Chef's Table at Lebua Tower Opens March 6, 2019Lebua Hotel and Resort
Lebua Tower in Bangkok has already grabbed attention worldwide with its unique 'vertical dining concept': eight separate bars and restaurants occupying the top floors of the city's iconic, gold-domed skyscraper. This March a new culinary destination was added to the mix. And there's nothing quite like it, anywhere. Chef's Table sits on the 61st floor, over 800-feet above the shimmering lights of central Bangkok. The modern French menu is the brainchild of Vincent Thierry, who comes by way of Hong Kong, bearing three Michelin stars. That his cuisine is exceptional should surprise no one. But the way in which he prepares it here, will capture the imagination.
"Never before has an open kitchen been placed in the middle of a restaurant," according to Lebua CEO Deepak Ohri, the creative force behind the project. "[Chef] Vincent will be surrounded on 360-degrees by guests. But this comes with many challenges--the smoke, exhaust, heat, odors." The byproducts of a working kitchen don't exactly contribute to the ambience of a luxury dining experience. Which is why the two worlds are traditionally partitioned by thick walls--or sturdy panes of glass, at the very least.
In order to bring the elements together in harmony, Ohri invested heavily in new technology. "We started planning in April of 2018, he remembers. "We brought in a company from Finland that specializes in building exhausts. And now we're the only company in Southeast Asia that has something like this--it converts the exhaust into fresh air, so nobody is able to smell the food as it cooks." You'd never notice the extra equipment from within the dining room. The tubing is just 3cm in diameter and is easily concealed within the massive golden chrome hood above the stoves, forming the visual centerpiece of the room. The impact of these intricate machinations is parlayed out of sight.
"For that 3cm thing that we put inside the hood, we had to close off an entire section of the 62nd-floor, directly above the restaurant," says Ohri. "That was supposed to be a wine gallery, but now it's just a huge machine" keeping the open kitchen below cool, quiet, and clean. Workarounds such as these would be difficult to implement on the ground, let alone 800-feet above the city.
But Ohri fancies himself a dreamer. A devout fan of Bollywood, he often turns to movies for inspiration. And when it strikes, he's unwilling to let practical limitations stand in the way. At Chef's Table, he's tapped a world-renowned chef to be the star of the show. "I wanted to create a theatre," he admits. "The whole experience is about being able to see and appreciate what he is doing, right in front of you. Sometimes you go to a fancy restaurant and they put a table inside the kitchen. But at the table you don't get to see much, because you're placed in front of assembly."
Dine at Chef's Table in its opening months and you'll have a front row seat to Thierry's creative process, as he stuffs his fillet of sole with black olives, weaving it into an ensemble of artichoke and cockles. Admire, live, the classical majesty of a French master preparing roasted duck. Every night he'll put on this performance over 8-courses at the center of a luxuriously appointed 46-seat dining room.
The setting and service make clear that Ohri has his heart set on a 3rd Michelin star for this space, to add to the 2 stars already earned upstairs by chef Ryuki Kawasaki at Mezzaluna. It would be Bangkok's first such establishment--something the city has dreamt about since the guide first came here last year. Just as Ohri said of the Chef's Table Concept: "It's always been said, it's never been done." So why not here? After all, Lebua is making a habit of turning dreams in reality.
Three Michelin Star Chef Vincent Thierry and Two Michelin Star Chef Ryuki KawasakiJared Ranahan
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