The buzz: Set atop Silom’s United Tower, multi-sectioned pub and restaurant Cloud 47 offers more choice than most rooftop venues across Bangkok, yet has a distinctly Thai flavor. Here, there’s space enough for some 500 people in either the laidback beer garden or more luxe wine zone. Owned by Pheeraphon Pipawakorn, managing director of concert organizer Sea Dragon and the man behind Bangkok Gastro Riverfront at Asiatique, we’re intrigued by his promise of a tall wine cellar which will be serviced by a “flying angel hostess.”

The décor: A huge white cubic façade is the backdrop for the beer garden zone, which comprises stark white square tables and little white stool sofas. Though the decor is all-white, as the sun sets the place is given color by constantly changing backlights. As it’s their soft opening period, work is still ongoing on the promised wine cellar, which we’re told is going to be impressively tall. There will also be a quieter zones set aside for wine devotees, by the time the place officially launches in August.

The music: Live bands play popular tunes, as do DJs, all blasting out of owner Pheeraphon’s concert-standard soundsystem.

The price: Cloud 47’s views of the central business district are stunning, and its prices would be reasonable by any standard—in fact, for a rooftop bar and dining venue, they’re downright cheap. Unfortunately, we can only recommend you drink here, as the food is systematically disappointing, except maybe for some of the simpler drinking snacks, like fermented sausage (B160), satay (terrible sauce and odd seasoning but decent produce, B160) or even the bolder ground pork taco with yogurt sauce (except for the “taco” being a half-dozen tiny tortilla chips, B180). Mains are unmitigated disasters, though, whether it’s the oily, overcooked and bland pasta with pesto sauce (B280) or the dry scallops smothered in an overpowering “Shanghai” sauce (B480). Some dishes even had us a bit worried, such as the steamed John Dory (B480), which doesn’t exactly have the texture of a catch of the day, is doused in a milky sauce meant to taste of white wine and comes accompanied by a heap of wasabi-flavored, fatty guck meant to be mashed potatoes—a tragic flavor and texture combination. Still, we really appreciate that Cloud 47 isn’t the massive tourist-trap that other rooftop restaurants usually are. And we’ll definitely keep going back for jugs of draft Singha (B320) and cocktails made with Absolut vodka (B220 or get a tower of the stuff, B850).

Why you’ll come back: Cloud47 manages to be a very pleasant bar and a terrible restaurant rolled into one. The increasingly maddening Silom traffic makes a casual evening sit-down all the more appealing. Here, you have a great view over the tiny side-streets and a laidback vibe in which to while away the peak hour and beyond.