The buzz: The newly-redecorated Siam City Hotel has also been renamed The Sukosol in reference to the owner’s family name. Renovations are ongoing, but they just launched their new lobby bar, Sapphire Bar, which lives up to the jazzoriented reputation of the hotel, but takes it in a more chilled-out direction that’s better suited to younger music enthusiasts.

The décor: Despite claims that it’s inspired by 1920s speakeasies, the bar’s ambience is more akin to a grand Chinese mansion with the whole space fitted out with finely detailed blue and purple pastel sofa chairs, matched with low dark wood tables. Each table is topped with a blue vase containing fresh red roses, which together with all the Chinese ceramic pottery, creates a feeling of Shanghai luxe.

The music: Soft jazz plays in the background, while the house band, James & the Gemstones, performs every Fri-Sat from 9pm to midnight. Thu nights see DJs spinning everything from lounge, Bossa and house to some hip hop, popand Latino from 8pm-midnight.

The crowd: Mostly hotel guests and customers from the on-site Spice & Rice,
Kamon and Primavera restaurants dropping by for after-meal drinks.

The price: Cocktails take center stage, with standard choices and Martinis starting from B220. The signature list includes The Sapphire (vodka, mango juice, orange flower water with fresh vanilla extracts, fresh tangerine juice topped with blue-kaffir lime foam and blue jelly on the bottom, B260). The bar interestingly uses Thai rice vodka as the base sprit for choices like Tom Yam Roska (Thai rice vodka, lemongrass, chili, ginger, soda, B240) and the refreshing Ritzy Mango (Thai rice vodka, chili-mango syrup, passion fruit juice and lime, B240). The limited selection of beers by the bottle ranges from local Singha (B95) to imported Corona (B190) and Delirium (B250). Sparkling choices start from Chandon Brut at B2,200 up to Champagne Dom Perignon Vintage at B14,500 per bottle, while whiskeys range from Johnnie Walker Red Label at B180/2,200 to Royal Salute at B790/11,900 per glass/ bottle. Food can be ordered from the three restaurants in the hotel and are served in small tapas sizes. Enjoy the daily happy hours with a buy-oneget- one-free deal from 5-7pm, while on Thu, ladies get free selected drinks and tapas from 7-9pm.

Why you’ll come back: A nice bar is a rare treat in this area. And if you’re not into jazz, the Spanish Ladies Night on Thu is a pretty hopping way to start the weekend early. Vasachol Quadri