
The last decent place on Soi Nana 4 to have a beer is closing.
Sad.
View all comments by khun J
no discount? really?!
View all comments by werewolf
At least tell me Jack Dawson will be doing a stand up comedy routine when happy hour is over.
View all comments by werewolf
If you don’t need the girls any more can I have them?
Thanks for all the good times guys, I just hope we can get a BM burger somewhere. Does this mean we are going to see the Big MangoGoGoGoGo….
View all comments by David
B***ards! You know Idon’t get there till saturday. Self self selfish! Laters boys.
View all comments by ex uk
Nick
Wow - what bad news - I missed a visit on my way out on 22 Octocer as I’d promised - but after receiving a confirmed reservation to the Nana Hotel for 2 nites before I was to fly out - I rec’d an email cancelling.saying they were full.
I ended up taking the train in from Kanchanaburi - to Thon Buri train station and a cab to the new airport - waiting 5 hours…
I will be back in Jan 2008 - so please keep the website open till you relocate and give us the details of your new location.
Hope to see you in January.
John
View all comments by JohnTB
Shit, the last place when you could have a decent beer and feed while checking out the sights of Nana bites the dust.
Enjoyed a long, long and eventually climactic evening with you guys on my last visit in September. Was looking forward to a repeat on the next pass through.May need to try the Duke now but Silom is sooo far away.
Good luck with your next venture, and keep the website going - it keeps those of us not in LoS sane!
View all comments by Martin
Oh dear. How very sad. I’m guessing greedy landlords or police. Or greedy customers of course, but that goes without saying
Anyway, can’t make the farewell, but best of luck chaps, and I’ll keep visiting here to look out for the new location.
View all comments by Combover
bad news…that i’m not in town…
see you somewhere sometime
View all comments by bo
Shocked, but upon reflection can understand why much thought must go into renewing a lease in NEP with uncertain and/or unfavorable terms. The (barfine) bar business is already risky in Bangkok with uncertain political waters, and the chance that authorities might close out a bar area with no notice (Soi 10, Asok beer bar area, etc.).
With many factors working against you (landlords and police able to unilaterally effect changes, BGs everywhere generally becoming increasingly difficult for any bar to manage compared to past years, etc.), you did an impressive job of transforming perhaps the worst location in NEP a popular and well-managed bar.
I know of no other bar that treats both their customers and staff as well as you do. Who else would invite their staffs to stay with them rent-free until the new business opens.
View all comments by DJ
Will be in Phuket so sorry I will miss the fun….
Somehow I think you will end up looking back at this as a good thing. It gives you the chance to re-invent the Mango in a bigger, better way in a more visible and high-traffic location.
Now - where should/could that be?
On Soi 4 itself perhaps….
Cowboy is obvious….but as far as I know there is nothing available.
Please don’t think about Patpong, or Soi 33.
Soi 7/1 (aka Soi Eden) perhaps?
Even Soi 8 or 11?
If all the regular readers of this site keep their eyes and ears open I’m sure we can point you towards a replacement soon…
But whatever you do - please take the chef and the burger recipe with you.
View all comments by Mochalover
Bummer, I’m stuck in Vietnam until Saturday
Good luck with the relocation guys.
View all comments by Orion
Damn, I’m hoping you’ll reopen somewhere soon. Could you at least get the Jalapeno Burger on the Duke menu in the meantime - you guys had an awesome menu, the service was great and the decor was top notch for the plaza. In short, you guys did a great job with a historically cruddy setting.
Looking forward to P4 - keep up the good work
View all comments by kallah
Sorry to see you guys go.
Hogs Breath, The Big Mango, who is next to jump ship?
Just got a report that Nana Plaza has really gone downhill.
Keep in touch.
ArtTv of Nana Journals
http://nanajournals.blogspot.com/
View all comments by ArtTv
Oh, well this is no good. The Mango is/was my go-to spot for introducing first-timers to Bangkok. I’ve enjoyed quite a few drinks on the railing watching Nana Plaza wander by. A-am I responsible? Should I have drank more beers? Damn. I’ll try and make it Friday guys. Best of luck on the mysterious P4!
