Pata Paplean Bar

little hip bar in an unexpected neighborhood! We came in on a friday night after some taiwanese food in elmhurst and decided to find a bar near by to grab a drink or two. A friend suggested this joint to us so we decided to check it out. the ambiance is great, very cozy and cute. I love the décor inside. you will see when you come in! Most seats are in a setup like a restaurant. with table and chairs to sit around along with a small bar area and one lounge seats section. we were lucky since we came early at around 9. was able to take up the lounge section! so a few of us. about 8 of us were seated there. place eventually got busy at around ¹⁰³⁰⁄₁₁.
their music choice is quite interesting. they were playing 90’s music all night and also some thai pop songs.
drinks of choices were also pretty cool and innovative. we each got a different drink. we had the mango sticky rice *consist of rum, pineapple, whip cream, sesame seed and some stuff* really sweet but i like it. berry mojitos. thai tea cocktails etc etc. they were all very reasonable priced too at around $ 10 per cocktail. with shots ranging from $ 5 – 8 i think!
only set back would be that it’s CASH ONLY.
i would come back again

Well, this is an updated review. 2 stars because: —
I’ve been a regular since last summer. Being a small bar and all, the waitresses of course know me and my friends very well (at least they see us, serve us, most weekends). YET, they keep asking us to show them our IDs.
Not a biggie at all, but it starts getting annoying after a while. I think we’re the most regular customers at Pata, but I still haven’t had a decent conversation with the workers. No acknowledgement, nor any speck of special treatment at all, forget about «this round on us.»
Need to thank us more!!!

Pata Paplean’s the coziest bar in the neighborhood. Best of all, they’re open until at LEAST 3am every dang day.
When I lived nearby, I’d regularly walk 20 minutes-​or-​so to enjoy drinks with the staff, bask in the kitchy surroundings, and listen to the chatter of Thai. Usually I’d get shots instead of cocktails. If it was early enough, I’d go for a Thai iced tea (without milk, $ 3-​ish).
Their kitchen serves up authentic Thai bites, some which are hard to find even amongst the myriad of Thai options in New York. Be adventurous: close your eyes and pick something. And bring cash.

I like it here! The design of the interior walls and furniture was definitely a contemporary of mine. From the indeterminate number of stuffed animals decorating a lampshade, an old arcade, a Christmas tree covered in garland, random awesome artstuff that could definitely be sold on Etsy. To sum it up, the vibe here is old-​school. I came here with about twenty women to have a white elephant party, and man, it was a blast! I loved my time here. It is loud with top 40 blasting, but surprisingy, one can still conduct a coherent conversation. It is dark and cocktails are in the $ 10 range. I happened to buy a mixed berry mojito. Yum! With real berries and actual mint leaves. There is plenty of seating for a small room including a couch, an armchair, seats with tables seating groups of two and four, and stools on the side. There are meals in case you want to drink and not get totally wasted. The bar even offered us a free round of coconut cocktails which were marvelous.

Cute décor. Really cute.
I think I’d prefer to come with friends and not with a date.
Drinks were tasty but a tad on the weak side for the price.
Cash only!

Just tried the mixed berry mojito and it was delicious then I tried the tom yum and that drink was just as yummy.
The service was something special. My waitress/​bartender was nice and polite. I was really impressed with the service that I received.
The bar décor is something hipnand from the 80’s i really liked it.
So overall its a great place to stop for a drink or bite to eat.

Went here for the 1^st time yesterday. The place is quaint and quirky. Its small and a bit tight but comfortable. They were playing 90s hits which was pretty cool. Their selection of beer wasn’t the best but at 5 bucks a beer for non happy hour, you cant go wrong. They also have a full bar and you can order apps. The bathroom looks like it can be a club. The only down sides are that the cocktails are city prices and that its cash only. In sum, its a nice spot for a relaxing night if your in the neighborhood.

Pata Paplean Bar has a beautiful ambiance and is ideal for hangouts or dates. Even when going on a Friday night, it got busy but never too congested or loud. I also enjoyed my $ 10 Muay Thai (rum-​based) cocktail. And as a side bonus, this place may have the fanciest bathroom in Queens.
My only regret is that I faced the wall as opposed to being able to see the rest of the nicely decorated establishment.
I definitely want to check out this place the next time I’m in the neighborhood. If I end up enjoying it as much as I did the first time (and get a better-​seated view of the place) I’m giving this place five stars.

Pretty nice bar. My friends brought me here and it’s not what I expected — low key and quite petite. The place is cozy though and they got great music so I gotta give em that.

One of my favorite places around Jackson Heights — the atmosphere and music are great. The décor and the monkey theme are super cute too! The cocktails are also wonderful! Plan to keep coming back.

Nice staff, great cocktails.

Nice chill bar in Jackson Heights on Woodside Ave. I like to call 77^th Street & Woodside Ave the Thai restaurant triangle because there is 3 thai places on each corner. Then I realized there’s a pretty chill bar with funky decorations. Reminds me of an expat bar at a beach area in Thailand. Drinks are decent but not excellent but hey it’s $ 10 for a cocktail which is cheap for NYC, us three ladies sat by the window and we nursed on our drinks for a couple hours and no huge pressure or rush. Not crowded, people flow in and out. Music is thumping with 80s, 90s, and early 2000s top hits and an occasional current top 40 song. They also have a food/​snacks menu for under $ 10. Would come here a grab a drink if I don’t want to wander too far from home in Elmhurst.

