In a city that never sleeps, where rooftop bars and restaurants were once considered a trendy fashion. A place where the elite and the in the know would go for a night out. However, somehow, Bangkok is now bustling with rooftop bars of all shapes, sizes style and ambiance.

I remember back in the day we could write about the top 5 or 10 rooftop bars in Bangkok because well there were just that many. Now, I think there are close to 30. Maybe more. There is a lot of competition ground around and rooftop bars constantly need to innovate to stand out.

When we look for rooftop bars, we look at three things – the view, signature cocktails and overall ambiance of the bar. Good service and friendliness of the staff go without saying.

In our latest find of rooftop bars, we came across The View Rooftop Bar Bangkok on the 9th floor of Novotel Platinum Hotel. W had been seeing it on social media for quite a while including a few pool parties, so it got us a bit curious to try it out.

Spoiler alert: we were not expecting this. It turned out to be better than we imagined.

Vibrant ambiance

Now this is what really impressed us. We weren’t expecting such a cool ambiance and décor. We thought it would be like most other hotel bars – emotionless.

The first thing that caught our attention was the colorful art on the walls – almost graffiti-like. These are important elements because that is what makes it unique. Can we say “instagrammable”?

The rest of the bar is the same. Colorful furniture and elements all around, which was really refreshing to see. The View Bar has a variety of seating styles as well. Instead of the typical setup, they have bean bags, sofas, chairs, and even pool loungers – just take your pick. It gives it a very urban, beach club vibe but high up with a view.

Like we said – vibrant, bold and appealing. I could imagine going back with some friends for day time dining and drinking until the sun went down. Maybe even beyond. A very relaxing atmosphere for a rooftop bar and ideal for sundowners.

Normally they have a resident DJ – Bradly Hart playing at the bar but on this day he wasn’t there. You can go on the View Rooftop Bar website and hear some of his tunes and mixes.

Did we mention the view?

While it may only be on the 9th floor (most rooftop bars boast views from 30+ floors) The View has a pretty sweet view. Ahhh, I see what they did there. Do you? The View…get it?

You get more than a 180-degree panoramic view of the Pathum Wan area. Central World, Gaysorn, a beautiful private park, and even the Khlong (canal) Saen Saep can be seen from up here.

Not bad at all. It’s nice that there are not many tall buildings in sight.

Perfect food by the pool

Now on to the important part – food. We tried 4 items, which are the highlight or signature dishes at The View Rooftop Bar Bangkok. Each dish was prepared really well and cooked to perfection.

First came the nachos. A great choice, especially after a day of swimming. If we had been swimming, we can imagine how refreshing it would have been. Unlike some other places, these nachos were not stale or soggy. There was a good ratio of nachos to cheese to salsa and jalapeno. Perfectly balanced as all things should be.

You’ve probably heard of kapao gai – stir-fried chicken with basil leaves. Well, meet kapao gai pizza. Wow, what can we say about this except that it was fantastic. We have tried this at a few other restaurants but none have done it justice as this has. The interesting and important thing is that the flavor of basil chicken is not overpowering or underwhelming, which is an easy mistake to make. This was just right in terms of spice, flavor and cheese-bread ratio. You just have to try it to know, especially if you are kapao fan.

These fried sweet potato sticks were served as appetizers as well. They come with four condiments – ketchup, mayo, chili sauce, and cheese dip. Pick one that suits your flavor but in any case, these sweet potatoes are a wonder. We’re not big fans of sweet potatoes but this dish was delicious. The texture was nice too – soft on the inside, crispy on the out.

Saving the best and baddest for the last was this giant beef burger with guac, bacon, tomato slice and oozing cheese. They call it The View Burger. While I would have preferred this burger to be a bit spicy, the flavors were really good. Everything went well together as we tried to take a gigantic bite (and failed) to fit everything in. Bursts of tanginess, sweetness, and umami came rushing in our mouth as we devoured the burger. A definite recommendation if you’re hungry!

Oh, and if you spend 500 Baht on food or drinks, you can use the pool.

That is 500 Baht per person not the total bill. So if there are 3 of you and all want to use the pool, the bill needs to be at least 1,500 Baht. Otherwise the pool is only open to hotel guests. This is very cool promo.

Chilled cocktails

As we said, signature cocktails are something we really look forward to at any bar. Firstly, they must have a few. Secondly, they must be unique and interesting.

At the View Rooftop Bar, we tried The Parch and Jarhead (two on the right).

The winner? The Parch! It’s the one in the copper pineapple glass. Not only does it have a great presentation (I mean, just look at it) but even the taste was out of this world. A beautiful blend of sourness, sweetness and even a little spiciness.

Our second favorite cocktail was the Margarita Sassy Cousin. I’m a sucker for passion fruit drinks so I had to order one of these and try it.

Now don’t get us wrong, we also expect the classics to be good. We tried their mojito and long island. Well, let’s just say they did the trick. Both were true to their taste and strength.

With Halloween around the corner, the bar also has a promotional set of Halloween-themed cocktails that look quite wicked. Obviously they didn’t have them ready for us when we went but I am certain these are going to be great. As long as they aren’ too sweet.

View Rooftop Bar has a happy hour buy 1 get another free promotion on signature cocktails that starts at 5 pm until 7 pm.

About View Rooftop Bar

Address: 9th Floor Novotel Bangkok Platinum Pratunam, 220 Phetchaburi Rd, Thanon Phetchaburi, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400
Hours: 10 AM – 1 AM
Phone: 02 209 1700
Booking: You can reserve your table or cabana through their online booking site.