Beer Lab — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

Went there for a famous last one for the road. We were asked for IDs, even the night before we went there we weren't. Fair enough, we took it as a compliment. So we went in and ordered. All good. Shop closes at midnight and staff came to "check bill" at 1130. Fair enough. Total amount was 620.60 THB. What a total. That was because menu rates are ++, ok, fair enough. But then why don't you charge us 620, 621, or 625 THB, whatever! So we gave them 620 THB and all seemed good, again. 5 minutes later staff came back claiming that we paid 1 THB short. It sounded like a more serious accusation the way the staff got the message across. Hmm, fair enough, almost. So we paid 1 additional THB and asked, of course , for 0.4 THB change. Ridiculous, yes. They came back with 0.5 THB change since the smallest THB coins are 0.25 THB. They explained that the 0.1 THB difference didn't matter... but 0.4 THB did, or what? Not that we cared, but come one, don't act like that! Unfortunately, this is common with many other places, not only in TH, that are full of customers every night and therefore customer service or care is not first priority anymore. Whatever, we left the staff there a bit dumbfounded, maybe. On the way out some male staff/ security (?), who must have noticed that there was some "excitement" about our "check bill", gave us some black looks. Yes, thanks a lot for having us! But don't worry, for us it was definitely the last time at Beer Lab...

If you're in Thailand for the low cost-of-living (generally low prices) the Beer Lab will seem expensive, and it is by local standards; about on par with a lot of smaller bars and taverns in a lot of western countries. After paying something around 35 baht for Chang beer at a local market, the Beer Lab pricing was a bit of a shock.

That said, they have a very wide range of beers, wines, and liquor, with a lot of those beers on tap. It's a western-trendy sort of decor in sort of an indoor/outdoor setting on a busy corner. The lighting inside and outside sets a pretty good mood.

I tried the fish-and-chips and it was quite good. It was a generous portion of fish but I thought there could have been more fries (chips). I also had a dark beer that was good and a Mojito, which was passable.

It was worth a visit and I left satisfied but for me it's probably a one-time thing rather than becoming a regular haunt. I would certainly not tell people not to give it a try, especially if it's a "treat night" or special occasion; just a budget a bit more than is typical...

One of the worst experiences of my 5 years of traveling...

I was detered by their expensive beer prices so I opted for a Mojito from their extensive list of cocktails.

One sip, and it was clear that this was nowhere near what a Mojito should taste like.

I asked if I could replace this drink, but then I was uncomfortably interrogated as to why I didn't like it. I explained clearly however, they walked off laughing.

I then decided to change my drink for a Skewdriver, which is just Vodka and orange juice... surely they can't get that wrong...

When I placed my order they said I can't order another cocktail because I didn't like the Mojito and that the cost would be significantly higher than if I ordered a beer.

By the end, I told them that the customer service was terrible and the man/woman laughed and walked away, and as did I.

There's so many better bars here in CM. Don't waste your time or money at The Beer Lab. I should have read the reviews before stepping foot in this place. I'll...