View all comments by Maomak
Does this mean I have to go all the way to Silom to pick up my free t-shirt?
View all comments by bkk22
For all of u who can’t make it to the last few days just leave a comment on the blog - think of it as the farewell party sign-in book.
I can’t really get into all the details here but I will say that we are not leaving over police issues. Later, once we are safely out of Nana’s clutches, we plan on explaining the situation in more detail.
The blog will live on since we think it is bigger than the bar. The bibmangobar website will stay up and we will use both sites to announce once we have more detail on what is next. We appreciate any of our customers also supporting us in the meantime at the duke pub.
http://www.dukepub.com/
as pmmp liks to say, the more positive force in the dynamic duo, that one door closing means a better one will open.
thanks all…
FYI - please no one bitch on Thursday or Friday if u order something and we politely tell u we are out of stock.
View all comments by smitty
location location location……
While BM was by all accounts a decent bar beer I always thought it was in totally the wrong location. I dont venture much into the Plaza these days but reguarly have a beer after work in Big Dogs.
Why BD? Because it’s there.
View all comments by MSB
msb - correct. location is key but I don’t regret the nana location one bit. We went from a nobody. no bar experience, no name and no brand - to what I consider to be a fairly well known bkk brand in 2 years flat. without the nana location I doubt that would have ever happened. picking some no name soi to start fresh in bkk is equally a tough proposition. given the customers we have now and the internet presence, hopefully we have more options as to where to go now but finding good spots in Thailand is the hardest part of the bar business.
oh the joy…
View all comments by smitty
How about the little spot opposite the Dutch resto at the Soi 23 end of Cowboy? It’s a little small but is desperately in need of a makeover.
View all comments by Combover
You 2 punk arse hos…. your killing me… thanks for the big mango memories…. will have to pick this up then in the duke during my next visit. Expecting this to somehow lead to better things.
View all comments by Raoul from Japan
Good luck guys. Well done.
I admire people who have enough courage to be different.
I didn’t think you would make it past the first 2 months. I Love being wrong.
Good bar. Great service. Excellent blog.
Keep in touch. You’ll be missed.
View all comments by Samba
@ smitty : “Location, location location” and “Timing is everything”.
Pong landlords are simply too greedy/stupid/Thai-silly to trust, n’est-ce pas? Nana has always been geared to the low end. Cowboy? Same shyte, different bag.
Whether you planned this or not, YOUR move (not Raja’s) was perfectly timed.
One of the first things you, no doubt, learned in your business was that there would be no shortage of well intentioned know-it-alls telling you how to improve it
So, like, here I am, right on cue
Wasting time on the internet and collecting phone numbers might be productive for some but there’s a huge OFB niche (with money) that’s been sidelined. Thai g-clubs, discoes, both the upscale and the smaller Issan-staffed ‘ab op nuats’ were some of the alternatives to go-go’s.
etc.) And like, uh, dramatically reduced Karaoke facilities ;-?
I reckon there’s NO shortage of smart, local gals who’d have a go as staff and dancers, in a properly run, Ferang-oriented g-club. With that Mango touch, of course. Just a thought guys.
Would a re-make of a stumbling g-club (a Ferang-tilted version?) be too close to “local toes for comfort: ;-? (coyote, swimming, “fitness,” pool, computer gaming - niche games
Hell the Japanese have been doing it for years.
Make it yours.
(No Check Inn” jokes please)
As smitty says, you took a faltering locale and established the BM brand in it.
Hmmm, where, in Bangers would there be another somewhat “faltering locale with upscale potential?
3 guesses (OK)
3 more
Just keep it real.
We’ll be there when it happens, boys.
View all comments by Thongsuk
visited your bar a few times, but your blog many.
sorry to hear about the bar, good luck with your next endeavor, and glad to hear the blog will stick around.
