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A few steps from the Ekkamai stop of the elevated skytrain BTS subway line, Exit 1, just at the foot of the stairs, you find a distinguished old lady selling flower garlands to take as offerings to the temple; all around, the hectic traffic of that Bangkok District is raging. You turn the corner, after entering Ekkamai Road, and after a few steps, on the right, you find a cove in which you find the base of a tall building, the Civic Ekkamai Hotel, a cannabis store, a public shrine where you can bow, make a quick prayer to ingratiate yourself into a good day, and a corner where you turn once again and find yourself at the foot of a short staircase consisting of a few steps. It seems to lead to a door set into the wall, a kind of movie backdrop, a fake door, in short. But it doesn't. That black door, fixed on a black wall, is actually a time gate.
As soon as you open and cross the threshold, there is a small corridor that leads to a glass door, marked "Push," and well, you push it and enter a place full of enchantment, outside of time. Or rather, you enter a place that lives in a Time different from our present one. It is a truly fantastic location called 2463 Speakeasy.
The decor and style is retro, you breathe in the atmosphere of a bygone time of nostalgia and refined solitary meditation.
"In fact, we wanted to recreate the atmosphere of the 1920s here, you know the scenery from the movie 'The Great Gatsby'? There, that was our intention from the very beginning of this location. The shades of green of the seating next to the bar tender, the creamy white of the armchairs arranged in the area between the entrance, the stage and the bar area, the draperies, even the napkin rings, you see, have a retro style, indeed, I would say Art Deco. It's our guiding spirit, in a way.
Mine Natwara responds to us calmly but has clear and confident ideas about the choices so far and future planning.
This location is on two floors; on the upper floor there is a VIP area from which you can look at the stage area, the bar area and the whole surrounding area but you remain in a secluded place that is ideal for private parties.
Why is Speakeasy anticipated by the numbers 2463?
It is very simple, 2463 is 1920 according to the counting that is done in Thailand. It is the prohibition era, when alcohol was considered illegal. The fact that it is entered through an almost indiscernible door, that the entire location is behind the base of a tall building, contributes to the atmosphere of a place you can find by following the whispers of people, following the secret advice of customers who have been there before. In short, 2463 Speakeasy is a "secret" place that you get to by word of mouth, whispering by the ear and hiding your lips with your hand.
The atmosphere we have in mind is that of characters like Charlie Chaplin, of an era full of hopes but surrounded by doubts, by inscrutable rubble. The type of cocktails prepared by our bar tender, even the shape and colors of the glasses used for our cocktails are the result of a careful stylistic choice that matches the spirit of the location, marked by the atmosphere of the Prohibition years, the 1920s. When everything was forbidden and illegal.
The menu is also designed in a retro key, isn't it?
Yes, even our courses are designed in the Thai spirit but it is rooted with its roots in the Past, the meats, the dishes, are set up with a contemporary visual but in the flavors we have tried to identify the typical characteristics of our typical flavors, with an eye to the past. Crispy pork, dried fish mixed and co-presented with orange peel and coconut flowers, glasses where dried plum powder has been passed on the rim are among the many little surprises reserved for our customers who intend to taste our cuisine.
What plans are there in the future?
I personally plan to plan to open my own restaurant, if possible in the Silom area, a kind of fusion sushi bar.
As for 2463 Speakeasy, we plan to have “guests shifts” where there will be a great coming and going of bartenders of different bars around the globe to exchange experiences and ideas of their style of cocktails with us and showcase this to our client base as well.
It will be sustained by the rhythm of alternating bands and musical styles, predominantly it will be contemporary pop music revisited by different deejays and jazz, in its various shades. Jazz is the musical genre that comes closest to the soul of 2463 Speakeasy, it approaches it in a very direct, natural way. The same spirit, that of the 1920s, was carried over into the structuring of our menu as well.
After the Covid era, the recovery was quite slow, in chiaroscuro we might say. People have been used to staying indoors, watching movies through Netflix subscriptions, the young and very young teenagers have found themselves living on the web, in Til Tok, on various social platforms. Returning to a pre-Covid climate, made up of a time more lived on the street, out and about, is a phase that is still ongoing. Among our intentions is to contribute to the return to a "normality" for which the life of the late evening at the edge of the night, returns to be a more inhabited and less lonely space/time.
2463 Speakeasy, 8/8 Soi. Sukhumvit 63 (Ekkamai), Phra Khanon Nuea, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand, Bangkok. Phone: 097 263 2463
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