Comfort and Culinary Charm

It is hard not to fall into Café Naam as you near the steps of Chong Nonsi BTS and for the after-work crowd this delightfully designed little eatery is well worth the pit stop. It isn’t an extravagant restaurant for a long night out or a trendy hang-out. But it is lovely, simple, serves extremely good food, is inviting and undoubtedly the cleanest looking restaurant and kitchen in the world.

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When you start to look closely at Café Naam, at the décor, the attention to detail and the quality of the ingredients, you realise that there is more than meet the eye and the taste buds. What at first seems like a no-fuss stop-off type of place turns out to be a brilliant find. Open during the rush hour lunch and early evening from 5-9pm Café Naam understands that after a hard day at work people don’t want a complicated menu but they do want dishes they can rely on.

So the choice is either pasta or Thai food – that’s it. Before you know it you’ll be coming here every night and already have your few dishes that you alternate between. There’s no need to complicate or add pomp and circumstance when the food is excellent and the menu is straightforward.

Inside, the low-roofed, small space has been maximised with a designer approach. The polished concrete walls are smoother than silk and are expensive. The concrete floor has attractive stainless steel strips and the wooden tables look good against the green curved banquette. The ceiling curves inside and outside the lighting adds a streak of wavy blue near to a handful of tables.

The smoked sausage spaghetti with garlic, dried chilli, bacon, green peas and gourmet sausage is a favorite at first bite. At 139 thb it is an early evening winner. It has a nice heat and balanced taste. The spaghetti with soft shell crab and chilli sauce is spicy and sweet and at 149 thb is ideal for a light lunch. The pastas are not overly saucy which is just how they should be and they are just the right size for a carb fix. The Caesar salad with homemade dressing comes in a nice, big bowl with bacon and croutons and anchovies in the sauce and shavings of cheese. It is a perfect size to match a pretty much perfect taste.

The green chicken curry on the Thai side is wonderfully succulent and the homemade sauce has a delicate flavour, if a little too sweet. For 100 thb it is cheaper than many restaurants that crank up the prices for simple, home-inspired fare. The beauty of Café Naam is that the menu doesn’t try and take you on a culinary adventure, or overawe you with the dexterity of its dishes. There are no shocks, no surprises and no inconsistencies. For hungry, busy urbanites, the comfort of clear culinary charm Café Naam offers an uncomplicated, honest approach to eating that is what everybody needs in a busy Bangkok world.

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