Vertigo
When Banyan Tree was built, the roof was just a helipad and the space was where cooling towers for the hotel were housed. One day a guest asked if he could have a table specially set up on the roof as he wanted to propose to his fianc?; ever willing to oblige they met his request and that proposal was how Vertigo got started. As the hotel was looking for a different dining concept, they decided to set up four tables plus a barbeque on the roof just to see if it could work. Smoke from the barbeque had become an issue with some guests in the early days but three and a half years ago the fully functional kitchen was installed. Five renovations later it is now a 150 seater restaurant and bar that is responsible for 50% of the hotel's total food and beverage revenue.
"Vertigo will always essentially be a grill", explains Sriram Kailasam - Group Food & Beverage Director, Banyan Tree Hotel, Resorts & Spas; "It is a large restaurant partitioned into smaller sections. We moved the Moon Bar from The Sukhothai side of the hotel to enable us to open Neptune that can be used for private parties and is very popular for private functions".
"In the early years of Vertigo", he explains, "there were complaints about lack of choice which I was happy to accept so long as they were content with the quality. It is best to do something basic properly than to deliver poor quality".
"There are about 45 dishes on our menu", he adds, "that we change twice a year. The Vertigo is very labour intensive, employing 48 service staff and 16 chefs. Several of the service staff came from rural regions and commenced working on a casual basis while improving their English. As soon as they can pass the Toel exam, we offer them a full time contract.
To deliver a comfortable dining experience for their guests the chefs and service team at Vertigo have adopted a policy of two sittings; 6.30pm to 8pm and 8.30pm to 11pm each with a maximum of 100 guests. It is not that friendly a venue to visit if you are not reasonably fit but that still does not seem to deter some older guests from making the effort to enjoy the view. "Being exposed to the elements the weather can be an issue", he says, "and we monitor weather patterns independently ourselves".
"From June onwards we have a military like automatic evacuation plan of each section of the restaurant to other outlets in the hotel where we will continue to serve the Vertigo experience if rain forces us to move. Even if the rain stops for just 30 minutes we will reopen the bar for the guests to enjoy while they can".
Vertigo shares the same 200 label wine list as Pier 59 and their sommelier is often on the floor at Vertigo advising guests about their wine selection.
The success of Vertigo is not just due to the view but rather it is also a result of the passion and dedicated enthusiasm of the culinary and service team.
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