Banyan Tree (Vertigo) / State Tower (Sirocco)

[corkman]

Hi All,

Planning a dinner for two (me & Mrs.).

Never been to either venue - read lots of reviews, but I'd like to get peoples more "personal" opinions:

1. Quality of food

2. The venue & service

3. Typical costs / value for money, including a few drinks (I don't mean compared to a phad thai at some local budget venue. I am an expat, not tourist.).

Many thanks in advance!

[Tropicalevo]

Banyan Tree - spectacular view. Good for drinks (cocktails 350/beer 250).

Dinner ok-ish. Nothing magic. Can be windy

Service very good as you would expect from this hotel.

(Dress code for men long troos and proper shoes )

Vertigo always impresses though.

[jamora]

I have never eaten dinner at Vertigo, only had snacks and drinks, but frequently go so Distil (the indoor bar at Scirocco), and have had dinner a few times at Scirocco. Here is my experience:

For the atmosphere I definitely like Scirocco more than Vertigo. Vertigo seems a bit small and cramped compared to Scirocco.

Drinks/Cocktails are better at Scirocco, but as far as I remember also slightly more expensive. Most beers and cocktails are in the 300-400 THB rage at Scirocco.

I like the food at Scirocco, but it is slightly overpriced. You can get the same quality at many ground level restaurants at a lower price, but if you include the experience of sitting outdoor at the 64th floor I think it is worth it, especially for celebrating something special! But as a general weekend venue, I prefer other places which have the same quality of food, or even better, but at a lower price.

For the price, last I went there for dinner with my Mrs (about a year ago) it cost us around 15,000 THB for two including wine.

Normally they have set menus at around 3,500 THB, and a la carte you might be able to make it slightly cheaper.

As I said, I have never eaten at Vertigo, but their snack food, is good.

Have you considered Breeze at the 54th floor at State Tower? It is also a very nice restaurant.

[CNF55]

I much prefer the Sirocco - walking down the stairs to the restaurant is just a stunning experience and the whole place has a more open feeling to it as compared to the Vertigo which I find is too dark.

Food at Sirocco is okay but expect to pay THB 2,500 or so per head without drinks.

[nowork114]

Been to both, views impressive but the food is nothing spectacular. There are much better restaurants in Bangkok - unfortunately without the view. I personally prefer Le Opera @ Sukhumvit 39 if I want a good dinner. If i had to chose I would go for Sirocco, but normally we stop there for few drinks or cocktails after dinner @ Opera ...

[dutchweller]

Been to both

I would say Both places Food is Over priced and nothing special.

The View and Decor are so so if you like looking out over a polluted skyline.

I prefer Long table for food

But I guess it is not the kind of intimate dineing experience you are after.

[THX1140]

I was at Sirocco earlier this week and cocktails are now closer to (an eye-watering) 500 baht each. They were making quite a big play on the recent appearance in the Hangover II, and we speculated as to whether that was a root cause of the price hike.

The drinks were admittedly very well mixed, and the service around the bar and the entrance was excellent - can't comment on the quality of the food as we didn't eat there.

Cocktail prices notwithstanding, I personally prefer Sirocco over Vertigo. The 'wow' factor of the view is hard to beat, and, as another poster commented, the seating area less cramped.

[maxme]

prefer sirocco