Chill and cozy vibe at this Thai bar, soft music playing in the background (lots of backstreet boys) and it was not loud or crowded on a Friday night. Pretty cool decorations, lots of colorful lights and stuffed animals and random disco lights. They ran out of fries, but the dumplings and pork balls were pretty good, and only $ 5 an order. It’s not too far from the Jackson heights Roosevelt ave station, and there aren’t many other bars around so I will be back if I’m in the area!

After eating at Ayada Thai, I seriously wanted a mango sticky rice for dessert. Sadly, mangoes were not in season, but drinks were! I knew about Pata Paplean Bar after clicking through numerous Unilocal pages looking for a bar in Queens, and Pata really piqued my interest. All the pictures showed a colorful, yet dark bar with cool décor, and most importantly, delicious drinks.
After entering the seemingly empty bar with no hostess or bartender around but just a canoodling couple, my friend and I were a little cautious. We sat down, and I went to the bathroom just to check it out. It really was funky in there! The disco lights really would make your pee look colorful. I would need to go back to tell you what I saw, since there were way too many things going around.
After coming back, a waitress finally brought us menus. Their drink menus were superbly Thai, such as the mango sticky rice, Tom Yum, and other Thai influenced flavors. We ordered the mango sticky rice, and when it came out, we were surprised how huge and pretty they were. It came in a tall glass, with whipped cream and sesame seeds on top. It was insanely delicious. It was so mangoey and yummy. It was better than any mango sticky rice I’ve ever had. Sadly, one drink was all we had!
I have to come back here and try their other drinks. I’m kinda interested in their Tom Yum one. I really love the décor and the music they play. This would seem like a good place for a few drinks, even though they didn’t have fries when we went last time. Can’t wait to come back!

Really digging this place. The staff is really nice and the crowd goes from mixed in the evening to mostly Thai late late night. I like

Smelled a little b.o.-ish, but the ambiance, tom yom cocktail, and sausage made up for it. Even the parents enjoyed it!

Pata Paplean
NY Queens Elmhurst
7pm Monday 23^rd February 2015
Four Stars
Gastronaut’s Meal extravaganza. This restaurant is hidden in plain sight but once you see inside it’s pretty unforgettable with its stuff animal lamp, rainbow techno-​lights and other randomness. The dinner started an hour late but there were plenty of singha beer so it wasn’t so bad. The course order was bit off but everything was tasty.
First Course: Pork Blood Thom Yum Phở-​like dish. The broth had all the right flavors: salty, spicy, sour, and umami. The rice noodles, asian herbs, and bean sprouts were a delicious combo. It was very satisfying on this cold evening.
Second Course: Papaya Salad with Fried Bugs and tomatoes. It was ultra spicy with plenty of lime but not much else going on. The bugs did add a nice texture to the dish.
Third Course: Pork Neck with sticky rice, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, and a tamarind sauce. The meat was well seasoned and cooked. The sauce was interesting and had me coming back to this smoky and sour sauce. The rice was very gelatinous was a blank canvas for the rest of the dish.
Fourth Course: Liver in a style that is very nostalgic to me with its roasted peppers, garlic, thai basil, onion, and scallions. The liver had a nice firm texture but was again extraordinarily spicy.
We finished with a shot of spiced rum.
Overall, another enjoyable meal with exotic foods.

Oh boy, this is like the funkier version of the coffee house in Friends but with alcohol, a good playlist, and a crazy mix of holiday and vintage decorations. They even have circuit boards and disco lights in the bathroom! Cocktails are picture perfect and only $ 10 but a bit on the overly sweet side. Can’t believe a place like this exists in real life!
Also: Cash only!

If I’m a regular at any bar, it’s probably this one.
Pata is cozy, funky, and a welcome spot in an area saturated with restaurants but few places to hang out afterward. I’ve been here a million times (I counted) after stumbling upon the strange exterior last fall.
Crowdedness is totally variable and distinct from both time of day and day of week — there are often a few groups chatting from opening time at 7:30pm, but I’ve been here at midnight on a weekend and it’s been packed with groups of happy young Thai people, masterfully imbibing egregious amounts of liquor. Other times (again at midnight on a weekend), it’s been quiet.
The décor is whimsical, crazy: old couches and mismatched armchairs, vintage Snoopy phones and kitschy signs along the walls, disco lights everywhere. Deconstructed motherboards in the bathroom. A cluster of stuffed animals sewn into an overhead lampshade. The music is also unpredictable, but enjoyable: sometimes Thai pop but often American ‘90s R&B/pop. There’s a flatscreen TV on one wall and if the place is empty enough, you get free rein over the remote.
They have wines and just 4 bottled beers: Singha and Chang (repping Thailand), Heineken, Corona. Try the cocktails though. I’ve had almost all of them at this point; they’re all $ 10 and spectacular looking, low on subtlety and almost invariably too sweet, but come in impressively garnished glasses. The Tom Yum cocktail is by far the best: like a mojito, except add lychee purée and replace the mint with dried kaffir lime leaves. Yes, kaffir lime in a cocktail is as brilliant as it sounds.
The menu of bar bites looks as interesting as the off-​the-​wall décor, but if you’re vegetarian, forget it.
Best thing: the bench along the wall has been built over a radiator, so your rear end will be nice and cozy as the temperature continues to drop.

When you have had a great dinner at the neighboring Thai restaurants in Woodside, then head over to Pata Paplean for a drink or two. I love the ambiance. Eclectic.
When did this area become so swanky? Love it!