View all comments by fountainhead
Sad news, guys. I always thought the location was just a little too out-of-the-way (no passing trade, that hook back at the top of the escalator) to be really viable. Great burgers, great beer, great girls … and great atmosphere. I loved sitting at the rail, watching the funfair down below … and one time a youg Thai guy getting thrown out of a club just along to the right, screaming, and his go-go girl coming out and whaling on him (”I told you not to come by the office, dammit!”)
Still and all. You’ll do something better, and I look forward to being wherever that is as soon as possible!
View all comments by Pants Elk
Sorry to hear the mango is going, it will be missed.
Rather than keeping this blog, have you thought of making it into a forum? Thaivisa is too clean, bkktonite wants money, there’s lots of them in Pattaya, but really nobody filling that niche here. I always though tfs2m would be perfect for it but that you refrained for marketing reasons, reasons that now may not apply?
View all comments by Seven
I just want to say thank you.. it’s been 2 of my best years.. Love you guys…
And DaveLA(GoodLife) I’m still in Bkk, I love to be the drunk guy in the back..
Cheers
View all comments by JJ
Sorry to hear the news guys, the Big Mango was a great bar. All the best for your next venture and thanks for the good times.
Is it possible you were just a bit too successful? So many nights over the past month the outside bars in Nana were empty and the Mango was packed.
I am pleased you are keeping the blog running - don’t let the bastards grind you down!
View all comments by Smiler
Bars and shops are closing and opening so fast in Asia… no big deal from a general view.
But… I liked your bar very much and even more your blog as a connection to Thailand when being in my home-country. I hope you will re-open very, very soon! My personal wish: Re-open near lower Suk, that’s where I always stay in BKK
Hope your blog will prevail, I planned to write something about Phuket after my next trip in December. I am looking forward to the resurrection of the Big Mango Bar! Let it rise like the Phoenix from the ashes!
View all comments by Phoenix
Good luck Smitty. My best wishes to Kai if you would, please.
View all comments by Smitty from the USA
hope you do find a new location. Like many expat here we like a beer or two after work but gogo get boring after a while. In lower suk there is a gaping hole in the market for a well run bar with decent food and atmosphere. Most bars just think a shit hole with a couple of working girls and thats all they need. Am sure you have discovered there is a lot more to it than that. Find the right location and biz will take off. Good luck.
View all comments by MSB
I’m sitting here in the Big Mango, still shocked at the news. There’s a sombre, but realistic atmosphere to the news. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the email and heard what was happening. So I am going to make the most of the last two nights, enjoy myself, spend some money and enjoy what has been a great bar.
View all comments by Stickman
I am confident you are going to find a new home soon but I also sad to hear the news. It was such a good location to enjoy the scene and playing some pool. But on the other hand, your concept will work anywhere, maybe around the corner, maybe in another soi (11 or 7). Too bad I am not in town (pretty difficult to get a flight from Singapore over to BKK with less 24h notice).
Best of Luck to all! Grettings to the Team, Nick and especially Ae.
View all comments by Thorsten
Sad to see you’re closing - but as you said, when one door closes, another one opens. It was nice to have a good American meal, an in-expensive drink, and a conversation on the railing while watching the craziness below. I hope the next lease-holders don’t f*ck things up in that location. As far as your next venture in concerned, I believe you have developed enough of a core group of customers that you’ll continue to do well. Hopefully you will open a new place close to NEP / Soi 4. Keep up the great work (and the blog) and we’ll see you the next time I’m in BKK.
Cheers !!
View all comments by calvin
I think Dave the Rave’s blog put a poor “spin” on the news. His reads more like a failure rather than a new opportunity.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with voluntarily shutting a business down, if the reasons are right. Good luck to the Big Mango crew and staff wherever they end up. And, I would guess that it will be on their feet, with bells and whistles on.
View all comments by John Brown
Smitty/Nick,
I am thunder-struck by the news. If I had one more day’s notice, I would have flown from Cali to be there on Friday.
I’ll always remember the Mango as my oasis in Nana and the high point of my BKK visits. My Mango memories will last a lifetime and I have you two to thank for them.
I just paypal’d 3000 baht to you Smitty to buy a bottle for the staff on Friday. Tell them it’s from Mikey and I am there in spirit for the closing.
