GASTON is a welcome addition to the restaurant scene here in Bangkok. If, like me, you enjoy all things French, then you are going to be delighted with this Parisian inspired Bistro which combines fine food and great service in a casual elegant atmosphere.
The menu reflects GASTON’s 100 per cent French roots. To ensure its authenticity, in the kitchen is French born Chef de Cuisine Benoit Prost and in front is Restaurant Manager Corentin Le Gal, both very able ‘Gaston-ians’ and are sure to steer a steady course to success.
GASTON‘s location will be familiar to many in that it was the former Spasso restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.
A classical French bistro feel
No longer a musical environment, but very much an authentic Bistro experience. The interior designers have cleverly achieved a classical French bistro feel within the existing bones of the original restaurant. The menu has many of my favourite dishes including the absolute classics. Having lived and worked in Paris in my early career, brought me back to so many happy memories. Bistro dining is an absolute staple of living in France and many will feel instantly at home here at GASTON and experience the smooth, calm efficiency of professional service that is bistro dining.
We were warmly welcomed by the attentive staff and by Restaurant Manager Corentin who later introduced us to Chef Benoit.
We started our meal with an assortment of appetisers with Duck Foie Gras, a duo of Salmon Gravlax and Salmon Rillette, Escargots (snails with herb butter), Onion Tarte and Eggs Mimosa. A delicious tasting selection for this review.
This was followed by a very classic French Onion Soup which was quite superb with 18 month old Comté cheese, that classic French cheese from the Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
The soup was simply excellent, I could have enjoyed bowl after bowl. Surprisingly the stock is vegetarian and not beef, but it was very, VERY flavoursome and for those that are not able to eat beef in Thailand, for religious reasons, this is the perfect dish. I have to say it was one of the best onion soups I have ever tried.
The bread here is worth a special mention – homemade sourdough which is left to prove and rise and then freshly baked daily, absolutely wonderful.
The sumptuous Ribeye served with a classic virgin olive oil and herb Vierge Provençale sauce
For main, I ordered the Grilled Entrecôte Ribeye, which in my mind must always be served medium rare. Anything other than that is frankly a shame for the wonderful Australian Black Angus beef that is used at GASTON. My companion ordered the Confit De Canard (Duck Leg Confit) which arrived wonderfully crisp and perfectly cooked, served with duck-fat roasted new potatoes and sautéed mushrooms.
The beef was served with a delicious Vierge Provençale – a green olive oil herb sauce. Alternatively you can choose from Peppercorn or Herb Butter. The generous Ribeye (300 gms) was accompanied by a wonderful baby leaf Green Salad with fresh leafy herbs and roasted pine nuts in a very light mustard vinaigrette dressing. It was the perfect accompaniment. Steak frites sent this Yorkshireman straight back to France. Steak and fries prepared this way are certainly a treat and I was pleased to see that both were perfectly presented.
The menu reflects the farm to table ‘terroir’ ideal. Chef Benoit informed me he sources many of his ingredients locally.
He is a young (25 yrs old) serious French chef who is passionate about quality and guest satisfaction and has honed his craft in France, Asia (HK) and Thailand.
Colleague Corentin is equally a young passionate professional. Clearly driven to success, he is a skilled communicator and makes guests feel welcome with his pleasant smiling demeanour. No stranger to Bangkok (he was formerly Sirocco restaurant manager) and has previously worked in luxury properties in Bora Bora, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.
It’s a great team and clearly they both work well together.
The GASTON menu features 11 choices of hot and cold starters plus 7 Cheese and Cochonnailles (cold cuts, pork charcuterie and patés) and 7 main course choices and 6 desserts. There is also a special Table d’Hôte (La Formule) menu which represents excellent value for money for three courses.
For dessert we chose Crêpes Suzette and Mousse au Chocolat, both outstanding. The chocolate mousse was rich and dark but we couldn’t finish them!
To round off a perfect meal, an excellent coffee! Just the right finale for a delicious meal.
GASTON is open daily for dinner and open for lunch at weekends and public holidays.
Location:
GRAND HYATT ERAWAN BANGKOK
Lower Lobby
Operation:
From 11.30 AM – 02:30 PM on weekends and public holidays
From 5:30 PM – 10:30 PM
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