Le Du
It might sound French but Le Du means season in Thai and this restaurant makes a point of using fresh seasonal Thai ingredients to produce delicious, eye-catching dishes with a French influence.
Le Du is certainly a star; it’s one of Asia’s top 50 restaurants, a new entry in 2017.
And it’s hidden – a short distance along a narrow alley between Silom and Sathorn roads in Silom district. Fortunately it’s very close to Chong Nonsi station on the Bangkok Skytrain network. Getting there by taxi would be a nightmare – Bangkok’s traffic is horrendous.
The restaurant
The main dining area at Bangkok’s Le Du Restaurant, one of Asia’s top 50 restaurants
The restaurant is unpretentious, quite small with just seven tables in the main room and a few more in another area.
There’s an open kitchen with at least five chefs, plus waitresses, a maitre d’ and a barperson.
When we arrived there were more staff than customers but that soon changed. The restaurant filled up with a clientele of locals and expat business people who obviously know a good thing when they see it. We were the only tourists there.
The menu
The four sections on the menu are called First (cold dishes), Second (from the forest and sea), Third (from the ranch) and Fourth (Sin). Each section has just three items but these change according to the season and each one is exquisitely prepared and presented.
You can also choose from four or six course tasting menus at about US$50 or US$90 respectively (although there is an extra charge for some items on the four course menu).
Le Du has an excellent range of wines that you can order by glass, bottle or wine pairings to match a tasting menu.
The meal
We opted for the four course tasting menu, although it turned out to be five as we were served an amuse bouche to start with.
Our waitress described each dish as it arrived, talking about the ingredients and method of cooking so we were treated to a learning experience as well as a series of taste sensations.
Amuse Bouche
Amuse bouche at Le Du Restaurant in Bnagkkok
First
Slipper Lobster
A starter course choice, slipper lobster at Le Du Restaurant in Bangkok
Tom Yum Scallops
A starter course choice,Tom Yum scallops at Le Du Restaurant in Bangkok
Second
Pork wontons
A starter course choice, pork wontons at Le Du Restaurant in Bangkok
Third
Chicken
A main course choice, chicken at Le Du Restaurant in Bangkok
Steak
One main course choice, Angus steak at Le Du Restaurant in Bangkok
Fourth
Ginger ice cream
Rum ice cream dessert at Bangkok’s Le Du Restaurant
The service was excellent in fact my only complaint is that the courses followed each other so swiftly that the meal was over too soon!
I always swore I’d never take pictures of food to put on the web but some rules are made to be broken, and the food at Le Du looked as good as it tasted.
Nowadays Bangkok is a great place to eat. As well as Le Du it’s home to another eight of Asia’s top 50 restaurants including the number one position, Gaggan.
Find out more about Le Du and Asia’s Top 50 Restaurants.
Read the Insider’s guide to Bangkok review