After reading a lot about the Zeppelin Rooftop Bar online, my husband and I decided to check it out last weekend. A five-minute walk from Phra Kanong BTS station, this skybar was a decidedly mixed bag!
First of all, the signage to the bar is utterly confusing. While the arrows point one way, Zeppelin is in exactly the opposite direction! Look for Luk Condominium if you're heading there -- it's on the 46th floor of the building.
Our first interaction with the restaurant staff was not promising. We arrived at around 6 pm on a Saturday evening and not a single table was occupied. When we asked to be seated, the waitress cast a confused eye at the deserted seats and mumbled, "No table available." HUH?? We were extremely confused and points out all the available tables. "All booked," she mumbled. "For what time?" asked my husband. "6 o'clock," came the incoherent response. Okayyyy then! Anyway, we politely requested her to seat us anyway and assured her that we would get up if a reservation showed up. She nodded assent reluctantly and then, instead of leading us to a table with a view, tried to make us sit in the centre of the restaurant. We firmly asked us to lead us to a table with a view and she finally did, albeit very unhappily!
Finally seated, we admired the city view, which is truly spectacular. You can see the Bangkok skyline and the river winding through the city -- a truly gorgeous view. After 15 minutes of soaking in the view, we realised we were still menu-less even though we were the only patrons in sight! Anyhow, we waved to a waiter and asked for menus. We ordered a drink each and a plate of chicken wings, and the waiter whisked away the menus after taking the order. The drinks arrived promptly, thank heavens!
A little while later, however, another waiter sauntered up to us, informed us that they were out of chicken wings, and looked at us expectantly. Too exasperated to ask for the menus again (obviously, the Zeppelin menus hold closely-guarded state secrets!) we said we would just have the drinks then. Within minutes, however, another waiter arrived with a plate of chicken wings! "The last plate!" he grinned. Well, I guess it was our lucky night then -- sort of, because the wings turned out to be quite average. Too tomato-ey, not barbecue-ey enough for our liking.
By the time we finished our drinks, it was 7-30. Only four other tables (out of around twenty) were occupied. Don't ask me where all the apparent reservations went; it's a mystery! In conclusion, while the views are excellent and the venue is pleasant enough, the service is inexplicably strange, unwelcoming and inefficient...plus the one snack we sampled was mediocre at best. One unique feature was the skywalk -- a glass path you can saunter over as you look down at the building's pool 46 storeys below you. My husband loved it although my vertigo made it more terrifying than enjoyable!
All in all, I would any day rather head to Cloud 47 -- a rooftop bar with great views and good service to boot!
First of all, the signage to the bar is utterly confusing. While the arrows point one way, Zeppelin is in exactly the opposite direction! Look for Luk Condominium if you're heading there -- it's on the 46th floor of the building.
Our first interaction with the restaurant staff was not promising. We arrived at around 6 pm on a Saturday evening and not a single table was occupied. When we asked to be seated, the waitress cast a confused eye at the deserted seats and mumbled, "No table available." HUH?? We were extremely confused and points out all the available tables. "All booked," she mumbled. "For what time?" asked my husband. "6 o'clock," came the incoherent response. Okayyyy then! Anyway, we politely requested her to seat us anyway and assured her that we would get up if a reservation showed up. She nodded assent reluctantly and then, instead of leading us to a table with a view, tried to make us sit in the centre of the restaurant. We firmly asked us to lead us to a table with a view and she finally did, albeit very unhappily!
Finally seated, we admired the city view, which is truly spectacular. You can see the Bangkok skyline and the river winding through the city -- a truly gorgeous view. After 15 minutes of soaking in the view, we realised we were still menu-less even though we were the only patrons in sight! Anyhow, we waved to a waiter and asked for menus. We ordered a drink each and a plate of chicken wings, and the waiter whisked away the menus after taking the order. The drinks arrived promptly, thank heavens!
A little while later, however, another waiter sauntered up to us, informed us that they were out of chicken wings, and looked at us expectantly. Too exasperated to ask for the menus again (obviously, the Zeppelin menus hold closely-guarded state secrets!) we said we would just have the drinks then. Within minutes, however, another waiter arrived with a plate of chicken wings! "The last plate!" he grinned. Well, I guess it was our lucky night then -- sort of, because the wings turned out to be quite average. Too tomato-ey, not barbecue-ey enough for our liking.
By the time we finished our drinks, it was 7-30. Only four other tables (out of around twenty) were occupied. Don't ask me where all the apparent reservations went; it's a mystery! In conclusion, while the views are excellent and the venue is pleasant enough, the service is inexplicably strange, unwelcoming and inefficient...plus the one snack we sampled was mediocre at best. One unique feature was the skywalk -- a glass path you can saunter over as you look down at the building's pool 46 storeys below you. My husband loved it although my vertigo made it more terrifying than enjoyable!
All in all, I would any day rather head to Cloud 47 -- a rooftop bar with great views and good service to boot!
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