Much love and thanks,
mikey
View all comments by MikeyfromCali
wow. thanks for all the comments folks. amazing stuff. kind of emotional for me.
mikey - i will get some booze for the girls. u da man!
jb - thanks for saying something about the dave the rave sucks post. pretty low of him I might say. Dave knows us. he could call us. he could walk his sorry ass across the plaza and ask us what is really going on. but he does not. welcome to the low-life tactics of many of the people we come across in thailand.
we did not fail. we have chosen to detach from nana plaza. As I mentioned in the post, I will be happy to explain all of this once we are out but to do so now might not be so wise. ask dave what it takes to run a bar. he does not know - probably never will but for him to use this event for his own publicity and to beat us down in the process just shows u what kind of guy he really is. I hope people realize this and show it by refusing to visit his pathetic site.
btw - this comment is firefox compatible. always has been and the tunnel has been open for a long time.
okay. off my rant.
hope to see all of u in the mango.
thx
View all comments by smitty
Wow. Considering not much happens here, that’s news.
Will you get out with the shirts on your back? I hope so.
Good job on the old college try.
View all comments by Jack Dawson
Having had my share of fun at the place, what I do believe that you take away from the experience is a “market share of the mind”. Put simply, you are positioned in the minds of many expat customers as a good place to get good food, good conversation, and a great piece of a$$.
That can follow you. Like the butterfly, you now have a chance to evolve the concept to a larger, slightly more upscale but still affordable, customer oriented location. Think Mango on the waterfront, or something similar if you can.
The run at Nana was over a long time ago. Time to put it out of its misery, much like Pattaya is going through a transition from its seedy past. Globalism is here, and with it a more sophisticated clientele and that will not stop.
View all comments by PB
I visited the Mango tonight (Thursday) and will definitely be back on Friday for the final farewell to BM in Nana Plaza.
I bought a pineapple juice for Oh tonight… tomorrow will see some more lady drinks for Oh and a beer or two for Tree behind the bar — the only two troopers to make the entire journey.
Since she seems to be unemployed, I offered to ’sponsor’ Oh tonight, but she declined my offer. Sad to think that a any Thai girl would prefer be unemployed and broke rather than live for free on my dime, but there you go. Oh may be the girl of my dreams but the feelings are apparently unrequited.
I decided to have both nachos and a jalapeno burger for dinner tonight. Do you think getting even fatter will improve my chances with Khun Oh?!
I still remember the first time I walked into Big Mango on the 16th of September 2005 at 5:05 pm. Saw smitty and some Thai girl in an otherwise empty bar and asked if the bar was open. I wanted to play pool, but no girls had yet finished putting on their makeup. Smitty played with me, beating me five straight games before giving up and returning to the empty room downstairs. Not that he was that good… I just played shyte that day.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Big Mango has been a success for the two years it has occupied space in Nana Plaza. I am confident that we’ll see a new incarnation of the bar in the very near future.
Well done and continuing good luck to smitty & pmmp!
I’ll try not to pass out on the stairs tomorrow night, but no promises. Better lock up the tequila!
View all comments by werewolf
Hey guys,
Really sad to hear that the bar will be closing.. especially now that I am in Sweden and won´t be back in Bkk until the new year or sth..
Man the memories I have.. Mango was the first bar I ever went into on my arrival in Bkk 2 years ago, when joe and myself happened to stumble in.. maybe abit to drunk i might add…lol
Got along great with all of you´s.. the girls where great, food delicious and the drink even better (if that now is possible) =)
Anyway a big hi to Jonas, pmmp and all the others in the bar that I know there..
Hope to see you all again, in the new location once i get back again..
take care and see you all again soon
cheers Mike (the swede maybe i should add just to avoid confusion) =P
View all comments by Mike (the Swede.. stuck in boring sweden)
Like another commenter posted, the closing of Big Mango(BM) will definitely affect my motivation to return to Bangkok. I certainly hope that the gears are already spinning and working towards that very next location. I’ve had some wonderful times enjoying those mango burgers(and jalapininio burgers, I loved the way the gals pronounced it) and hanging out there. Had I known better I would’ve rang the bell a few more times before I left.
