Bar 9 Novotel: beer garden and rooftop

It’s IN the Platinum fashion mall! We procrastinated so long just because we imagined Bar 9 Novotel to be miles away, but we legged it in 10 minutes from Chit Lom. It turns out we had walked past it a gazillion times each time we went shopping in Platinum (it’s literally next door to Starbucks).

Not a rooftop bar kind of person? Want a confidence booster? Walk into their fancy lobby and get greeted by super polite staff who will walk you to the elevators – you’ll feel super important for a moment! Another cool thing about it was that the toilet had a bloody steam room in it – talking about fancy… They say it’s a bar, but it’s a hotel. And it’s open from 8 am. The general feel upon arrival is very welcoming, and we would kinda like to stay there. Well, not kinda, it’s really nice!The layout:

Different types of seating, but mostly for  couples, couples, couples. And that’s good. There are small chairs by the glass panel, some bigger tables, cosy wicker seats, beanbags – can I call them by the real name of “puffs” please?, and the bird cage. You have to go for the bird cage! It feels so cosy, like sitting on a swing in the spring.

The chairs were arranged in such a way that you could enjoy privacy without being disrupted by intermittent chatter from your neighbours. Because you don’t really want to know who did what on Game of Thrones… We really enjoyed the bird cage (it’s not for birds, is it??), but it’s easier to eat on the table with the puffs.The view:

You can see the sun setting to the right, and even though the bar is only on the 9th floor, surprisingly, no buildings block the view. As the lights came up, we preferred the panorama to the left, probably because the buildings on that side have more interesting shapes. Plus points – there are REAL trees up there, so you actually feel like you’re in a garden. If you’re staying in the area, and especially go shopping in the [infinite] Platinum mall, remember this oasis in the middle of concrete jungle!

The food:

Being vegetarian we don’t expect to find much on the menu. Bar 9 Novotel had a few vegetarian snacks, but also offered to adapt some of their non veggie dishes for us! We ended up having a veggie quesadilla, vegetarian Pad Thai and a tomato bruschetta.

Compliments to the chef with such creativity, it was so pretty that I felt awkward eating this art – we were seriously impressed. I’m not sure though whether we were supposed to eat the fried noodle “bed” where quesadillas were placed. Oh well.

We’ve had some pretty tasteless Pad Thais during our time in Thailand, as most chefs just take out the “meaty” ingredients and don’t replace them with anything. The Pad Thai here was just right, full of flavour, topped with lots of ground peanuts – just like it should be.

The quesadillas were simple, but good – with a filling of cheese, spinach and corn. The bruschetta was a little bit disappointing as we didn’t expect to find Thai basil in there. We love Italian food and Thai basil is just not the same as proper European type. Although if you enjoy fusion cuisine, that might definitely be your thing!

You can actually view the full menu on their website (link HERE).

The cocktails:

This bar is not really a BEER garden, it’s more of a literal garden, as there weren’t that many beers to choose from. We decided to try all the unusual flavours this time and went with 3 signature cocktails instead of the typical Margaritas and Mojitos.

Miss B was very much like a Pina Colada (Auste’s favourite flavour combination) just a bit lighter and not as creamy. It still had this coconut foam, and the portion size was impressive – you could drink it all night!

Sunset Chill was the best one of the three, with a perfect mix of sweetness and just a touch of sour. Orange curacao I think was the ingredient that gave it such photo-worthy colour. That serving glass though…[in-love-emoji]

Last, but unfortunately the least was the lemongrass cocktail, or Spicy Sawasdee as it’s called. The presentation was beautiful without doubt, with chillies, limes, and lemongrass floating in a tumbler glass. It was way too pungent of the lemongrass, and it almost felt like a glass Tom Yum Kung juice (not that I’ve tried one). It’s a brave mix, perhaps worth giving a try as a challenge, but I still prefer my lemongrass and chillies in a curry (confident photo posed with Spicy Sawasdee BEFORE the tasting!)

Aaaand the best part – price:

It’s unbelievable how a rooftop bar in central Bangkok (even with just 9 floors) can have such low prices. Come on, dishes for 100 baht, quesadillas for 150? That’s almost street food prices. The cocktails go for around 250 baht, which is also a bargain, considering most places charge 350+. As always, 10% service charge and 7% tax will be added on top of the bill.

Check their Facebook page (link HERE) for promotions or events as a chill session by their infinity pool sounds very appealing!

Cons:

The music. We didn’t really notice it at first, but later when we were just chilling out with our drinks, we felt something was off. Their 90s or so tunes were just too mellow – songs that Nana bars play trying to attract expats that came to Thailand 20 years ago and got stuck in that era. Maybe they didn’t want to play house tunes as not to steal thunder of the live DJ that plays later in the evening? If you’re anything like us, you’d like to hear some deep house or chill hop on a cosy rooftop.

Our verdict:

It’s definitely a casual place, so don’t worry if you don’t have, or even own, a tuxedo. If anything, bring your swimsuit and take a dip in their infinity pool – it looks really good and they do offer day passes for their fitness suite. The view is nice, the choice of cocktails is different, and we liked their flexibility with food. The only thing that would actually affect our choice of visiting again is the music – for us it’s a big part of the experience.