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This rooftop cocktail bar is hidden inside the low-key side of Chinatown

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Former Features Editor, ContributorFriday August 3 2018

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A cocktail bar on the rooftop of a Songwat hostel

The folks behind umeshu institution PrumPlum and lowkey guest house Hostel Urby have ventured into the cocktail business, opening up a bar on the rooftop of the latter.

French influences permeate this small cocktail joint, from its name, which means “good bar” in French (but also reads “upstairs bar” in Thai), to a gleaming neon sign lighting up a phrase that tempts you to get drunk in French, not to mention a French jazz playlist that makes you momentarily forget that you’re in Bangkok’s Chinese quarter.

Prop yourself on the deck, which overlooks the Chao Phraya river, and witness twilight falling over the city while sipping well-balanced cocktails such as the A.C.C., a frothy sour that mixes apple and cinnamon-infused bourbon with lemon and egg white (B280). There are also drinks that pay tribute to the bar’s Chinese-influenced surroundings, like the Gin and Rose, which is pretty much a gin and tonic that’s been infused with tea and lavender (B240). If you’re into classic cocktails, talented Nepali-born, Myanmar-raised head bartender who goes with the name Alfred slings an impressive Pegu Club, the gin-based national cocktail of Myanmar (B260).

Barbon also offers snacks like guacamole with nachos (B160) and shrimp with crispy rice crackers (B220). If you happen to be in Chinatown, a detour from the Yaowarat stretch to this little bar in a quiet corner is actually worth a try.