Indigo
Soi Convent
Tel: 02 235 3504

Tucked up a small soi almost opposite the Irish Exchange, Indigo is unfortunately easy to miss. However, there is a big sign on Soi Convent, so it is easier to find when you know it is there. I start this way because I had missed this restaurant and I really should have known about it as it is a bastion of French ex-pat life. It has nice bar as well as a comfortable restaurant and enjoyable garden. The building itself is a pleasant old wooden house, which makes a change in this modern day sea of concrete.
The wine list was surprisingly good with sensible (for Bangkok) prices, with several options as regards open wine and in the whites French: Muscadet, Pinot Blanc, Cotes du Rhone and Sauvignon Blanc at under 1,000 Baht. Overall, it was a well chosen list priced quite sensibly.
The menu is divided into a daily section, which is unsurprisingly short, and a comprehensive general menu. I am fond of terrines and there were three on this menu: a rock lobster, a prawns and salmon version, and a vegetable version and duck liver (foie gras) terrine. Then on a similar line there was rock lobster mousse. That is very unusual in Bangkok, as was the cheese soufflé also listed. At last, a starter section that was worth some serious consideration!
The main courses offerings included an impressive list of seafood, and the meats were strong on beef, with various steaks as well as tartare. However, it was to that day’s dinner menu that we went. On had the mixed seafood platter with aioli and I opted for mousse of blue crab and rock lobster as starters. For mains the choices were duck breast stuffed with apples and roasted in bacon with sauce calvados and ris de veau (veal sweetbreads in mushroom sauce).

I was slightly surprised that On's seafood came lightly battered, but the aioli was strong and to the point. My mousse looked stunning, as can be seen from the picture, and I am sure with proper (cold water) crab it would have tasted really good. Unfortunately, this was insipid local crab and the fish taste was simply lacking. The ris de veau was well presented and good, but the rolled duck breast was special. For finals they offered flambéed raspberries served with vanilla ice cream. I asked for the raspberries plain, but they arrived in the flambéed state and I am sure that was because they were not fresh fresh. Still, I felt I should have been told that before they were served. There were two offered cheese plates: plat du jour and l'assiette fromage dégustation. I ordered the daily selection and had a very passable and generous portion of cheese.
Please take my critic as a complement to the general standard that I think this restaurant aspires to.
I truly enjoyed dining at Indigo and am delighted I have found it at long last. The restaurant has a comfortable feel about it and the food is very French in that the menu is what one would expect in a similar good city restaurant anywhere in France itself.
All in all, it was an evening well spent.