Chinatown’s Soi Nana is awash in trendy spots and hidden corners, a revolving door of chic venues popping up (and then closing). It’s an eclectic mix, but if there’s one thing to know about the Chinatown bar scene it’s that, more often than not, it’s going to cost you.
Daniel Van Norden, owner and creator behind Soi Nana’s new Chinatown Yacht Club had another idea for a space where locals can chill, connect, and unwind with good drinks–without the bill getting out of hand. New York in its soul, Chinatown in its bones.
Hopping off your motorbike and onto the Soi Nana Prom Pap, the glowing 99baht New York Hotdog sign sets the scene: part corner bodega, part Chinatown dive bar.
“A friend of mine wanted to toast the bun and make it special, but I was adamant that it had to stay true to the classic New York street-stall hot dog,” Daniel tells BK.
When Daniel originally bought the space, it was in tatters, gutted, and in need of rebuilding. Weeks of careful scavenging on Facebook Marketplace, JJ Market, and local sellers, Daniel put together a spot all his own. A New Yorker knows good vintage is where you find the vibe.
The interior embraces a dark and stormy vibe. Ambient red lighting, Chinese lanterns, a spinning disco ball, and bold graffiti art come together to create a setting for cozy convos and easy sipping.
Two floors up, Chinatown Yacht Club boasts one of only two rooftop bars on all of Soi Nana. A sign blasting “Welcome to the Jungle” opens up a rooftop setting surrounded by greenery. Soft lighting strung from tree to tree and the volume strikes a balance where you can chat without yelling, but the bar vibe is still there.
“The original idea had no DJs and no mixologists; the people were the real heroes of the place. I wanted to keep it cheap, where you can stay the whole night and just hang out,” Daniel says, a Moscow Mule in hand and a dill pickle half eaten.
He sticks to his word on the price. Specialty cocktails are a flat fee of B290–no ++. The drinks themselves are not the wild concoctions you usually find in fashionable Soi Nana hangs, but they are well-made and carefully crafted.
The margarita, which is controversially hard to get right, had a bright, refreshing balance of quality tequila, fresh lime, and just the right touch of sweetness. The menu is simple: classic cocktails all the way down, from the Pimm’s cup and a whiskey sour to the negroni and dirty martini. The shots, too, are old classics, like the retro pickleback and B52.
Of course, there’s New York in the mix, so don’t forget to grab a dog. The “recession special” of B99 for a New York hotdog, complete with chips and dill pickle, is a damn fine deal.
Soi Nana is often all noise and novelty, but Chinatown Yacht Club–concentrating on easy and actual fun–is at the spearhead of a trend, one BK approves of implicitly. Spots like this and others, such as Allso Bar in Thonglor, are taking to the city’s nightlife hotspots and saying to hell with big price tags and gimmicks because we’re here to do what a bar does best: fun.
