The buzz: After eight years at Water Library Chamchuri, German chef Mirco Keller has finally branched out on his own with this spacious restaurant on Suan Phlu focusing on contemporary European cuisine.

 

The vibe: Located in a butter yellow mansion on a dead-end soi, with a parking lot packed with black vans and luxury cars, Keller feels nothing short of exclusive. Behind tall glass windows, you’ll find a marble-floored lounge. Here, waiting guests and drop-ins can knock back Keller’s cocktails or head off to Cloud Wine, a one-room wine cellar and bar from Wine Garage, where you can have a glass or pick out your bottle for your dinner. The dining room itself isn’t your usual white linen and dimly lit affair. It’s filled with soft coral-colored banquettes, champagne accents, hanging pendant lamps and teakwood table tops, plus a floor-to-ceiling glass window looking into the kitchen. It’s the kind of place where you can expect to find both top-level executives and your friends who spent a couple of semesters at Parsons before moving back to Bangkok.  

 

The food: “Contemporary European” is a cover for “lots of German touches” across a small but perfectly curated menu spanning appetizers, mains and desserts. Signatures like the Berliner Senfei—smoked potato and pickled beetroot, steeped in smoke under a glass cloche and topped with Oscietra caviar (B990)—and Chilean sea bass served with asparagus, shimeji mushrooms, potato dumplings and chive sauce (B990) illuminate chef Keller’s attention to detail. The presentation is clean and modern, the cooking almost mechanically precise. Other dishes span the globe, like Duck Duck Duck (B590)—duck presented in three forms (tongue, neck and smoked), served with homemade green pea dumplings, straw mushrooms and a velvety, light green sauce. Opt for the four-course “Signature Journey” (B2,900), or select the a la carte option and cap your meal with the signature cheesecake (B330), prepared with an oat crumble and topped with tangy pineapple.

 

The drinks: Grab your favorite from the 100-plus bottles on offer at Cloud Wine, or put your faith in restaurant manager and resident wine expert Alex Braukmann. He can steer you toward excellent Old World whites and reds, like the fruity, subtly spicy and absolutely refreshing Tegernseerhof Gruner Weltliner Federspiel from Wachau, Austria (B290/glass), and the full-bodied Keller Pinot Noir S (B3,900/bottle). Cocktails, including the Mekhong rum-based Keller Sour (B300), are also available.

 

Why we’d come back: Chef Keller has free rein over the menu, and you can expect more of his personality on the plate than ever. If you’ve experienced his food previously, you’ll know that’s a great thing.