Zoom Sky Lounge came out swinging in 2017 as a sky-high rooftop restaurant with a young, local chef, Adtavorn ‘’Gibb’’ Charoonpontithi, doing dishes that weren’t afraid of a little creativity. There was lamb with seaweed, deconstructed black forest cake, tuna with lychee foam and Japanese things we had to Google.

It was all executed nicely and felt a notch above for a rooftop space that could really just get away with serving buffets to tourists. A recent revisit reveals that the restaurant now fills its till serving buffets to tourists (Fri-Sat at B1,899 including wine and beer, not bad), who enjoy their all-you-can-eat barbecue while facing in the opposite direction of the river (the good views are saved for a member’s club).

But chef Gibb’s menu does still remain, albeit in what feels like an unloved capacity. One duck dish (B670) we ordered featured comfortably the most mistreated piece of duck we’ve ever encountered. A shame since the flavors were there—a tamarind sauce, tangy beetroot, sweet potato.

Other dishes just show bad judgement. That Japanese tuna creation (B530) has evolved to also include “rose apple water,” which means they pour what’s basically apple juice over a cut of lean, red (akami) tuna when it’s already paired with the simple, delicate flavors of kaffir lime, miso yogurt, daikon crisps and a decent ponzu sauce. It comes in a section of the menu called “texture,” which is ironic because the water kills any textures that were on the plate.

Fortunately we can send some praise Zoom’s way. Their Hokkaido scallop dish (B580) is the kind of thing we could eat lots of—plump, delicately treated, sweet scallops; a lovely, buttery sauce; sharpness from onion and lime (just avoid the green globules of apple gel). Do we want more than three scallops for B580? Yes, but at least that means they taste good, as does the crabmeat bouillabaisse (B350), which though not a knock-out, has a seafood-rich underpinning and a strong chord of saffron.

But overall, as we sat watching the hotel’s shadow fall on Chan Road, surrounded by the leftovers of what was not a cheap meal, we couldn’t help wishing we’d joined the tourists at the buffet. Corkage B500-1,500

This review took place in April 2018 and is based on a visit to the restaurant without the restaurant's knowledge. For more on BK's review policy, click here.