Gazebo Sukhumvit

Moroccan nights
Lower Sukhumvit has one more hip place to eat, dance and make merry


A year ago, the rooftop bar Gazebo around the corner from Gulliver's on Khao San Road caught on as a new hot spot for dancing. The funky night-spot features Moroccan decor, and a well-balanced combination of food, drinks, music and shisha. But you don't have to go all the way to Khao San to enjoy that. Its sister property with the same name opened four months ago right in the heart of the city.


Gazebo attracts a lot of attention from BTS travellers commuting past Phloenchit station. The top of Building 1 at the mouth of Sukhumvit Soi 1 renders itself to a spacious, airy lounge with low padded stools and wooden tables. Dimly lit Egyptian chandeliers drip from the ceiling. It looks so much better than other seemingly similar joints in town, where overdone interiors feature a lot of junky antiques just thrown up on the walls.


Gentle breezes and soft chill-out music pervade the whole area, which offers a great view of downtown Bangkok by night. Once you throw yourself on the seat with puffy pillows under your back, it feels like sitting in a Moroccan living room.


"The weird thing is, Morocco is the only place I've never been to," Benjamin Baskins, Gazebo's co-owner and CEO says. "I want to do it from my imagination, from what I think a Moroccan bar should be like. I don't want to get the fixed ideas of what Morocco should be like. This is all from what's inside my head." While most hard furniture was made locally, all the accessories were brought in from Cairo. "But you know, I'm planning a trip to Morocco in a few months to see the real thing, to see if I got it right. Just out of curiosity, though. I'm happy with what I've done with Gazebo so far."


The fashion entrepreneur from Los Angeles started working on this whole building just a few months ago, hoping to turn the four-story tube into a lifestyle complex with spas and restaurants on the second and ground floor and a hip hotel on the third floor. The whole premise is expected to be open for operation some time in March.


There's much more to Gazebo than partying. It's actually a bonus pack of a restaurant, lounge and shisha bar. Come early for a tasty dinner.


There are many Thai, Indian, Italian and Spanish dishes to choose from. Stay on for a relaxing night with a long list of refreshing drinks and cocktails to choose from. Try It's My Life (Comfort, Galliano, Amaretto, orange juice, lime, sugar and Grenadine), Miss Gazebo (vodka, Midori, coconut liqueur, lime, pineapple juice and sugar) and the signature drink for a group of four, Nightmare (Midori, pineapple juice, lime and Sambuca), where they put fire on it before you take a gulp. Neither too strong nor too sweet, the cocktails are here are pleasant and easy to drink.


If cocktails are too fancy for you, they also have a range of beers, and a good selection of wines and whiskies. Small beers are priced at Bt150, cocktails are Bt180 to Bt220 while full bottles of big whiskey are between Bt600 and Bt2,700. Soft drinks, tea and coffee are Bt50 to Bt90. Shisha comes in many fruity flavours for Bt350.


Live bands take turns performing contemporary English songs every night. But if you're too energetic to sit back in the lounge tonight, go over to the next room, The Harem, and get the groove on on the dance floor with more upbeat, danceable music. Watch out for the steps, though.



Gazebo
Rooftop, Building 1
Sukhumvit Soi 1 (BTS: Phloenchit)
Daily 6pm till late
Call (02) 655 2471-6
Manta Klangboonkrong

Source : http://www.nationmultimedia.com