Paste Bangkok

Paste is the restaurant of chef Bongkoch Satongun, known as Bee, and her husband and business partner Jason Bailey. Since it opened, the restaurant has built its reputation on cooking that draws on historic Thai recipes, many of them from the cookbooks and memoirs of royal and aristocratic households of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It moved from its original home on Sukhumvit to the third floor of Gaysorn Village, the luxury shopping centre on Ploenchit Road.

The cooking is intricate and layered, and true to its name it gives a great deal of attention to the pastes and relishes that underpin Thai food. Dishes often combine many herbs, spices and textures in a single plate, and each is explained by the staff. Look for refined curries, complex salads, relishes served with vegetables and rice, and desserts that revive old palace sweets. Paste serves both à la carte dishes and set menus, so it can work as a full tasting dinner or a shorter meal. A wine list and cocktails are available. If you are new to Thai food, ask the staff to suggest a balanced selection rather than several similar curries, so that you get the contrasts of flavour and texture the cooking is built on.

The restaurant is open every day, serving lunch from 12:00 to 15:30 and dinner from 18:00 to 23:00. Book ahead for dinner, particularly at weekends, using the contact details on the official website. The dress code is smart casual. Parking is free in Gaysorn Village, and valet parking is available. The restaurant provides a Thai-language address card on its website for taxi drivers.

Paste suits couples and small groups who want serious Thai cooking in a calm, polished setting, and it is a good option for a special meal in the central shopping district. The lunch service is a useful alternative if evening tables are booked. Prices are in the upper range, though below those of the longest tasting-menu restaurants.

The restaurant is on the 3rd floor of Gaysorn Village at 999 Ploenchit Road, next door to the InterContinental hotel. Chit Lom BTS station, Exit 1, connects to the building by the elevated walkway, and Central World, Erawan Shrine and Siam are within a few minutes' walk. Lumphini Park is a short taxi ride south.