Photos: Richard Marks and Octave Facebook page
COCONUTS HOTSPOT – There are plenty of reasons to hate rooftops bars in Bangkok. The prices are as high as the venues, brigades of tourists tend to shuffle around with cameras, the views are often disappointing and the cell service is reliably shoddy.
Thankfully, one recent addition, Octave, has learned from the competition’s mistakes. Whereas most hotels seem to build a rooftop bar as an afterthought to eek out extra profit, the newly opened Marriot Thonglor hotel was designed with a rooftop bar in mind.
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To begin with Octave boasts a true 360-degree view, which may be the best in the city. Unlike many other rooftop venues, there are few high-rise buildings obscuring this bird’s eye perch that looks down on Sukhumvit.
Complementing the vista is a soundtrack of great beats. Genres like witch house, acid jazz, and dream house fit nicely with the bar’s offbeat aesthetic which features unfinished wood and neon blue lighting. If you’re the type who enjoys getting lost in the music and letting your imagination run wild, then Octave is a prime choice.
But what’s not so “trendy” are the beer prices at Octave. A standard beer rings in at a below average at 195THB, while the Belgian ales are a bit more at 280THB. If you’re not looking for suds there’s also liquor options. Nestled behind the circular bar in the middle of the venue is a team of mixologists serving up cocktails that play on both the rooftop setting and the Bangkok location. Order a “Bangkok 57” for a heavy hitting mix of vodka and champagne (450THB), or the “Bloom over the roof”, a tea-based blend with a dose of vodka and elder flower zest. The cocktail to steer clear of is certainly the “Mexican Hops”. Ringing in at a whopping 470THB, this mixture of Hoegaarden and tequila is a recipe that will have you running to the railing to expel the taste.
Octave
Marriot Hotel Thong Lor
Sukhumvit 57
