Tippling Around Town: Opium, Paradise Lost, The Parlor, and More

Tippling Around Town: Opium, Paradise Lost, The Parlor, and More

With the year- end holidays fast approaching, it means a lot of glasses will be raised this month to toast the season. Thankfully, Bangkok’s best bars are more than ready for the onslaught.

(Hero image: ‘Honey Trap’ signature cocktail at The Parlor; Featured image: Smoky sips at Opium Bar)

OPIUM BAR
Imaginations are running wild these days at Opium Bar, with the recent launch of their ‘Liquid Surreality’ experience. Every guest joining the experience will be given an Opium maze box to begin, four cocktails, and three pairing bites to “enhance” the visit – courtesy of Potong restaurant downstairs. One drink is a “customised” bespoke creation made by the bartender based on an evocative questionnaire each guest fills out five days before arriving (reservations can only be made at opiumbarbangkok.com). As for the three other beverages one receives, they are all designed to play upon the senses. One drink, for instance, tastes and feels like coconut but has no actual coconut in it; a sensory illusion achieved via a clever combination of pandan and rum. Other drinks, meanwhile, may have even more bizarre and surprising elements, like the one that bar manager Matteo Cadeddu says will “change its taste every sip you take”.
opiumbarbangkok.com

PARADISE LOST
High up on the 25th floor of the Siam@Siam Design Hotel Bangkok sits Paradise Lost, a cool rooftop bar – boasting a dramatic 360-degree cityscape panorama – which was just hitting its stride when the Covid crisis forced Bangkok’s nightlife scene into an extended hibernation. But now, thankfully, this oasis in the sky has reopened, proving that what was “lost” is now “found”. Returning visitors (and first timers) can look forward to an active schedule of live music and performances, with an innovative curated programme of events. As for the cocktails, the beverage list evokes a bygone era of tropical tipples, now firmly rooted in ecological ideals. Can’t decide? Try the refreshing ‘Static Sunset’, which features gin, two melons – watermelon and cucumber – a toasted marshmallow, and a dash of effervescent sparkling wine.
siamatsiam.com

THE PARLOR
Designed to be a lively hub for socialising in style, The Parlor is a bright and airy indoor/outdoor lounge that’s probably the most casual of The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon’s six F&B outlets. Those entering this laid-back venue are surrounded by hand-picked art, antiques, and curiosities, as well as inviting, comfortable furniture. During the day it makes for a great chillaxing spot, while in the evenings the space will most likely be playing host to book launches, cocktail parties, talks by local tastemakers, and live DJ sets (from The Standard’s in-house Sounds Studio). Adding to the cosmopolitan vibe is an easily digestible menu of small plates, global comfort foods, and re-interpreted local classics, which can be washed down with some creative craft cocktails.
standardhotels.com

VILLA FRANTZÉN COCKTAIL BAR
Villa Frantzén is certainly a fabulous addition to Bangkok’s restaurant scene, but equally noteworthy is the adjacent Villa Frantzén Cocktail Bar. Overseeing things at this laid-back lounge is Bar Manager Gabriel Valdés, whose cocktail menu is in keeping with the restaurant’s overall ethos of fusing local and Nordic influences. The signature drinks here make clever use of vinegars and other surprising ingredients, and a must-try would be the ‘Licorice & Air’, a dreamy mix of almond vodka, pure licorice, butterscotch, salt, and citrus. In addition, two brand-new concoctions were recently introduced, starting with ‘Milk, Tea & Coco’, a clear drink utilising Chalong Bay rum, aged Akvavit, arrack, coconut milk, Ceylon tea and lavender, and the highball-style ‘Booze & Bubbles’, with Scotch whiskey, umeshu, white tea, plum, and coffee.
villafrantzen.com