The second venue from the Le Petit Zinc team (the first one on Sukhumvit Soi 23 is now under different management as Comptoir Eiffel) characterizes the distinction between Soi Yen Akart and its neighbor, Soi Sri Bumphen. Both the low-key French bistro menu and well-dressed, family clientele are a world away from the singletwearing sex tourist element found just round the corner. For that reason alone, it’s a very welcome addition to the neighborhood.

 

Compared to the original Le Petit Zinc, this venue is also much more daytime friendly, thanks to the modest, glasshouse-style dining room and bar with its faux-nautical touches like rope-clad pillars and fisherman ornaments, as well as some neatly priced lunchtime sets (which also run on the weekend). It’s not cutting edge, but it’s a comfortable, welcoming space, made nicer thanks to the friendly staff.

 

The menu is bistro from top to bottom, and a pretty affordable bistro at that. The skirt steak with shallot sauce and French fries, for example, costs just B390, and even at that price they do a decent job. The meat is flavorsome and, given that it’s a no-frills cut, pretty tender, while the fries are thick and generously portioned (but a bit lacking in flavor). The onion soup under puff pastry is also a pocket-friendly B250. The billowing, buttery crust is delicious, though the soup itself does taste like it’s lacking something—perhaps a decent glug of wine. The goat cheese on toast with an aubergine and zucchini salad (B350) comes with ample slabs of goat cheese and an equally well-portioned salad, but the vegetables are a little wet and tasteless. 

 

Dessert is the only area we can’t find fault. Our creme brulee with raspberry sorbet (B210) has a hot, brittle crust that’s not so thick you fear for your teeth, while the inside is light, moist and well flavored with plenty of vanilla.

 

The lengthy wine menu has clearly had some care put into it, too, and includes some delicious (and suitably French) options by the glass. Try the B225 Malbec. Le Petit Zinc is the kind of place we’d happily spend an afternoon with friends, but regret booking for a special occasion. Anyone living in Lower Sathorn and seeking a solid neighborhood option could do much, much worse. Corkage B500.