Bangkok’s Best Restaurants For Wine Dinners
Wine dinners are often the affordable way to enjoy a good food & wine experience. Usually a four or five course meal with wines that have been carefully paired with the wines being poured. In most cases this is also a unique opportunity to try wines by the glass that are most normally sold by the bottle.
Story by Laurence Civil & Luxe team
For this experience to be successful the chef has to adjust the taste of his dish to match that of the wine, in order to achieve that perfect pairing. Here is our selection of the top five restaurants in Bangkok who understand and delivery ‘the art of dinning’.
Water Library Chamchuri Square
The restaurant evolved from its original concept of being a water bar and coffee when Pote Lee was captivated by the outstanding culinary talents of Haikal Johari who is now the Groups Executive Chef. The current master of the kitchen is German born and raised Mirco Keller. His food style is contemporary European which a French foundation underscored by Japanese perfection. Flavours have been adjusted to suit the Thai palate, the food is cooked in the moment with subtle touches of sweet, sour and spice.
The circular dome restaurant has floor to ceiling conical shelving filling with different bottles of mineral water on each tier. While the restaurant seats 70 spread over 13 tables the layout results in The layout means only a few table are visible from where you are sitting making it an intimate semi- private dining experience.
www.waterlibrary.com
Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant
Located on 37th floor of PULLMAN Hotel G Silom Scarlet offers great international cuisine with superb view of Bangkok’s ever changing sea of skyscrapers. No sooner than entering guests are instantly immersed in the warm atmosphere, worries can be left with the concierge on the ground floor.
Occupying almost an entire floor, the dining room is cleverly designed to create islands of lights, making the place cozy without the need for walls or partitions. Old wood flooring, carpets and earth toned walls add a homey touch, just like going to an old friend’s place. The central bar with thousands of suspended glasses, the long central table and the huge wine cellar are all good indicators that this place is dedicated to people with a taste for the good things in life. The floor to ceiling window affords of the downtown city side while the 160 square metres open terrace faces the river.
The menu ranges from bistro classics to the elevated signature dishes created by consultant chef Manuel Martinez of the two Michelin star Louis XII in Paris. Their wine list is one of the most extensive in Bangkok, offering great value for money.
www.facebook.com/scarlettwinebarbangkok
Le Du
Currently this is the most creative and innovative Thai restaurant in Bangkok. The name Le Du is a derivative of the Thai word for season. It was chosen to emphasise that their culinary creations are prepared with 99% Thai seasonal produce. They only source quality produce that has been grown with love and care by amazing producers. Sourcing the right produce is their biggest challenge, they would rather not cook a dish than be forced to compromise on sourcing which is simply not in their DNA. Having harvest exactly what they are looking for its prepared using modern cooking techniques. The result is something that is tastefully fanciful and extraordinary. Western contemporary plating may confuse the eye but the taste is unquestionably authentic Thai. That’s why it’s realistically called modern inspired Thai cuisine.
The restaurant is owned and run by Bangkok’s rising culinary talent Chef Ton who is in charge of the kitchen while his business partner Tao who is restaurant manager. A graduate of the Culinary Institue of America (CIA) who went onto work at Eleven Madison Park, The Modern and Jean-George, the experience that made him the chef he is today.While in New York he also became a certified sommelier (CS) from the prestigious The Court of Master Sommeliers. His passion for wine allows him the perfectly select the wines that match the dishes he is cooking. His wine pairings are based on the overall flavour of each dish not the protein being served.
www.ledubkk.com
Sambal Bar & Grill
Not all wine dinners have to be a strictly formal affair some can be a simple as a classic cheese and wine party, the art of sharing wine and cheese with a fellow being. One such example is “ Say Wine and Say Cheese” which takes place on the third Friday of the month between 18.30-20.30 at Sambal Bar & Grill on the ground floor of Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel in Bangkok.
The event is an extension of the global programme signature wines, part of the Sheraton Social Hour. A free flow of wines selected from different regions and countries paired with 20 gourmet cheeses selected from across Europe. Recent wines have includes a soft Pinot Noir from Hardy’s and a sweet semilion from Peter Linderman wines, both of them come from Australia.
Guests are presented with a beautiful selection of cheeses that range from a hard Spanish manchego to a soft ripe Camembert which is complimented by some of the finest ripe blue cheeses. They also offer the classic Swiss cheese fondue for guests to twirl cubes of bread in a warm pot of melted cheese.
To accompany the cheeses dried apricots, pickled jalapeño peppers, smoked fish and grapes are served. Plus a tapas selection such as deep fried calamari and a full range of desserts all for THB 599 nett.
Despite high taxes the pleasure of drinking wine is moderately affordable.