Thinking back I can remember my first trip to BKK after doing a lot of research into places of possible interest I stumbled onto the BM’s site and was thrilled. My trip to BKK was with a few of my buds and they all opted to head to Soi Cowboy on the first night. I chose to check out Nana exclusively for BM. From the website, I had fallen for “Bee”. But upon my arrival to Nana alone it was quite intimidating. Worse off, Bee was already engaged in a conversation with another customer so I sat quietly at the bar to order a drink. I was quickly charmed by one of the most delightful bartenders(not Tree or Oh, though they are both great workers and very attentive). My very next trip was intended to see that very same gal. On my last trip, Nick took me on a guided tour of Nana and it was very refreshing to hear his thoughts and share in his knowledge. I’m very grateful of all the experiences, I’ve had at BM. During all three trips, I was guided by a luscious beauty from BM.
Let’s face it for the first timer, BKK can be very intimidating. I’ve always considered BM a central meet up point. It’s awful to hear it go. But I’m sure the next venture will be even greater. Hopefully, it’ll still be in BKK and not Pattaya.
Thanks again to pmmp,Jonas,smitty & that lovely gal behind the bar for making my trips to BKK worthwhile.
P.S - I guess I’ll never have the chance to barfine Joy, I always loved eating her… burgers.
View all comments by Crazy Jack
I want to thank the Smitty, Pmmp, JJ and the Mango Girls/staff for making me feel at home out there.
I too remember the first time i stepped into the Bar, I saw this Bald ghostly looking guy with a big smile behind the bar and a tall ladyboy.. sitting at the bar… I thought holy crap what have i gotten myself into….. it turned out that i got there right when they opened… ladies showed up later..
Mr. Mike & Nick.. were nice enough to take me around nana and cowboy as i got my BKK legs going, shit i dont think i had a sober or sexless night.. it was great!! ha ha.
If i’ve never said it “THANKS” for everything! You all are great guys in a sea of seediness…. I will miss Mango for many reasons but you know i will be there for the next adventure!
Mango is my Cheers in Bkk… Hey NORM!
Wish i could be there tonight but in my absence, I would like to donate 3000 Bht to staff/girls as well, drinks or tips.. up to you (ha ha). send me paypal/info to my email.
D
View all comments by GoodLife
get the hell out of Nana. No reason to be there. Set up someplace nearby and we will all find you again Many of us like a low key convivial setting, with good food, reasonable prices and some feminine company. Get away from all the loud obnoxious hags and ladyboys in Nana.
View all comments by Doc Holliday
I would like to thank pmmp, Jonas, smitty, Nid, Oh & Tree for the great times I’ve had in Bangkok.
It is truly saddening to hear that the Big Mango is closing. Perhaps the next bar will be titled, “Laundry Man”(another one of Jack Needham’s books). I will continue to patron the website in anticipation for the relocation and hopefully make my way back to Thailand to visit it. Once again, thanks for all the good times.
View all comments by Crazy Jack
Hey Smitty: No need to apologize. That wasn’t a rant.
*Respect*
No doubt about it.
MSB and Pmmp are right on the money!
Maintain, Dudes
This is a GOOD thing.
View all comments by Thongsuk
The Big Mango… where I lost my BKK virginity, and failed to get any better at pool. A great place for NEP watching. How are the girls taking the news?
View all comments by NotAnyBangkokRelatedWebsite.com
Hey, I had nothing to do with it. Really.
View all comments by John Galt
I like bars and I like girls and I live on Soi Nana4 but have been in the Plaza 3 times in the last 4 years.
You can fine a much better location.
View all comments by Khun J
The news just keeps getting worse. Now it looks as though we are running out of new stock….
“Thailand facing population crisis
Thailand will soon be facing a population crisis due to the rising number of elderly citizens, the declining number of young and working populace and the total fertility rate dropping from 6.3 in 1964 to 1.61 in 2005, a scholar warned Thursday.
