The Bull’s Head and Angus Tavern was the first Brit/Irish type bar in Bangkok. Prior to the advent of the Bull’s Head as it is more commonly known, visitors had a choice of drinking expensively in their hotel bars or resorting to “girlie” bars, the last of which were only bars in name because another activity was their prime source of income.

The Bull’s Head as such soon attracted a very loyal following for ex-pat Brits and a few other nationalities. It is my guess that it has been going for something like 25 years now, however, for various reasons its loyal local patrons have diminished in number quite dramatically.

The recent economic crisis coupled with the crash of the British currency has resulted in many of the Bull’s Head regulars locating to other parts of Thailand that are much less expensive than Bangkok or heading back to the Old Dart.

On our recent visits to the Bull’s Head it is obvious that the place is hurting economically somewhat. In years past the Bull’s Head never had a happy hour or any other “pull” to get punters through the door.

Now it has a “pick your cards” game, which usually results in one having half priced beers between 4.30 and 7.30 or thereabouts each evening.

In the past the Bull’s Head just simply relied on its loyal customer base as a steady source of income, but with the demise of the Brit ex-pat population in Bangkok, it has finally resorted to marketing games to get the punters inside its doors.

On our recent visits the bar was bereft of all those regulars who over the years must have poured tens of thousands of British pounds converted into Thai baht down their throats. These days, apart from a small coterie of regulars, the Bull’s Head relies on Western visitors to bolster its turnover.

It is still a very good pub and it has the most English ambience of any Brit/Irish bar in Thailand. Its long time manager Billy is still there and its popular “toss the boss” on Sunday afternoons still attracts a good crowd as does the trivia night on a Thursday of each month.

It stocks Singha, Tiger, Heinekin on tap, Beer Lao and several imported British beers in bottles. Additionally, for those who can afford to do so, it has a good selection of red and white wines from several countries.

Its menu has all of the favourite British stodge on it along with Italian favourites and of course the most popular Thai dishes.

Its menu, while quite extensive, is nonetheless quite expensive. If one chooses Western fare, then be prepared to pay over the odds for it.

The Shopper Girl and your correspondent dined at Bull’s Head on a wet Saturday night wherein we found the Bull’s Head to be around 70% full.

Your correspondent couldn’t resist the Beer Lao so a bottle was ordered along with a gin and tonic for Shopper Girl.

Whilst sipping our drinks we perused the menu and she with the G&T decided to order of all things, Wiener Schnitzel whilst your correspondent opted for yellow curry chicken with jasmine rice. Another round of drinks ensued before our meals arrived on white round plates and bowls. The Shopper Girl had an immense schnitzel covering most of her plate along with pomme frites, sautéed sliced carrots and a grilled tomato. Your correspondent’s bowl of yellow chicken was brimming to the top and its aroma assailed my nostrils and everyone else’s within our immediate vicinity. Accompanying the chicken were two pilaffs of jasmine rice.

The Yellow Chicken Curry was superb with plenty of chicken pieces floating in the mixture of the yellow curry paste and thick coconut milk. The chicken pieces were accompanied by cubed potatoes, pumpkin cubes and peas, with slices of cucumber lining the edges of the bowl and a few diagonally sliced pieces of ominous-looking chilli hovering around the surface.

The serving was enormous, to the extent that I didn’t finish all of it. On the other side of the table the Shopper Girl declared that the Wiener Schnitzel was OK “but I’ve had better”, although as an aside, I can’t think of a bigger wiener schnitzel. She also was beaten by the volume and didn’t do the dish justice.

We ordered another round of drinks ostensibly for me to quell the fires that were rimming my tongue, all of which were at half price because of my luck in drawing the “lucky” cards, which I assumed everyone else in the bar had also done.

Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable meal and the Yellow Curry Chicken to my way of thinking could not be surpassed anywhere else for its authenticity or volume.

With people coming through the door and shaking the copious rain off their umbrellas we too had to summon the energy to go forth where they had come from but before exiting of course one little detail had to be taken care of:

COST: 3 x Beer Lao (normally 110 baht, discounted by “lucky” cards to 55 baht and similarly for 3 x gin and tonics at the same price) so the drinks tab came in at 330 baht.

The Wiener Schnitzel was quite expensive at 330 baht but it was a huge serve and the Yellow Curry Chicken with rice came in at 235 baht for a total food bill of 565 baht and a combined total of 895 baht which at the time equated to $AUD32.50

So it was I paid the bill to the card dealer and we picked up our brollies and headed out into the sloshing soi.

SCORE: Food 7/10; service 8/10; ambience 8/10; value for money 5/10 (it scored five only because the drinks were half priced). Total: 28/40.

CONCLUSION: The Bull’s Head and Angus Tavern must have one of the most agreeable atmospheres of any Brit/Irish type bar in Bangkok or the whole of Thailand for that matter.

It would be my recommendation to use the Bull’s Head for happy hour (card dealing) drinks only and eat elsewhere as the value for money component doesn’t really stack up all that well at the tavern, despite its enormous serves. Its "toss the boss" on Sunday afternoons is very popular and if you've never been in a rugby scrum and have wondered what the experience would be like, then I would suggest a visitation on a Sunday afternoon for a session of "toss the boss".

LOCATION: Soi 33/1, about 75 metres up the narrow soi from Sukhumvit Road. Take the BTS to Phrom Phong station and the Bull’s Head is only a five minute walk away.

NEXT WEEK: We dine out at a cheapie and beauty just over the river from Saphan Taksin pier and wedged right next to the five star Millennium Hilton Hotel. Called “Be My Guest”, it is one of Emdee’s best finds for a long time, so next week indeed “be my guest”.

brilliant emdee have been there and that sumation is the "food out of my mouth"

Great review as ever, Emdee - thanks! This place rings a bell. Sounds pricey though - then again, everywhere but Blighty is pricey when the pound is as weak as it is at the moment! Not a good time to have a travelling addiction :-D

PS. I will add this to the archive of Emdee's restaurant reviews for easy retrieval later...

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Thanks for the read Emdee, most enjoyable and informative. I have yet to try a Lao beer which seems to be a good drop by all accounts. I have usually stuck to Singha or Heineken when in BKK.

Hi Roving Rabbit,

You can now get Beer Lao at Dan Murphy outlets in Oz. It is not cheap at around $17.99 for 6 long necks. However, the brew, to my palate and way of thinking, is one of the best beers I have ever tasted in any country. It is well balanced, not overly sweet like VB, not overly bitter some southern German brews, it retains a beautiful head in a chilled glass without excess foaming and the multiplicity of flavours on the back palate are all in harmony.

Unlike a lot of S.E Asian brews, there is no evidence of over-yeasting and it is full bodied and flavoured, unlike the favourite of Thais and many visiting Aussie imbibers - the repugnant Singha, or "Beer Sing" as it is commonly referred to.


Beer Lao is one of the best kept secrets for the beer conniousseur anywhere in the world. Do yourself a favour RR and get down to Dan Murphy's and try a half dozen.