Chef’s Table

The State Tower is situated on Silom Road in Bangkok’s Bang Rak district as part of the world’s first self-styled vertical destination, lebua. Best known as the open air bar in the sky in the finale of Hollywood smash hit comedy, The Hangover II starring Bradley Cooper and Paul Giacometti this exclusive hotel complex boasts four restaurants and six bars. Impressively, to say the least, two of the four restaurants have been awarded two Michelin stars. Ryuki Kawasaki’s Mezzaluna offers an Asian twist on French cuisine whilst Vincent Thierry’s Chef’s Table retains a stricter contemporary French angle. Simon from The Luxury Editor recently reviewed Chef’s Table as part of our full review of Tower Club at lebua – read on to discover more.

Situated on the 61st floor of the State Tower,  Chef’s Table is a large, curved space which has an unfeasibly high ceiling and matching windows to show off the twinkling cityscape below. Its lighting is hard to pinpoint but it provides the area and everyone in it with a happy, almost magical glow. Colours are soft and muted and range from grey to cream to pink. The restaurant has a 42-seat cover and each table is distanced from the others for privacy and intimacy. Each seat is directed inwards, towards the chef’s table (kitchen area) where the ensuing feast is prepared with calmness and precision by seven or eight kitchen staff.

Above the kitchen hovers a massive bronze extractor fan which could be mistaken for a 1950s UFO but was actually crafted to emulate a Buddhist monument. Across from the kitchen is another, smaller chef’s area for pastry.

Chef Vincent Thierry not only helped design the space but is also present every evening, working his magic. He possesses a rare skill and was awarded three Michelin stars whilst at Caprice in Hong Kong’s Four Seasons. Within months of opening Chef’s Table he was awarded one star. Two stars followed the year after. 

We have a six-course tasting menu with wine pairings but by the time the palate cleansers, the amuse bouches, the little treats, the petits fours have snuck in, it feels like a sumptuous, non-stop epicurean extravaganza double that length. It’s a truly overwhelming experience, a roller coaster ride of intensity and delicacy, of care and affection, of flavour after flavour, texture after texture. Fare is modern French, sourced mainly from Thailand but with a few exceptions such as the sixteen cheeses which come from France. 

Wearing thin, round silver glasses which match the colour of his short, side-parted hair and light stubble, Chef Thierry welcomes us to his restaurant with a tub of homemade butter held firmly in hand. As if to ritualise our meal’s beginning, he scoops the butter into a conical shape and hands each of us a portion to accompany the home-baked bread. And we’re off.

Japanese Tuna Belly a la Niçoise accompanied by Billecarte-Salmon Grand Cru Champagne. The champagne is chosen for its minerality to complement that of the tuna. The tuna is unfeasibly soft and delicate, so much so that you try to chew it but fail; it’s already dissolved. There’s a small bit of aniseed somewhere, there’s a small crispy something and the drizzle of oil is sublime. 

Next up is Binchotan Alaskan King Crab served with celeriac jus and accompanied by Chablis Grand Cru Courtault- Michelet, 2021. And then Red  Mullet, Tomato and Eggplant with Patrimonio Leccia 2022 from Corsica. At some point we’re invited into the chef’s kitchen to watch the preparation of our next course: Challans Duck with Artichoke, Tangy plum, velvety sauce.  

Three different sous chefs huddle over each dish and work with tweezers and spoons to craft the correct positioning of each curve of every vegetable, to manipulate the jus and the foam, to surround and prettify the plate. Every presentation of every ingredient is deliberate, agonised over, intricate and artistic.  

By the end of the evening, the Maitre D, the sommelier, the waiters, all seem like best friends. They return to the table not only to serve our meal but to make sure we’ve enjoyed it and to answer any questions we might have about it.

Chef Thierry sits down for seven minutes or so and I ask him what makes the difference between a two-star Michelin chef and a three-star one. It’s not an easy question for him to answer but he philosophises about never relaxing, never being content, always pushing himself, pushing his ideas, pushing his staff, whilst retaining a happy team, a dignity and a realistic sense of self. 

The Chef’s Table is a truly stunning experience. Overwhelming in its own way. Almost impossible to take in the width and breadth of food, wine, taste, texture and skill on display. My friend described it as ‘the meal of a lifetime;’ something I can easily agree with. It’s not hard to imagine a third Michelin star heading this way soon.