Nawa – 1* in Bangkok
I went to Nawa on Monday based on the recommendation of a Redditor on here (I forgot the username but it was on a previous thread about Michelin star restaurant in Bangkok).
Nawa is new on the scene and they just received their first star. I believe the owners also founded 80/20 which also received a star.
For this dinner, I was solo and did the 18.00 session. Food was served at 18.30-ish and the whole session ended at 20.30. I did the 6 glasses wine pairing. I’m not very good at describing flavours and such, but here are my impressions:
– Dinner started out great with the appetizers and starters. My favourite dishes were the corn/Hokkaido uni appetizer, the taro, and blue crab. The Drapier Champagne was good but the Riesling paired exceptionally well with the blue crap and shrimp. I would have willingly bought an additional glass of that Riesling if it was offered.
– No faults with the first half of the main course either, they were all excellent. The river prawn and live shrimp were my favourite, despite there being nothing live about the shrimp. Pork was great but nothing unique (as in, I had similar dish from other restaurants before). Wasn’t entirely convinced about the sake pairing as I think I would have preferred a wine, but I like that they went for something different and it did pair well with the pork in particular.
– The second half of the main course is where things started to falter for me. First, I ordered the Tom Yum Soup add-on which was highly recommended from a previous poster. While good, I didn’t think it was worth the extra 600+ Bhat. My main issue, however, is that it was served together with the three last main courses. I ended up quickly eating the Tom Yum Soup as I didn’t want to detract from the flow of the menu nor did I want to mix it with the other dishes as it’s soup. That threw me off pace for a bit. Second, this second half comes with two simultaenous glasses of red (Cabernet Franc and Pinor Noir). It was obvious which wine paired with which dish, but since their recommendation was to eat everything together, it was a bit strange sipping from two glasses of wine. I ended up eating the seabass and pumpkin first as I wanted to save the Cabernet for the meat. Overall, this half of the main course was a bit too overwhelming and I barely appreciated the pumpkin. The Wagyu beef, however, was excellent and I’m glad I saved it for last.
– Deserts were really good as was the Tokaji paring. No complaints there.
Overall, I had a great time at Nawa. The service was great – I was greeted by my first name when I walked up to the restaurant even before I said a word (which is such a simple but impactful way of starting the evening), I was well attended to throughout the evening, and even received some extra wine at the end 🙂 In terms of wine pairing, they were generous with their pours, although I noticed that Asian fine dining restaurants are particularly generous with their wine pours when I dine solo (both 80/20 and Gaa also topped up my glasses unprompted).
While great, some things I would have personally preferred:
– Nawa offers the option of adding a Tom Yum Soup (600 Bhat) and Pork Toast (100 Bhat) add-on which you can add when making the reservation. I picked the Tom Yum soup when making the booking. At the restaurant, I was offered a physical menu which listed both add-ons so I thought I’d also add in the Pork Toast since it’s a single bite. However, I was told that they ran out! I was in the first sitting of the evening so it was clearly something that needed to be ordered in advance. That’s fine, but it’s poor form to seemingly offer it via the physical menu when someone is already seated only to be to be told it’s not available. I really wanted to try that pork toast.
– Speaking of add-ons, I honestly didn’t think the Tom Yum soup was worth it. The conventional menu is excellent as it is and the placement of the Tom Yum together with the main courses felt a bit off. I would have preferred it in between the starters and the main course. I don’t regret getting it but it’s not something I would order again if I ever go back.
– Minor but I was offered no knife with the main courses which made cutting up the Organic Pork a bit tough. It’s small enough to be eaten in one bite, but it’s also a lot of meat for one bite and I prefered “cutting” it into 2-3 pieces with my fork and spoon. But again, that’s a minor issue.
– If you decide to go for wine by the glass, then you’re limited to just two whites, two reds, and one sparkling. I did the pairing so it didn’t matter to me, but it would be nice if they could expand their selection to 3-4 glasses each for those who do not go for the pairing but still want a choice.
Over the past year, I’ve tried Gaa, Khao, Nusara, and 80/20 in Bangkok. I would place Nawa in second place after Gaa, followed by Nusara, 80/20, and Khao. I definitely recommend it especially if you haven’t had Thai fine dining before. The venue is also in a nice location and you can go for sunset drinks at the rooftop bar at the nearby Marriott Sukhumvit hotel before dinner or Iron Ball Distillery for a pre- or post-dinner cocktail. Just beware of the traffic cause Sukhumvit gets crazy busy at peak hours! Half of my 18:00 cohort came in late at 18.30+.
by leffe123