45 Years of Steaks - The City’s Original Steakhouse

As new restaurants spring up all over the city, there is something truly special about eating at one of the first steakhouses in Thailand. Fireplace Grill at the Intercontinental Hotel is highly regarded amongst Thais in the know. This is the restaurant that Thais gather for family get-togethers, where young courting couples come for a fancy meal, just as their parents did before them.

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There is a nostalgia and sense of tradition which can only come after 45 years of success. Set apart from the hotel, Fireplace Grill is surprisingly small and the ambience and decoration is simple and tasteful with a touch of luxury.

There are some attractive design elements, such as the open kitchen, which add character too. Essentially though, when pondering where to go for a world-class steak, then this is the place. However, like all good things in life you get what you pay for and perfectly cooked steak does not come cheap, but eating the most tender, succulent tenderloin in Bangkok is something people will gladly pay for.

The Atlantic lobster salad appetizer, for 890 thb comes with lobster, mango, avocado and micro greens with the freshest, zestiest salsa. Despite the simplicity of the ingredients this is a symphony of flavor and even the black pepper tastes extraordinary. The cappuccino of wild mushrooms with truffle oil foam and porcini la voche, at 490 thb, is light, rich and extravagant.

The pan seared Norwegian snow fish, for 1,100 thb, with blanquette of asparagus, mussels and prawns, served on mashed potato is beyond sublime. The dish sounds appetizing enough but the taste is something else. This might possibly be one of the most perfectly cooked fish dishes you ever eat.

And then the steak arrives. The Australian Jack’s Creek Black Angus, 250 day grain-fed, 7oz tenderloin, with truffle sauce chosen for the occasion, is a meat-lover’s masterpiece. Each steak comes with its own specially designed knife adding grandeur and ceremony. For 2,300 thb you are in the higher echelons of dining, although it is not the least expensive steak on the menu and by no means the most expensive either.

It would be nice to eat and drink with the same gusto but with wines at over 400 thb a glass it seems small sips are encouraged. Even the cauliflower cheese is the best you will ever eat and if you were not so full with decadent dishes you might want to give the chef a standing ovation. The crepe suzette, 700 thb for two people or 400 thb for one, cooked at your table with a dripping Grand Marnier flame from a spiral of orange peel, is a nice touch, served with ice cold vanilla ice cream.

Fireplace Grill is not trying to put on airs and graces, but to elegantly offer those who can afford it, some of the best steaks in the city and it does so with a panache, confidence and quality befitting its fine reputation as the city’s original steak restaurant.

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