A little background for you out-of-towners: The Maze is a large building at the intersection of the National Highway and Del Pilar street. Pre-pandemic it was home to five bars with dancers on stage, a large open-air bar upstairs, a restaurant, and a boutique hotel. Lollipop is the new location of Sit-n-Bull restaurant, Rum Jungle was replaced by a sports bar called The Green Room, Rapscallion and Man Cave, have both been permanently closed. BarCelona still operates on the rooftop.
I’m friends with the owner of Wet Spot (he operates The Green Room and Voodoo bars as well). He’s also a reader and commenter here on the blog. I’ll try not to let that impact my review. Much.
Actually, when it comes to Wet Spot, what’s not to like? The girly bar format may not be my personal favorite, but it is a well-run bar in all aspects–staff, women, decor, and tidiness are all top-notch. Back in the good old days, I was here at least weekly and I always enjoyed myself. I’m here less frequently now but still have a good time and am welcomed warmly.
Speaking of my companion, meet Aine:
When I first arrived and was preparing to sit down, Aine greeted me by name and asked if I remembered her. Well, I’m more Biden-like every day, plus the bar was dark, but I had to confess that I did not. She told me that until recently she had worked at Blue Butterfly and we had shared drinks and conversation on my infrequent visits there. Oh yeah! Actually, it was nice to get reacquainted with Aine. Smart and witty and a pleasure to spend the evening with. I promised I’d be back for more.
My beers were 110 pesos, lady drinks 170 each. That’s at the higher end of the pricing spectrum, but having all those women employed does create some overhead.
So what you see is what you get at Wet Spot. A fine bar holding on for the return of sanity and tourists. Good music played at a reasonable volume (even had a set of country songs which I enjoyed). I almost always have a good time here, I need to get back more often!
To the current rankings then:
- It Doesn’t Matter
- Cheap Charlies
- Mango’s Beach Bar
- Alley Cats
- Wet Spot
- Adam’s
- Blue Butterfly
- Out Back Billabong
- Dynamite Dick’s
- Palm Tree
- Hideaway
- Hot Zone
- Alaska Club
- Thumbstar
- Bottoms Up
- Rosies
- Rock Lobster
- Queen Victoria
- Voodoo
- Annex
- MacArthur’s
- Redz Pub
- Whiskey Girl
- Finger Monkey
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Dear John,
Great review. Proves to all the detractors out there that Wet Spot really is the top abnormal bar in town.
I hope the only tip you give Brett was to get off his fat ass and find some customers.
HaHa! I was there before 5 and his table was full at least. A good vibe in Wet Spot and that’s what attracts me. Well, the girls attract me too, but you know what I mean… 🙂
As always, a good review. Enjoying the series.
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