World’s 50 Best Bars – Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020

The Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental comes in at # 7 (also the best bar in Thailand therefore), Vesper at # 11, Tropic City at # 24, Rabbit Hole at # 31 and Backstage at # 33.

The Bamboo Bar and Backstage – Visited and Reviewed (2018)

The Mandarin Oriental’s ferry, gets me from Saphan Taksin, where the train dropped me, to their hotel. Jamie Rind at the Bamboo Bar, had told me to only come by post 9 pm, when the live jazz kicks off. That gives me enough time to saunter around this historical hotel, and duck into the Author’s Lounge, named for many of the famous authors who have stayed at the Oriental over the last 3 centuries, including Noël Coward, James Michener, Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad. The Bamboo Bar where I’m bound also started off in 1953 in the heart of the Authors Wing, before moving to its current location, on the other flank of the hotel. It’s now one of Bangkok’s A-list venues, with it’s live jazz, cosy environs and stellar drinks, attracting an eclectic mix of patrons.

Jamie, seats my friend and I in a corner with a prime view of the stage, and tells us a little bit about his new cocktail menu called ‘Compass’, which draws inspiration from Thailand’s five regions, celebrating each one’s distinctive tastes in food, drink and lifestyle. The one headed for my gullet is called Aggy Aggy, with the drinks name being inspired by Agriculture, and the farming of the North East region of Thailand where they grow and supply most of the ingredients used in Thai cooking around the country. The cocktail itself is made up of ingredients you would commonly find growing in the region; Watermelon, Salac (Snakefruit), Lime and Yeela Leaf (Cumin Leaf) – all coupled with Thai Gin, with the drinks rustic roots, contrasted in its presentation in a beautiful champagne coupe glass.

Sharon is the Chanteuse we’re hear to listen too, accompanied by Igor on the ivories, and she rattles her way through jazz standards, How High the moon, follows Honeysuckle Rose and The Girl from Ipanema. My friend Dev Sehgal from Hong Kong had told me that the Bamboo Bar was banging, well said, but certainly not head banging territory.. just the lilt of Sharon’s voice, which is loud enough to lift over low key conversations, the rattle of the shaker and the stirring of the ice. I’ve got a request for her too, “It had to be you”, a fondly remembered song from When Harry met Sally. Sharon took a little while to dredge it out of her memory, but she did, and delivered a memorable rendition. A lovely evening, and I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun in a bar.

I’m still blue, and drinking cocktails isn’t helping, even though I’ve rationed myself to one at each bar. My last stop of the night is Backstage, one of the most highly rated bars in Bangkok, situated in the PlayHaus hotel. It has a Hollywood look and feel and a thematic menu, and I pick up Gaijin (based on The Last Samurai), with Whitley Neill gin, Sake, Genmai-lager cordial, Roasted Rice and Tea leaves. It tastes far better than it sounds!

In the movie The Last Samurai, Tom Cruise essays the role of Nathan Algren, an American military officer who goes to live in Japan, and therefore the mix of East and West in the drink. I can almost feel those blues melt away as I sip my drink! “What a difference a day makes”.. sang Sharon, earlier on in the week. I couldn’t agree more.

Vikram Achanta