Le Cafe Siam
4 Soi Sri Akson
Chua Ploeng
Bangkok 10120
Tel: 02 671 0030
Website

There are a couple of contradictions about this restaurant: it's name and it's location. This is no cafe and it is instead a rather elegant restaurant, but in a decidedly unsalubrious area.
The Cafe Siam is located in a grand house with a pleasant, mature garden in what is a semi-industrial area that has grown under the new tollway. It is in a back street that is part of a run between Sathorn Road and Chua Ploeng Road which runs directly under the tollway about 100 meters from the overhead road.
It is a small stroll through the manicured garden to the front door
of the glass-walled room that serves as the main dining room. A waiter dressed immaculately in the style of the Court of Siam greeted us and led us to our table.
The main dining room is an interesting room with several scattered antiques, dark wood furniture and an old looking bar. The all around windows preclude many pictures but there was an interesting clock or two and other eye-catching objets d'art. It struck me as very French and we could quite easily have been in France.
I was offered two menus - French and Thai - but as I had come for the Michelin chef my choice was a forgone conclusion, as was that of my dining companion, who went almost instinctively for her native fare.
The menu was reasonably limited and I struggled a little for choice - nothing wrong but certainly nothing in the mains that said to me: ‘you must try this’. There were four fish and three meat dishes plus steaks served in a variety of ways with different sauces. This was not a top Michelin menu in France! However I ordered a terrine of foie gras, which I can always suffer, and duck breast with Granny Smith apples, mashed celeriac and lime sauce. The foie gras was as it should be and therefore excellent. The duck breast itself was to me under seasoned and therefore lacking in taste, but the whole dish worked well with the sharp Granny Smiths providing a good contrast to the meat. If my salt cellar had delivered more than one crumb at a time I would probably have been happier, but I do like things well seasoned.
My companion declared that her local dishes were first class and it is interesting to note that this restaurant calls itself a Thai and French Restaurant as opposed to other top restaurants that simply supply Thai food as a service to appease visiting paramours.
I will digress for a minute to the wine list because this was an interesting list, albeit without a massive assortment of wines. But there was more than enough to catch the eye and included some interesting wines that I have never before seen in Bangkok. The sorting of the list was also interesting with white wines sorted as light, medium and full bodied, and the reds sorted similarly, with the addition of spicy and exotic wines. There was also a small fine wines section. I started with an Entre-deux-mere and then had La Chasse du Pape, a Cotes du Rhone at 1,330 and 1,890 respectively.
The puds were offered via a samples tray and they all looked very good and I wanted several, but settled instead for the mango crumble which was a kind of muffin. I did ask for cheese but was politely refused as they did not have any! Mon dieux, a French restaurant sans fromage – quelle de mage!
But it was a very good meal served in pristine surroundings and I think on a really busy night it might be a little more fun. However, even on this quiet night, it was difficult to fault.