Kuala Lumpur

The bar at Marini's on 57, level 57 of Petronas Tower 3, with the Petronas Twin Towers framed through floor-to-ceiling glass

Editor's Pick

Marini's on 57, Petronas Tower 3 — Every rooftop in Kuala Lumpur is selling you the same thing: the Twin Towers. The only question is the angle, and Marini's has the best one in the city by a distance. It sits on the 57th floor of Menara 3 Petronas, immediately next door, 267 metres up — close enough that the towers fill the window rather than decorate the horizon. A private lift takes you straight there.

It's three venues in one: a glass-walled bar, a contemporary Italian restaurant, and a whisky and cigar lounge holding the largest such collection in Malaysia. Open since 2012 and still the room KL dresses up for. The cocktails come from a properly awarded bar team, the Italian kitchen is the real thing rather than hotel-tower filler, and the Sunset Hours session runs daily from 5pm — the venue has even put out its own compilation albums with José Padilla and Chris Coco, which tells you how seriously they take the last hour of daylight.

Book well ahead and ask for a tower-facing table; walking in on spec on a weekend rarely ends well. Dress code is strictly smart — no shorts, caps or open shoes — and the bar is over-21s only. One quirk worth knowing: there's a photography etiquette policy, so no flash, no tripods and no standing up to shoot your food.

Kuala Lumpur's rooftop bar scene is anchored by the Petronas Twin Towers, which serve as the backdrop for many of the city's most celebrated elevated venues. From Marini's on 57 — one of Asia's original tower-top fine dining and bar destinations — to the poolside sundowner atmosphere of SkyBar at Traders Hotel, KL's sky bars cover a wide spectrum of styles and price points. The city's compact Golden Triangle district concentrates the best venues within easy reach, making a rooftop bar crawl across KL's skyline a genuinely viable evening plan.