The Buzz: With a casino-theme, it’s perhaps not surprising that this new addition to Thonglor’s nightlife scene opted for a hush-hush spot, tucked away in H1, as its home. The gambling focus comes from the amiable owner Nutthapol “Nick” Pavapaiboon, who has worked at Bellagio in Las Vegas and was previously the host at the homey restaurant Treecreeper in Sala Daeng. If you’re lucky, you might even get to play him for the chance to win a drink with various simple card games. There are also plenty of games on hand if you want to speed up the drinking process with your buddies. Offering a café by day and a pub-dining concept with accompanying beats at night, 50/50 looks to spread its bets.
The Décor: The popular raw industrial decor of steel tables, naked bulbs and iron lamps gets a luxurious Thonglor touch in the form of tufted sofas, engraved marble tables and long curtains. The opulence is definitely enhanced by the lofty four-meter-high ceiling and the floor to ceiling glass window overlooking the mosquito proofed garden. The gambling tone is underlined by props like playing cards and the dim lighting.
The Crowd: Mostly locals, especially groups of hi-so ladies, though there’s also a fair share of foreign visitors. The Music: It’s swing jazz on weekdays, while on the weekends the pub-dining concept comes to the fore with live bands early on before groovier beats later.
The Menu: The food offerings are pretty evenly split between Western dishes and Asian-fusion choices. On the inter front, you can opt for home-butchered lamb chops (Australian lamb seasoned with salt and pepper, served with mash potato, B690), risotto foie-gras (B590) or the big Mixed Fried (fries, calamari and wings B450) that comes with nine dips. Local palates might prefer the Green Curry Pizza or Tom Yum Pasta (dressed with real tom yum, tiger prawn, B390). Standard cocktails will set you back B275, or knock back the colorful signature cocktails like Bo’s Tox (the owner lady Bo’s recipe of absinthe, bubble-gum syrup, lime and Perrier at B275) and Diamond, which comes in seven different hues. There’s a wide range of liquors, plus lots of imported beers like Hoegarden, Stella Artois, Leffe Blond and Bruin on tap from B220. Happy hours from 6-8pm offer buy-one get-one on cocktails. Sign off with Chocolate Lava Salted Caramel (B290) that will get you a lot of love on social media.
Why You’ll Come Back: The club-like atmosphere should please the neighborhood’s nightcrawlers with its homely yet luxe feel, and there’s the lure of membership cards due to roll out soon.
