Fine dining is as much about the experience as the food and the Vertigo restaurant certainly is an experience, a sky high restaurant that should be on everyone’s Bangkok to do list.
Fine Dining Experience at the Vertigo
Overlooking central Bangkok and the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and the Chao Phraya River in the distance the view from this 61st floor restaurant is 360o panoramic. Settle to a pre-meal drink at the Moon Bar or better still arrive early in the evening as the sun sets over the river for a spectacular and memorabl view.
Thai and International Food
The cuisine is predominantly international but Thai is also available. This kind of dining does not come cheaply but as this is Bangkok the price is not going to burn a hole in your wallet either.
Vertigo Set Menu
A set menu is available ranging from a four course set for 2,700 baht (US$75). The the truffle scented asparagus soup and rack of New Zealand lamb with in season al dente veg and creamy yet light gravy is a must. As is the taste sensation that is Vertigo's creme brulee. With wine 3500 baht (US$97). There is also a vegetarian set menu for 2,500 baht (US$70).
The Vertigo is a dining and visual treat that is gaining an international reputation and the good thing is that you really don’t need the excuse of a celebration to enjoy this restaurant that reaches for the stars.
Vertigo is open for drinks at the Moon Bar from 5 pm to 1 am. Last food orders are taken at 10.30 pm.
Pier 59 at the Banyan Tree
Pier 59 on the 59th Floor may be a different experience that the al fresco foodies haunt of the Vertigo but it is just as exciting. The colour scheme is predominantly electric blue and a floor to ceiling wall gives moody views over central Bangkok.
The attention to detail is meticulous, dividing the restaurant into discrete sections are avenues of large glass water filled tubes with lazy bubbles floating up through the column and delicately under lit in cobalt blue creating the perfect introduction to Pier 59’s understated class.
Although the restaurant is noted for its fine seafood cuisine the chefs don’t confine themselves to the fruits of the deep. The Serrano ham starters could have been freshly slaughtered on the slopes of an Iberian mountain.
Seafood
Pier 59 is rightly renowned for its seafood menu which is extensive, much of the fish and shellfish are imported from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France and Maine in the U.S.A.
From pan seared scallops in a bath of spinach chowder to wafer-thin disks of king fish, a moreish Maine lobster all the dishes done to perfection and all superbly fresh. The tang of the salt-sea briny was evident in each course.
Add to this a delicious cheek of veal ravioli in a lake of Shiraz reduction; roast grained beef tenderloin in a puff pastry mushroom duxelles. A dish any British mum would be proud to serve for Sunday lunch.
To cleanse the palate a plate of five delicate sweets of fresh and invigorating chocolate mint cream, and a citrus jelly speckled with flakes of gold leaf, just to makes one feel that little more special and extravagant.
A little pricey at 7,000 baht (US$195) and worth every penny.
For both the Banyan Tree and Pier 59 restaurants are the same:
Contact:
Banyan Tree Hotel, Sathorn Road, Bangkok
Tel +66 (0) 2679 1200
Fax: +66 (0) 2679 1199
Email: Bangkok@banyantree.com
