Millennium Hilton Hotel Bangkok
The 360 Bar Overlooking the Chao Phraya River is a Chill-out Must
One of the best places for a post-work week chill-out is the 360 Bar of Bangkok’s Millennium Hilton Hotel. Sitting on the very top of this 32-floor hotel, right on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the 360 Bar looks like a grounded flying saucer. Its floor-to-ceiling glass wall gives unrivalled views over Bangkok and both up and down river as it meanders its lazy way to the Gulf of Thailand.
A bonus is that the 360 serves what may be the best cocktails in Bangkok cleverly designed to reflect the time of day.
In the mood for an appetising aperitif try what the 360 calls Bellini Sunset Collection.
Now it is possible to have a classic Bellini just as it was first made 60 years ago in Venice’s Harry’s Bar and deliciously peachy it is too. But the 360 has concocted a distinctive collection ranging from Apple-Cucumber Bellini, a rapture in a glass, to the Pear and Rosemary creation that the menu described as ‘a delicious medley of Prosecco stirred with freshly poached pear and rosemary puree’.
As twilight fades into dusk and then to the darkness of the late night, the city’s lights flicker in the gloaming, you may want a snack and the 360 has a surprise in store here too. Illuminated boats cleaved the glistening moonlight fracturing and strewing the pieces into a thousand luminescent crystal-like slivers across the surface.
Just like James Bond’s margarita the 360’s pasta dishes are shaken not stirred prepared piping hot from a cocktail shaker where all the ingredients are combined by the chef who proceeds to shake the constituents are served from the shaker to the plate. This certainly is a very different way to dish up a classic Italian favourite.
The 360’s Extravagant Evening drinks are just that ‘extravagant’ and meant to be enjoyed as the evening transforms into night.
Their Grilled Orange Margarita a classic cocktail made with grilled and pressed Valencia orange, Grand Marnier, bitters and lime shaken with a premium Mexican tequila is a margarita like no other, a satisfying drink that needed to be taken at a slow pace.
As night deepens the lights of Bangkok appeared as fireflies hovering over the concrete jungle so resident singer Denise Minifield’s style of jazz lulls one into a state of funky reverie as she sang through the night and into the early morning.
Her voice is as plush and soft as fine velvet that soothes not just the savage breast but can induce a state of meditative reflection.
But more than this simply to enjoy the glorious and ever changing river scene below, sipping a smooth libation while listening to contemplative jazz is just as perfect as Bangkok gets.