Kua Wongboonsin, a population studies expert from Chulalongkorn University, said the problem of dropping fertility rates needed immediate attention. because the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime had hugely dropped from 6.3 children during 1964 and 1965 to just 1.61 during 2005 and 2006 With each family now having less than two children, the Thai family structure had changed drastically - from the highest percentage of child population (0 to four years old) in 1970 to having the highest projected percentage of elderly in 2010, he said.”
View all comments by Mochalover
Woke up this morning after a nightmare dream. In my dream the mango had closed and I was even reading the blog about it! Jesus, glad I woke up from that one!
View all comments by ex uk
Farewell to the only bar in Nana Plaza where the customer is not treated like an ATM. Like everyone else, I have enjoyed the no-hassle atmosphere, great food and friendly girls. Good luck with your next venture. I will see you tonight for a farewell beer or 10.
View all comments by On Nutter
This sucks. I’ve been planning for over a year how to get back to Thailand since my anonymous visit to the Big Mango. I expected leis, lays and Frito Lays.
You guys better re-open and damn quick! To do otherwise will be hazardous to your health. And that’s before I get out my Emerson Combat Folder, and, and, and, ahhhhh shit.
Best of luck to you guys. I know it’s in your blood and you sure as hell don’t want to go back to the real world. (Or, as Robert Wuhl said in “Major League”, Sears suck…ohhhhhh.)
Keep the blog running and let us know when the Big Mango has its grand revival.
All the best,
The AB
View all comments by The Asian Badger
To On Nutter
What do you mean not treated like an ATM?
I am ATMCharlie
See you tonight guys
View all comments by atmcharlie
Sad news fellas. I’ll pop by for a parting drink. Good luck to you both.
UH
View all comments by Union Hill
So, I hope tonight is an absolutr blinder. For those of us who can’t be with you in body but only in spirit, I hope there will be lots of photo’s taken. Also if anyone can step in with a video camera and do a video, like the walking street video, that would be great. I have my own story of the first time I stepped on the hallowed turf of the mango. Oh, the memories. Feeling like a little weep, so getting back to work. Pink Floyd - Wish you were here. No shit!
View all comments by ex uk
nabrw: The girls upon hearing the news proceeded to get shitfaced (with my help and the help of a few crazy bell ringers of course) and started dancing like wild women all over the bar. They are pretty broken up about it. They can get other jobs but most of them have been here over a year and this was a second home for them.
As for all of the comments, it’s great to hear and thanks, honestly. It’s also not surprising to hear that many of you understand that this is a better path for the bar.
Nonetheless, it’s like moving out of the house you grew up in and will be quite sad tonight saying goodbye.
Well, time to prepare my liver for a real bashing…
View all comments by pmmp
Sorry to hear that guys. Will miss the burger and the beer lao on the rail.
If down in Silom will drop by the Duke, and look forward to you expanding upon and developing the brand in a new location.
Dave the Nave got deleted-it was crap anyway but would have deleted out of principle even if it didn’t read like an illiterate moron contributing to a school boys magazine…
Will drop by tonight …
View all comments by Psi100th
I wish the whole Big Mango Team and all people present tonight a great party! Hope you find a new location soon. And keep up this great blog! May the force be with you!
View all comments by Phoenix
re.- The posting on ‘DavetheDick’ website…..
I posted this… although, I doubt he’ll publish my comments.
So, I’ve put them below. It’ll save you looking at that idiots site also.!
Dave… I assume you are venturing into ‘comedy’ writing?! ‘Mango Bites The Dust’?!!
You are talking utter-rubbish regarding the guys and their success.
Remember… the people who survived the Titanic were the ones that got in the lifeboats before the ship sank.
The next time you see an empty seat in A.W - it’s where I would have been sitting.
- What goes around……….
View all comments by day walker
Just open the mango in the uk, the english chicks dig beer and burgers!
View all comments by ex uk
Just relocate near Lolitas. It would save a lot of guys travel time - especially you guys!!
