Amid the worst low season since Covid-19, three new Pattaya bars opened on Walking Street this month to work out the kinks before winter tourists return.
The opening of new Pattaya bars Sexy Dolls Nightclub and Mirage 555 a-Go-Go put final full stops on the final chapters of the long-running Peppermint and Skyfall go-go bars, while July 9’s soft opening of The Party again lit up the spot on Walking Street Soi 15 that had housed Jisoo, Shark Club and Beach Club.
The Party Gets Going
There were more delays than expected, but The Party became the last of three new Pattaya bars to open, with two of its three floors receiving guests.
The ground floor of The Party is a typical go-go bar although it was completely redesigned after ownership, at first, said it would keep the layout of the previous tenant, Jisoo a-Go-Go. Jisoo’s high stage as replaced with, basically, a glass table supported with chromed legs. No lights. Nothing underneath. It’s understated to the point of being invisible.
Bench seating along both sides welcomes guests, with the right side set up for group VIP tables. Lighting and sound didn’t annoy, but didn’t wow either. Overall, The Party’s go-go floor is perfectly fine.
Among these new Pattaya bars, The Party’s middle floor karaoke lounge most impresses. There are three private rooms with sofas, a stage/table and large-screen TV. All are done out extremely nicely. The minimum charge to use the rooms is ฿8,000, very low relative to other Walking Street go-go VIP areas, which often start at ฿15,000 .
Likewise, the ฿10,000 minimum for you and your friends to use the top-floor swimming pool bar is an extremely good deal among new Pattaya bars, although the top floor technically isn’t open yet.
The original plans called for a bamboo roof over the bar. But after the Beer Na Lat Phrao brewery fire that killed 36 people in July, local government officials refused to approve the use of bamboo. A modern, fire-safe, transparent roof will be built over the top floor. The hope is to have the roof done and a pool-floor opening on Oct. 9. There’s also a private, external staircase providing access to the rooftop pool bar.
Co-owned by the Japanese owner of The Hive a-Go-Go and well-traveled bar managers Alberto “Toto Pattaya” Cervantes and Lauren “Lolo” Arcachon, The Party has the best chances of the three new Pattaya bars to succeed.
Both Toto and Lolo are well-known and have large social media followings that translate, night in and night out, into visitors to the bar just to hang with them. The Hive’s boss also can attract Japan tour and groups that would be interested in utilizing the karaoke and swimming pool.
Jaded expats scoff at all the new Pattaya bars, but The Party starts with advantages its predecessors didn’t have.
Goodbye Peppermint, Hello Sexy Girls
Had the legendary Peppermint go-go immediately closed before Sexy Dolls Nightclub opened in the spot next to Boss Club near Insomnia, there would have been many more sentimental laments. But the Walking Street institution served its last lady drink in April 2025 and has sat vacant since.
Peppermint closed this third and final of location, after the South Korean owned stiffed employees their monthly salaries and fled the country. A Filipino supposedly bought it from the Korean’s Thai partner and was renovating it to reopen during last high season as the “Wolf Club” show bar.
That never happened and the most recent rumors suggested Boss Club – an Indian nightclub – had bought the property and combine it into Boss. Then police raided the Indian club and ordered it closed last Sept. 30 following an incident where the Indian manager assaulted and threatened a VIP Indian tourist with a gun over a bill and gold necklace.
Boss reopened, but any Peppermint deal fell through.
The first of the three new Pattaya bars to open, last last month, Sexy Girls is owned by Chinese, Hong Kong and South Koreans partners. But it’s not a go-go bar, despite the image portrayed on its Facebook page.
There’s no dance floor, so it’s not a disco. There are some VIP-type sofas and a bunch of high tables, plus a small stage where overdressed go-go-style girls do shows. White guys generally don’t know what it is.
That’s because the target customer clearly is Chinese, Japanese or Korean and the type that will buy bottles and lady drinks while just chilling, perhaps after a night of go-go hopping. But you can get bottled beers at 180 baht for a short visit. In fact, two of the three new Pattaya bars are aimed at an Asian clientele.
This Asian-centric not-a-go-go literally is surrounded by Indian clubs, so perhaps it would have been better for the North Asian owners had they let Boss buy it.
Mirage 555: A Lesser Skyfall
Skyfall, which opened in 2015, wasn’t as old or storied as Peppermint, but still had a fabled reputation, until it didn’t. The bar closed in July, was purchased by a Chinese investor group and quickly reopened as Mirage 555 on Sept. 5.
Pre-opening, sources said the bar was being completely renovated, but, in fact, it still looks a lot like Skyfall, just with some modern touches. The LED light panels that adorn the ceiling and walls, along with the laser strobes and LED spotlights, are the same type you’ll find in Sexy Girls, Harem Ultra and most other bars owned by Koreans and Chinese.
It’s very much style over substance at Mirage in its first week. To its credit, there were nearly 100 women working the stage and outside, but all of them could do with a week or three on a Weight Watchers diet.
Interestingly, the renovation did away with the large pillars that Skyfall had in the middle of its stages. Hopefully they weren’t load-bearing or alternate support methods were found.
The white Skyfall stage, which was just a high step off the ground, has been replaced with a even lower translucent stage that’s lit with more LEDs. It’s low enough to trip over which girls probably will once liquored-up enough later in the night.
Some sort of ceiling work was done, leaving the ugly, white air-conditioning vents exposed and obviously. Skyfall’s subtle and comfortable lighting has been swapped for not pink and bright LEDs.
Prices aren’t outrageous but higher than most Walking Street bars and there’s no happy hour or draft beer.
Will New Pattaya Bars Survive
With the start of high season only six weeks away, all three of the new Pattaya bars will survive until Songkran. That’s pretty much a given, unless there’s a total train wreck like the 79-days-and-gone Abyss. Beyond that? Hard to tell.
Among the new Pattaya bars, Sexy Dolls seems most likely to fail. It’s deep in the Indian Quarter and is neither a go-go bar, music bar or disco.
As for Mirage 555 – in Thai, 555 translates to “ha ha ha” – will the joke be on the Chinese owners or will they laugh all the way to the bank? Clearly, they’re hedging their bets, as the giant sign above the bar says “Previously Skyfall”, so the Chinese bosses know they need help and are trying to trade on the old name.
The Party is the most intriguing of all the new Pattaya bars, with its karaoke rooms and swimming pool. They’ll need more than just Toto’s Facebook page and mobile phone photos to market it correctly.
