Café@2: Conrad Bangkok

Bangkok's hotels are filled with all day buffet restaurants and the competition to win the hearts of the city's diners is intense. Virtually all of these dining spots compete by attempting to offer a greater variety of food than their competitors. Unfortunately, this often results in restaurants without direction that serve vast amounts of undistinguished food. Simply put, quality takes a backseat to quantity.

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Conrad Bangkok has taken another tack with Café@2. The recently renovated restaurant offers a unique 'French‑Thai' brasserie concept that features home-style French brasserie cooking and a selection of popular Thai dishes. Cafe@2's ambiance includes the wooden tables, white table linen and table settings associated with a traditional French brasserie plus a selection of Thai fabrics and artwork. The resulting French-Thai mix succeeds in creating an environment that is warm and comfortable.

For a restaurant with this sort of concept to work, it needs both a French and a Thai chef. The Conrad has not cut corners and has appointed two distinguished chefs with lots of experience. Jérôme Chautard is the Chef de Cuisine and handles the French brasserie dishes. Originally from Lyon in southern France, he started working in kitchens when he was 16 years old and has had experience in a variety of places, including well-known restaurants in St. Tropez. The Thai side is handled by Executive Sous Chef Boonserm Tanavibull. He began his career with Scandinavian Airlines and has worked in a variety of places around the world, including the Shangri-la Hotels in China and Taiwan.

The selection of French dishes is wide and represents a mix of traditional items and dishes that Chef Chautard has created especially for the restaurant. We were favorably impressed with the selection of appetizers and salads, many of which had a Mediterranean flare. After grousing for a time in the seafood buffet and gourging ourselves on scrumptious fresh prawns, we moved on to a smashing Mussels mariniere with a delightful garlicky sauce that was a delight to sop up with the restaurant's excellent selection of breads. Then it was time for Côte de Boeuf with a sea salt crust and a traditional Bouillabaisse, complete with the requisite saffron flavored sauce. The Thai dishes were given a thumbs-up by our Thai dining companion and we all enjoyed the prepared to order noodle dishes. We ended the meal with a selection of tasty pastries, including a classic Apple Tart Tatin that we all found a great way to end the meal.

In addition to delightful dining choices, Cafe@2 has a wide selection of beverages. Diners can begin with a traditional French aperitif and then proceed to a wide selection of domestic and imported beers. For wine lovers the selection is extensive and includes a specially selected list of French and Thai wines by the glass or bottle. There is also an excellent selection of Thai teas, juices and soft drinks. Excellent coffee and a good selection of digestifs are available to finish off the meal.

Café@2 restaurant is open daily for breakfast from 06:00-10:30, lunch from 11:30-14:30 and dinner from 18:00–22:30. Café@2’s popular Sunday brunch is available from 11:30-15:00. The restaurant also has several theme nights available during the week. You can find out what is being offered when you call to make that all-important reservation.

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