The original Hyde & Seek was a bit of a landmark moment; one of Bangkok’s first burger-and-cocktail specialists with an elegant but unpretentious dining room offering a short menu of well-considered comfort food. The same can’t be said of this follow-up. It’s not just that the interior—a mixture of hanging light bulbs, plants and crocodile-printed leather—is so much less sophisticated, but that the menu also lacks that clear focus. There’s Thai, fusion Thai, burgers, pastas, grill, all-day brunch, you name it. This wouldn’t be so bad if the food was good, which for the most part, it isn’t.

 

Most disappointing is Hyde & Seek’s former strong point: burgers. The plain and simple wagyu beef burger (B385) is nowhere near Bangkok’s current burger standards. The pulpy meat entirely lacks flavor, while the brioche bun is equally uninspiring. Worse is the “Sloppy Joe” duck burger (B275), which tastes like a bad canteen chili sandwiched between an equally poor bun (this time dyed a baffling shade of neon pink). And it doesn’t even come with fries.

 

The crab in the softshell crab salad (B275) is delicately cooked and tastes fresh, but becomes lost under a sickly, tom yam-spiced dressing. Dessert fares no better. The apple crumble cheesecake (B190) looks and tastes like something a student would put together from whatever’s in the fridge: a slopped together mix of strawberry yogurt, ice cream, crushed biscuit and caramelized

apple—deconstruction at its worst.

 

Saving graces? The fancified signature Scotch eggs (B285/three pieces) have a light and crisp breadcrumb batter, while the fillings are moist and flavorsome. We recommend you avoid the mushy chicken, truffle and foie gras option and choose either the wagyu beef with stilton or pork sausage with runny quail egg—both excellent. Their 300-gram charcoal-grilled rib-eye steak (B995) is an honest piece of meat, cooked well and at the right price. We don’t discern any of the advertised “cowboy spice” or charcoal grill flavor, but at least the rosemary comes through strongly in the crispy, roast new potatoes. 

 

The signature cocktail menu is also nice and tight, running from the refreshing and fruity BKK Cobbler (kaffir lime spirit, peach liqueur, pineapple, rambutan, basil, B295) to the well-executed, old-fashioned-style Whiskey Rebellion (bourbon, sweet and dry vermouth, absinthe, rosemary, B325). But cocktails this good aren’t hard to come by any more, and that’s Peek-a-Boo’s biggest problem. Rather than push the dining scene forward, it keeps it locked in the same, please-all, uninspiring place.