Description
If you are looking for a chill place to relax with mixed drinks and tasty Thai food, Tong Tong cocktail bar (ตงตงบาร์) is one of Sakon Nakhon's best kept secrets. Located on a tiny soi about a kilometer from the SNRU campus, the restaurant refers to itself as Sakon Nakhon's "bar lap"(บาร์ลับ), which means "secret bar".
It is a place many locals go to for more discreet get-togethers, compared to the bustling bars and clubs on bus station road. You'll immediately recognize the place from the outside by its bright red Chinese lanterns.
The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch from 7am - 2pm, serving a delicious, all you can eat, pork leg buffet for only 88 baht. Tong Tong cocktail bar technically opens at 6pm, but if the bartender and manager is around when you are having lunch, he'll be happy to make you a cocktail to accompany your buffet lunch.
The cocktails are all well-made and reasonably priced, with drinks like Margaritas, Mojitos, Daiquiris, Martinis, Pina Coladas, and White Russians all going for 198 baht (about $6). The same drinks in a Bangkok cocktail bar are often priced nearly double that.
There are some higher priced cocktails like a Long Island Iced Tea, Negroni, and Old Fashioned, which go for 258 baht. If you are looking to try something different and inexpensive, try a shot of their unique "ya dong," which is a "medicinal" shot made by steeping rejuvenating herbs in a mixture of Regency brandy, vodka, caramel, and honey. It costs only 58 baht a shot.
While you are enjoying your dinner, you can choose from a wide range of delicious Thai dishes at prices ranging from 98 baht for a Minced Pork Omelet to 178 baht for Pad Krapow or Laab Moo over rice to 248 baht for a Tom Yam Kung hot pot.
The ambiance is laid back, with attractive and friendly staff. A talented Thai musician/singer sometimes plays in the corner of the restaurant, starting around 10pm (and at a sound level that is just perfect, allowing you to pleasantly have conversations with other people while sipping your cocktails).
Tong Tong cocktail bar closes at 2am and is open 7 days a week. Note the bar name in Thai is pronounced "dtohng dtohng bah" (ตงตงบาร์). We highly recommend paying them a visit!