View all comments by tripper
Then just call the bar “lolitas does the big mango”
View all comments by ex uk
How did I find the mango in the first place? I was sat in Big Dogs and just happened to look up and see the Mango poster, advertising happy hour and pool, and I never looked back!
View all comments by ex uk
Sad news. BM was THE place to go, most nights started there and sometimes finished there as well. Recall some funny bell ringing nights where we shattered all previous records, a night of slapping smitty around the pool table
and a very drunken night watching football upstairs drinking some sick concocsion of cocktail drinking it straight out of the blending jug
View all comments by The Playboy
Sorry to hear about the sudden turn of events. I’ve had many a great meal and drinks (and free movie) in The Big Mango bar.
Chok Dee in any new venture!
View all comments by kwai mai sabai
whats all the f*****g fuss about….go to livingstones on soi33. great bar and lots of girls. Last things i wanna see is a whole load of farangs in a bar with attitutde and think they are hard
View all comments by big w
Sad news. Best of luck with your new location and other ventures. Wish In luck as well.
View all comments by Rob
@ Big W….
What’s the big fuss about?
I’ll tell ya… the Big Mango is a great place with great people.
It’ll be sadly missed.
Stick to Soi 33
I can guess what the ‘W’ is, in ‘Big W’
View all comments by daywalker
Big W
Where is the attitude on here? Oh wait, one post from BigW stinks of “attitude”
If you have nothing positive to say, then don’t say it
View all comments by The Playboy
Dave the Rave has changed the headline to “The Big Mango Bar has closed”. Which I think is far more professional than the other headline. He may have thought that you had “failed” and come to realize that you chose to move to a new location. I think he also knew the old headline was creating waves. He didn’t say anything bad about the bar on his site and did say some good things, so maybe it’s best to simply let it go.
View all comments by calvin
Dave did do the decent thing.
Manners cost nothing. One shouldn’t judge others actions when they don’t know the full story. Had Dave spoken to the guys, I am sure he’d not have posted what he did in a derogatory fashion.
I know that the Mango boys are always supportive to others.
Treat people as you expected to be treated.
View all comments by day walker
It’s 10:30pm on Friday, October 26 — Mango’s last night. The bar is crowded and the girls are in party mode. The owners have just put free food for all on the bar. The customers are a bit subdued, talking about the good times past at The Big Mango, kissing the girls goodbye, and the bell was rung. Best to Smitty, Joe, and all the Big Mango crowd in their next incarnation.
View all comments by jaithai
WHY WHY!
i was planning to take my buddies there next year. so they can get their asses kicked in pool by the girls.
as i said before, the girls are crazy, and might not be the prettiest but they are alot of fun. no pressure from them and very friendly. but still crazy
its been a bad week! first my fave strip club got shut down and now this!!!
tonight i will drown my sorrows with booze and pour some out for my homies at BIG MANGO!!!
ROCK ON!!!
View all comments by OmoroiKoto
Well, as of the time of this post, I guess I can say with complete confidence:
Get Well Soon!
Sorry I wasn’t there.
All the best to the girls.
View all comments by The Asian Badger
Certainly sad news. As someone who prefers Cowboy to Nana this is another reason not to visit. The burgers were bloody good as well & if I was spotted buying some greasy rubbish out front of Nana then it was purely to satisfry the hunger cravings of my favourite Cowboy BG after playing pool at the BM.
Nick, thanks for taking the time to have a chat last August. I believe the hospitality shown by you guys is the reason the BM is so well regarded by most who have taken the time to post here. I hope the T-shirt I bought, which has had spectacular results, does not become a collectors item.
Hope to see you in June. Cheers.
View all comments by Wombat
Well, the last night was a smash. We continued on until about 4. Luckily the Police gave us our last moment with the help of our Police friend and let us party beyond the normal borders.
We are still recovering since the party went on and on. Unfortunately I had to meet the movers at 9:30am. Luckily I hadn’t been to sleep yet so it wasn’t a rude awakening.
We will certainly continue the blog and bar website and will hopefully have an announcement soon on the new location.
