Bonjour French Restaurant Is A New Elite Dining Spot In Bangkok

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Although there are a number of good French restaurants in Bangkok, there are very few that fall into the category of high-end haute cuisine places, many of the French places here offering more of a bistro or brasserie style of provincial cuisine. A very new place that is in the former category is called Bonjour and is it located in a nicely resorted Thai-style house on upper Sukhumvit Road between sois 59 and 61.

First-time restaurateur Xavier Bruzaud-Grille, a French national who has lived in Bangkok for a number of years, decided that the restaurant life was for him and opened Bonjour as a way to fulfill his interest in fine food in mid-February of this year. Apparently, a number of friends, Thai and foreign, voiced the opinion that he should be a restaurant owner and he eventually took their input to heart. Thus was Bonjour born and at first glance the city is the better off for it.

Xavier seems not to have made many of the mistakes that first-time owners make in this very difficult business, the most important fact perhaps being that he has a very clear vision of what he wants Bonjour to be and very definite ideas on how he will achieve his goals. Not having these two things in place is what kills most new restaurants. One of the wisest decision he’s made so far is in his choice of executive chef, Thierry Enderlin, a former chef with the world-famous, three-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse.

Ducasse himself worked with French legends Michel Guérard and Roger Verge so Thierry’s lineage is one of the most impeccable in modern French cuisine. His interest in Asia inspired him to answer an ad in a French food industry magazine and he was united with Xavier as a result. This means that there is certainly enough talent in the kitchen, a prerequisite when you’re trying to fly at the level that Bonjour is aiming for. The next fact that needs to be addressed is the quality of ingredients and since Xavier is importing most of his food from France, this is also being handled in the proper way.

Creating a suitable environment in which to enjoy great food is the next step and the muted interior décor of Bonjour, with its dark red walls and gray drapes along with 18th and 19th century baroque furniture gives the entrance and waiting area an understated elegance. The downstairs dining areas, with white chairs and tablecloths and plenty of glass create another feeling of elegance albeit in a completely different manner. A final small touch are oil paintings done by Xavier’s brother.

Since all the right pieces have been assembled the real test then is the food itself: does it pass the all-important taste test – including, of course, the presentation. The six dishes we tasted during an extended lunch recently ran the gamut from a scallop appetizer to a milk-fed veal main dish and all displayed the hallmarks of superior food preparation and presentation. Little touches abounded throughout and the use of ingredients was always suitable, never extravagant and even restrained at times, accentuating the overall theme of this restaurant: elegance.

The chef’s ease in creating superior food that’s visually appealing was evident with all of the dishes such as the langoustine that was poached and then covered with a langoustine reduction sauce and accompanied by a small scoop of French caviar, whose saltiness balanced nicely the sweetness of the langoustine meat. The scallops with black truffle sauce is another example with the richness of the truffles balanced against the sweetness of plump, tender scallops from Japan. The pan-fried foie gras that was paired with apples, pistachios and fresh figs illustrated another method of introducing sweetness to a foie gras preparation to balance the intense richness of the duck liver.

The moderately sized menu will not stay the same so you’ll always have a different choice of dishes when you come here but there is one thing that will undoubtedly remain the same: the intense dedication to quality that both owner and chef here possess which will keep Bonjour in the top echelon of French restaurants in Bangkok for what appears to be some time to come.