The buzz: Located behind the long-standing Nunglen Bar is this new nightlife complex from the team behind Muse Thonglor. Adopting a similar all-in-one concept, the venue’s first floor is devoted to Do Not Disturb, an EDM-focused bar with a vintage hotel theme, while the second floor houses Kukkuuk, a yakiniku grilling room, and a rooftop balcony for outdoor dinking.
The decor: Located on the second floor of Do Not Disturb Bar, Kukkuuk’s decoration is entirely unrelated. The bar decked out in a kind of evocation of the iconic Japanese film Always: Sunset on The Third Street (2005). The wood dominated room is playfully decked out with Japanese manga figures, including a huge Astro Boy and shelves lined with masks. A long grilling table and Mount Fuji wallpaper complete the picture, while the private room has more of an onsen feel about it with its toiletries, rubber duck and light-colored wood. The rooftop balcony resembles a cactus garden and plays host to nightly acoustic bands.
The music: More easy-going vibe than downstairs club with live acoustic acts performing daily from 8:30pm till close.
The crowd: The well-dressed Thonglor-Ekkamai crowd.
Food & drinks: The yakiniku menu focuses on imported beef, like tokujo karubi (B380) and jo karubi (B260), plus kurobuta pork farmed in Thailand, like tong to ro (B290) and harami (B290). Out on the balcony you can get more Thai dishes with Japanese twists such as the pad Thai with karaba crab (B350), which is made with deep-fried dumpling sheets instead of normal noodles. The salmon sashimi in seafood sauce (B240) and grilled ayu-sweet fish (B220) make for good drink-friendly starters. The signature cocktails also keep up the Japanese theme with the likes of whiskey-based Samurai (B360), an Old-Fashioned-like offering served with smoking applewood chips. The San Shian (B360) is a vodka-based drink that includes peach syrup and sweet vermouth garnished with dried bread crumbs and gold powder (and lingers long on the lips). The Beefeater 24 gin-based Hananiwa (B360) is pure Instagram material, served in a mug shaped like a watering can and topped off with fresh flowers.
Why you’ll comeback: No one can resist a new rooftop bar, even if it’s only two stories high. The other big draws are the inventive and stylish setting and the fact there’s a pretty bouncing nightclub zone downstairs.
