This review took place in July 2017 and is based on a visit to the restaurant without the restaurant's knowledge. For more on BK's review policy, click here.

“You cook up a mean pig intestine” might sound like an odd complement to pay a chef, but in the case of 100 Mahaseth’s Chalee Kader it’s well deserved. After Bangkok went through a disastrous first run at nose-to-tail dining, Kader and his restaurant partner Randy Noprapa brought it back into the fold—this time in a way that doesn’t suck.

The menu is packed with courage-testing dishes that draw heavily from Isaan (like a playful sai-oua hot dog for B190) and surrounding Southeast Asian regions, and almost everything—from the earthenware plates to the produce—is sourced locally.

Reading menu items like braised beef entrails with drops of bile (B260) or grilled pig’s heart with coriander salad (B300) will make most unacquainted with 100 Mahaseth squirm. If the restaurant does anything well, it’s rewarding diners for taking the plunge into the world of local offcuts.

Dishes like the beef entrails in spicy soup (B240) really make you question all the fuss over premium meat. The soothing, peppery broth is absolutely delicious, as are the generous bits of tender cow’s innards steaming inside. It’s a reminder that, when cooked well, the strange stuff can be a knockout too.

With that said, jumping head-first into bizarro-ingredient-land isn’t always a gold mine. The slushy texture of the charcoal-roasted bone marrow (covered in a mountain of perilla seeds that will get stuck all over your teeth, B360) is sadly too underseasoned to carry the weight of the off-putting mouth-feel. That hasn’t stopped droves of young food bloggers from ordering it for the Instagram kicks, though.

To its credit, 100 Mahaseth isn’t all guts and brains. There’s enough civilian-level dishes to make it safe for picky eaters. The Thai pork shoulder jerky with Sriracha (B250), Surin-bred “Thai-gyu” tomahawk (B2,500) and a nicely grilled ox tongue (B490) are just a handful of the more approachable things anyone can try.

The setting, too, will feel pretty cozy for all thanks to a down-to-earth layout with floor-to-ceiling windows, wood plank tables and old-school molam and Isaan string music playing in the background. The attentive and warm service staff do a great job as well—especially when it comes time to guide you through the daunting menu for the first time.

We like 100 Mahaseth, largely because it doesn’t throw its concept in your face. It’s an unpretentious restaurant focused on sustainable, good food, and you should try it. Corkage B500