Thailand: Where Not to Take Vegans on Your Next Trip to Bangkok!

Restaurant Review

Some eateries try to be all things to all diners, but the Rib Room and Bar Steakhouse in Bangkok doesn’t even try. It all about meat – would you like that steak wood-fired or spit roasted?

The Rib Room and Bar Steak House is located on the 31th floor of The Landmark Bangkok, affording sweeping views of the city. It is one of the 9 food and beverage outlets at the 5 star hotel.

When my dining companion and I arrived at The Landmark Bangkok, the hotel’s General Manager Douglas Glen and Executive Chef Philippe Gaudal were waiting for us at the front door.

It’s a good thing Bangkok’s notorious traffic hadn’t made us more than a few minutes late.

We were escorted by lift to the hotel’s 31st floor, where a dramatically lit Ferrari red dining room awaited.

The hostess took us to a table that was set for 2, Chef Philippe headed back to the kitchen, and Douglas wished my dining companion and me a bon appetite.

“Aren’t you going to join us?” I asked Douglas. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you!”

It didn’t take much persuasion. After assuring Douglas that my dining companion and I had already had plenty of time to “catch up”, he agreed, and we were moved to a table with enough room for 3 diners.

Douglas, you see, is one of my most faithful readers, but we had only met in Cyberspace.

Click here for my review of the hotel

Dramatic Décor

The restaurant has a dramatically illuminated bar with a floor to ceiling display of gin and vodka at the entrance.

The high tech open kitchen has both spit roast and wood burning ovens. Salads are prepared at the table in a giant wooden bowl.

All I can say is, the interior designer who designed this stylish dining room sure must like red! I do, too, so I felt right at home there.

The Menu

As for the menu, it runs from classic to contemporary, and carnivores will certainly not leave their tables hungry. There is British beef, Welsh lamb, Japanese wagyu, the list goes on.

There are also oysters served on ice or hot (no, thank you!), “world famous eggs” ala Paolo Parisi, US lobsters, a couple of pasta dishes …

In a token gesture to vegans and vegetarians, the menu offers 2 vegetarian options, sautéed penne pasta and cepes mushroom risotto, and 4 salads hidden among several pages dedicated to foie gras, surf and turf, steakhouse classics, and premium beef.

Our Dinner

We started with Poached Egg Meurette Style, Foie Gras Duo, a Classic Cesar Salad, Cauliflower Panna Cotta, and Espuma of 7 hour Welsh lamb. A cherry sorbet followed to cleanse the palate.

For mains, my dining companion had the Hereford Breed Beef, Douglas had the Australian 400 Days Grain Fed Tenderloin, and I had the Wagyu Beef F1 Stockyard Black Label Rib Eye.

When the server asked how I would like my steak cooked, I said, “When I bite into it, I want to hear the cow go, ‘Moo!’ “

Mains were accompanied by a choice of 11 sauces, 3 salads, 6 kinds of potatoes, and 9 kinds of vegetables, all of which are charged separately.

Our dinner was washed down with a 2011 Saint Veran, Joseph Drouhin; and a 2006 Chateau Grand Larose, Grand Cru Classe.

We sampled several decadent desserts, including a chocolate almond lollipop and green tea ice cream, which we washed down with chilled Amaretto.

One Last Photo Opp

As good as the food was, the company was even better. It was great finally getting to meet Douglas. It was like dining with a long lost friend.

And now I can put a face to the name of that mysterious hotel GM in Bangkok, who has been one of the most faithful readers of my blog since I don’t know when.

I wonder how he heard about my blog in the first place?

Where

Rib Room and Bar Steakhouse, The Landmark Bangkok, 10th Floor, 138 Sukhimvit Road, Bangkok, Thailand. Telephone: +66 (0) 2254-0404. 

The hotel is within a short walk of the Nana BTS or Skytrain station in a neighborhood full of restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, mini marts, boutiques, and bookstores. Numerous street vendors also crowd the sidewalks.