View all comments by pmmp
So you shut the bar before I returned, so last night I had my own Mango Party with 7 of the girls from the Mango, at the Duke, with my farang friend. It was good to see all the girls, then we went on to Hip Hop Music Bar in Patpong. Great night & thanks girls!
Good Food (Classic Fish n Chips)
Great Football (Thaksin slipped up!)
Great Girls (No names)
Good Beer (Tiger at Happy Hour)
Goodnight
View all comments by Mango at the Duke
Sad to see such a great bar go.
My buddies and I always went to the mango. It was really a great place. probably the only place in the plaza where a thai dude was made to feel as welcome as a white dude.
For some reason, it was one of the few bars in the city where i felt comfortable wasting obscene amounts of cash. That’s a good thing.
Also, I’d like to apologize for bringing my 16 year old brother into the bar and getting him liquored up. Could have gotten your bar in trouble, but it was his first time in bkk and i had to get him primed for lolitas.
I’d like to hope that I’ve spent enough in there over time to cover any of the potential fines.
View all comments by Paul
Well guys, I was a huge fan and lost count of the number of meals I’ve downed or the number of friends I sent your way. Sorry I wasn’t in town for the closing.
Will certainly miss those burgers and ice cold Beer Lao. Hell, any of your ice cold beer as it seems most the establishments in Nana think it’s OK to serve luke warm beer or their shyte bitter taste Singha (due to some lazy dope leaving the delivery outside in the sun half the day).
Other opportunities will pop up, and now that you’re seasoned vets in the bar business I’m quite sure you’ll find a place that will have more upside potential. Don’t limit your vision to BKK, as I believe there are other locations in the Kingdom that will support your style of bar (read: it’s not ALL about the girls).
…hope to be there when you open your new location (put me on your e-mail list when you start the countdown)
View all comments by G-Man
First all the problems with the blog (this site may harm your computer) and now the bar is closing. It must be a difficult time for you both. I was planning to visit the Bigmango in march 2008. I hope you’ll have a new place by then. Good luck and thanks for keeping the blog running.
View all comments by hanuman
Hi Guys,
Morefun told me the news Friday. It’s been a while since the 3 of us landed in bkk and smitty proceeded to show pmmp and I around on our first tour of duty. pmmp never looked back
I had my share of fun in the Big Mango and it’s been great to see you guys build it up over the years although I wish I could visit more often.
I am sure your next place will be an even bigger success and I am already looking forward to hanging out there on future visits. But right now it must be pretty tough to have to let go and start over…
View all comments by J from SF
Regarding new locations. PB’s idea about the waterfront was something worth considering. Time to set up BKKs version of Singapore’s Boat Quay. When Dave opened the Q-Bar down the end of soi 11 everyone thought it would flop. Nope, with great bar design, clean washroom, soap and towels!!!, QUALITY is the word I’m looking for. Anyhow, Nana Plaza is dying for sure. Land prices are rising which are passed on. Time for EVERYONE to move out and leap frog down Sukhumvit past Cowboy and 33 to where the rents are low. Having said that, I don’t think Woodstock does much business in Thonglor Soi 13 - that was definitely a soi too far.
View all comments by Daren
View all comments by Jsil
Ok, where the hell I will start my next Bangkok holiday unless eating burger at Big Mango, drinkin’ Beer Lao and looking over to people pouring in to the plaza! Curse! AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH
View all comments by Jsil
hey all. adding one more to this - Nid, our cashier, wanted to say thanks for all the kind words and tell let you all know that she will be back when we open up again. She was loving all the comments!
View all comments by smitty
HOLY FCUK!!
Man, I just finished reading all of the posts,news,and Stickman’s piece, and I am deeply saddened. However, one thing is certain you guys do have loyal supporters and I am one of them. If you guys move to Soi 125 1/2 I’ll make sure to be there on my next trip to BKK.
Thanks for all the awesome times, the superb food, and most importantly for all the great advice you guys shared with us this past April.
-Carlos
View all comments by Santana (Carlos from Toronto)