A Fresh Take

Doing away with bottomless booze and buffet lines, Sundays at The Pen aspires to a more sophisticated style of champagne brunch, Craig Sauers finds

- Craig Sauers

BRUNCH DOESN’T HAVE to be a blowout every week. As much fun as it is getting caught up in the haze of a boozy Sunday afternoon, not having to go to work on Monday with a blistering hangover or burning indigestion can be nice. Conversation tends to be better when you’re not blotto, too. The Peninsula Bangkok would agree. The hotel turned over its concept not long ago, now trumpeting a more sumptuous experience intended to highlight a stunning riverside setting and its star dishes.

Sundays at The Pen, as it’s been christened, takes over the hotel lobby for three hours once a week. Here, a live band, featuring upright bass, baby grand, saxophone, and singer, provides entertainment attuned to an urbane audience. The spacious, almost hexagonal lobby is plush with carpets, white linens, and a grand chandelier hung from a high ceiling. The lobby is illuminated naturally, its tables spaced out in that subtle way that projects luxury rather than screams it. Such an atmosphere appeals to a crowd that might prefer to relish in the river views or relax in the garden with a cup of tea.

The Peninsula’s pursuit of a higher-class brunch has also led it to ditch bottomless bottles of bubbly and tortuous buffet lines in favour of select dishes prepared à la minute and one bottle of champagne per couple. It’s quality champagne, mind you. Either opt for a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut Premier or upgrade to Louis Roederer Cristal for a little more money. The latter is lively and bright, leavened with underlying notes of white peach and dried apple and enriched with a honey like sweetness. The taste is complex and faultless, the finish long-lasting.