V9 Bar & Restaurant
Sofitel Silom Bangkok
188 Silom Road,
Bangrak,10500 Bangkok
Tel.02 238 1991
Opening Hours: 5pm-2am nightly
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate

An interesting concept for a bar where the customer can buy their bottles at retail from a selection in wooden wine boxes stacked up by the entrance. All the wines are supplied from one source, the mainly retail distributor Wine Connection with wine shops around Bangkok and also in Vietnam and Singapore. The vibrant bar delivers all the expected exotic cocktails along with a good selection of wines by the glass. The Bar-Manager, Neungrutai Chaiya (nickname: Belle) and she definitely is V9’s “La Belle”, ask to talk to her she is a charmer, who incidentally, has been working there since the opening six years ago. It is basically a wine bar surrounded by a restaurant, and that is not to demean the restaurant in the least, it serves new, original French cuisine with a panoramic view of the city lights from the 37th floor of the Sofitel Silom Bangkok. They also feature live performances by various musicians and and now on is an exhibition of paintings, oil and acrylic, of mainly Chinese faces that are very interesting and well-conceived and, which I quite fancy, interspersed about the restaurant. The Belgian artist, Christian Develter email: develterart@mac.com who is based in Bangkok at least for the present.

Granted, many hotels and restaurants in Honolulu have excellent vistas of the coast, although Michel’s at the Colony Surf has unquestionably the best panorama of the ocean and shoreline of Waikiki as any of any of them due to its positioning. It is especially striking in the early evening and I urge you to telephone them and book a table in advance, or just walk in and sit at the bar. Please do not think that I am inferring that this is the only reason to go to Michel’s, although it is as compelling a motivation as I can conjure up right now; to sit with a drink in hand, watch the sun go down and enjoy this pleasant experience especially if there are a few or hopefully many puffy clouds in the sky, to make the sunset more spectacular, relax and just enjoy looking at the sun as it finally disappears under the horizon. This is the main attraction; on the other hand, you will be quite content with the menu, if you order carefully, as over the years the restaurant has been offering serviceable French cuisine under the direction of an assortment of chefs who have always produced cooking that is more or less satisfactory.
The wine list has improved of late, so have a good time!