There are lots of things that are legendary in Pattaya, and most of them revolve around the nightlife. Another thing that visitors to the seaside city can’t get enough of happens just before the dark takes over: the sunset.
Sundown in Pattaya is when people gather to end the day and one of the premier places to watch from is The Sky Gallery, a cafe in the Pratamnak Hill area that feels like a world away from the seedy glamor of Walking Street.
The restaurant itself is charming, but the real star of the show is the never-ending view of Pattaya bay and Koh Larn.
The cafe gets top ratings and with good reason. Their coffee and cocktails are great, as is the location. Some say the food is lackluster. Most customers aren’t much interested in the fine dining on offer here, though. They come to experience one of the best — and most romantic — views in Pattaya. We’d suggest skipping the pricey food entirely and trying a well-made coffee or cocktail while watching the show at sundown.
The cliffside cafe is open all day for coffee, cocktails, snacks, and meals but the sunset scene is what made a name for the place when it opened about three years ago. After 5pm, the massive place begins to fill, with folks perched on barstools, couches, at tables, and on beanbags spread around the place.
The crowd is mixed, with everyone from senior tourists, to locals on date nights, to Bangkok weekenders. We found the revelers there to be friendly, with strangers chatting about where they are from, which drinks are great, and many, many people asking strangers to snap their photo in the primo spot overlooking the sea.
Expect to see glamorous locals, women in maxi dresses with flowers in their hair, and men in white linen sporting panama hats at this spot.
Book a table or get there early to avoid being added to the dreaded waitlist and have to join the throngs hanging around the entry to the open air restaurant. They only book tables from Monday to Thursday. The weekends are a free-for-fall, first-come, first-served basis.
Pro tip: they don’t book the bar stools, so if you forget to make a reservation and want to skip the queue, just say you’ll sit at the bar. You can still see the sunset from there but the hosts and hostesses usually won’t offer those seats up. However, they will let you pass if you know to say that.
They offer all kinds of sunset sippers at Sky Gallery, but we recommend any of their gin and tonic variations. They aren’t cheap — at least, not by local standards. At THB265/USD 8 each, they come in a balloon glass and are noticeably larger than the cocktails we’ve seen in other high end beach bars.
Their G&T variations include: apple twist, butterfly, Chinese blossom, ruby dry, green peppercorn and lemon, sweet London, Thai tea, the sapphire, and the ultimate. They also usually have a few daily G&T specials.
We’ve tried the the ultimate, the sapphire, and the ruby dry and found them all refreshing.
This is our favorite place for sundowners in Pattaya and we’ve tried several. It hits the right note between casual (outdoors, you’ll feel comfortable in jorts and flops) and luxurious (the candles, bean bags, and well-made and presented cocktails offer a high-end sunset experience.
FIND IT:
The Sky Gallery
2 Muang Pattaya
Pattaya
Open daily, 8am-midnight
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