A Design Guide to Bangkok’s Hottest New Restaurants
The ever-changing, always-bustling Thai capital, Bangkok revels in its status as a culinary mecca. The city’s multifaceted food arena bears a wonderful resemblance to the heaving and exhilarating urban energy beyond its grand doors. Alongside culture and history, Bangkok has emerged as a hub for luxury hotels, Michelin-star restaurants, and glamorous cocktail bars! With an array of fine dining embellishments, the trailblazing chefs and progressive tastemakers are now rethinking what it means to be Thai; offering gourmet interpretations that serve up everything from molecular Thai dishes to haute continental cuisine. We bring you some of the most tantalising restaurants in Bangkok to put on your itinerary.
Brasserie Palmier, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok
Housed next to one of Bangkok’s oldest seafood markets at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok, Brasserie Palmier emphasises fish and seafood with lighter preparations to suit the tropical weather of Bangkok, while still retaining the classics. Designed by an American firm AvroKO, the restaurant draws inspiration from the French tropics. Lush greenery and potted plants blend seamlessly with hints of colonial design and layered modernism, evoking an inviting atmosphere. The restaurant sits by the riverside, featuring standard indoor and outdoor dining and bar counter seats adjoining an oyster bar. The design is clean and casual, with artwork displayed around the restaurant.
Blue by Alain Ducasse
Located on the Chao Phraya River bank, in ICONSIAM, a retail hub, Blue is the first restaurant in Thailand by Alain Ducasse, an iconic mentor to many chefs around the world. It offers an exquisite French culinary journey with unrivalled views of the river. Conceived by Paris-based spatial design studio Jouin Manku, Blue mingles tasteful contemporary fittings with elegant finishes. The welcoming lounge is meant to be an abstract adaptation of the renowned garden at the Château de Versailles featuring soft-wood panelling, brass lamps and gilded details. The main dining area is elegantly dressed in royal blue and boasts a striking chandelier crafted from pleats of soft fabric, metal and cut-glass fins. The restaurant perfectly embodies the core value of creating a synergy between the best of Thailand and the best of the world.
Côte by Mauro Colagreco, Capella Bangkok
At the heart of the Capella Bangkok hotel, Côte is located on the riverbank in Bangkok’s historic Charoenkrung district; an alluring urban enclave that transports diners from Bangkok’s enchanting riverside district to the French and Italian Riviera. Within this urbane framework, interior design studio BAMO set about crafting an exquisite tapestry of classical and contemporary design. With elegant, light-drenched interiors and panoramic views of the Chao Phraya River, the concept decidedly reflects the multicultural flavour of the district while weaving in traditional Thai elements. The menu features not only flavours from the Mediterranean Riviera but also embraces the colours, textures and tastes, conceptualised by renowned chef Mauro Colagreco. Today, the neighbourhood remains a rich melting pot of race, religion, culture and cuisine.
Restaurant POTONG
Located near the entrance to the Sampeng market, this 120-year-old mercantile hub has been transformed from a former Thai-Chinese pharmacy into a fine dining destination. A prime example of Sino-Portuguese architecture, the structure was built by Chef Pam’s great-great-grandparents and served as the family’s residence. The design concept – Juxtaposition – was modelled toward letting the old and new co-exist in harmony. Helmed by Sojourn Design Studio, the ground floor Sino Bar is a judicious mix of rustic and contemporary. Up to the second floor, at the top of the staircase is a livelier experience of a dining room for larger groups, while the third floor offers a private gathering space, heavily draped in burgundy. The top two floors house a moody, mixology-forward Opium Bar with the building’s rooftop and a balcony, providing a prime perch for observing the activity below. Chef Pam’s progressive Thai-Chinese cuisine across a 20-course menu is indoctrinated by a 5-Element philosophy, ‘Salt, Acid, Spice, Texture and Maillard Reaction’, opening up a whole new world of foreign and exotic tastes.
