Yào Rooftop Bar, 32 floors up: take the table under the roof

We were shown to a table under the roof. Thinking about it afterwards, that was the best thing that happened all evening.

Straight up to the 32nd floor

The place is Yào Rooftop Bar, on the 32nd floor of the Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse, at 262 Surawong Road in Bangrak. The lift takes you up in one go.

We got there at ten past six, with light still left in the sky.

A rooftop that serves Cantonese food

Inside: a bar counter, a chequerboard floor, round marble tables. “Rooftop bar” suggests a place you only drink at; this one serves Cantonese food and dim sum. The restaurant and the bar share the same floor.

Blue chairs, a brass lamp, and the window in view from the seat.

At six forty, thin noodles arrived in a black bowl, orange roe on top.

It stands with any night view in Japan

After seven, the outside becomes the main event. The lights of the buildings spread out below, and beyond them the Chao Phraya. Three hundred and sixty degrees, nothing in the way.

Set against any night view in Japan, I think this one holds its own.

And another thought followed. Japan does not build many seats this open, this high up — because of earthquakes. Part of why Bangkok has so many rooftop bars is presumably that difference in the ground itself. It is close to wanting what you cannot have, but I did envy it.

The covered table saved us

One more thing you only learn by going. Bangkok gets sudden squall-type rain. Take a fully open table at a rooftop bar and there is nowhere to go when it comes down.

Ours was under the roof, and we could sit through the evening without worrying about it. Do not pick your table on the view alone — that is the practical takeaway.

Notes from this visit

• Yào Rooftop Bar, 32nd floor of the Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse, 262 Surawong Road, Si Phraya, Bangrak
• 360-degree views over central Bangkok and the Chao Phraya
• Cantonese food and dim sum are served; it is not a drinks-only room. The restaurant shares the 32nd floor
• At the time of our visit the bar ran from 17:00 to 02:00. The venue currently lists the rooftop bar as 17:00–01:00, with the restaurant at 11:30–14:30 and 18:00–22:00 — check before you go
• Squalls happen. Worth confirming whether your table is under cover
• We arrived at 18:10 and stayed until just before eight
• Menus and hours change. Confirm against the venue’s own information

Visited August 2025. Operating details were as above at the time of the visit; current hours are as published by the venue at the time of writing.