Had a great meal at Nawa the other night and thought I'd share some photos and thoughts instead of just being a lurker. This was my second visit to Nawa in the last 6 months. I've been living in Bangkok for a bit now and have been to few fine dining spots: Ore, Gaa, Potong, R-Haan, Gaggan. I haven't been able to get into Sorn unfortunately since they received their 3rd star.
Nawa is probably my favorite on that list. The flavor profile hits just right for me—spicy and bold with a strong amount Thai influence. Ore is unquestionably a better "fine dining" experience, but for my preferences (and wallet damage), this was the first place I chose to go back to.
The wine list kind of sucks, cocktails aren't particularly inventive, service isn't extremely polished (though still very good)—but the food is delicious and that's 95% of what I care about at this point in my life.
Highlights of the meal were the spicy mango salad with blue crab, the sweet corn tart, and the khao puk nga dessert. The khao puk nga might be one of my favorite desserts ever, so I was glad it remained on the menu from the last time I had it. It has this addicting bitterness quality to it that I can't get enough of. Most of the dishes were new from my first visit though, which was great to see.
If you like spicy and are interested in Thai-focused fine dining, I can strongly recommend Nawa. I don't think they are breaking any new ground in gastronomy, but it's just damn tasty food.
by poopdick12345
3 Comments
Someone’s looking for a +1 @ Sorn: https://www.reddit.com/r/finedining/s/h0AVZ2gEOg
I went to Nawa in March and honestly loved it. I really wanted a fine dining experience that was all about Thai ingredients, flavours and dishes, and it really delivered that. I have to say I enjoyed my wine pairing as well. There was a very good Riesling, a lovely sake, and a Syrah that was a fun introduction to Thai wine.
I live really close by and my wife and I go at least once a month and have since they opened. It’s my favorite restaurant in town as well, but I do have to say I feel they have fallen off some from where they were a year ago. They used to completely change the menu every three months and the dishes back then were bigger on huge flavors IMO, now the menu has been a bit more stagnant and a lot of the dishes are a bit more safe. I miss the dishes that were super high in heat and acid but the place is still super duper solid. The Tom yum is always worth the supplement.
You should also check out the chefs other projects since you live here. Samlor is very casual but the food is very very good and would be at home on a fine dining menu and the omelette is obviously instagram famous.
Kwaan also has some very very good dishes but without a doubt the reason to trek on down to Sukhumvit 11 is for the house signature roasted duck. It’s served with all Peking duck sides and I could eat it every single day, it’s super duper amazeballs.
If you like nawa you should also check out wanna yook