The team behind Cocotte—the swanky steak-slash-ribs specialist on Sukhumvit 39—loosens up on its meat-centric concept by letting seafood co-star at a new Mediterranean spin-off in Ekkamai.
An eye-catching two-story house painted in contrasting hues of white and yale blue accommodates the restaurant, which features interiors that play on the concept of sea and land—mar and terra in Latin—as seen in the combination of navy blue chairs and heavy wooden floor and tables.
The open kitchen is populated by a team that’s hard at work wielding culinary magic on fresh ingredients such as oysters and Maine lobster. Italian chef Marco Pacetta, who used to work at Issaya Siamese Club, sends out an array of seafood dishes influenced by French, Italian and Spanish cuisines, including a paella and cooked in lobster bisque, and packed with succulent lobster, meaty chorizo and chicken (B2,400). The kitchen also oversees veg-heavy dishes like a light and crispy pizza soufflé filled with truffle-infused stracciatella (soft Italian buffalo cheese) and topped with grilled vegetables and truffles (B590)—a combination that screams creamy indulgence.
The main dining area showcases a photogenic deli space that displays a number of cold cuts and more than 80 kinds of cheese. You can opt for the Artisan Board, which lets you select either three or five types of cheese and cold cuts (B980/B1,490). Try the delicious and rare Gruyere de Gruyere from Switzerland or the Italian Blu61, an infamous cherry-coated blue cheese.
Things literally heat up in the alfresco terrace, where a Kamado Joe ceramic grill flames up delectable goodies that go into seafood-meets-meat platters like Mousse (B2,990), which stars juicy and tender lamb rack and rump beef steak, as well as succulent tiger prawns and Maine lobsters. The bar nearby slings concoctions infused with house-infused rums.
Not to be overlooked are the innovative desserts by pastry chef Vichaya "Johnny" Charoenrungsirikul. He reinvents beach favorite piña colada as a coconut-shaped meringue filled with coconut cream, and refreshing rum-infused pineapple jelly and pineapple sorbet (B290), and presents French classic île flottante (meringue floating on vanilla custard) as a sweet and sour ice cream sandwich lookalike that infuses raspberry into a meringue filled with vanilla sauce (B280). Chocolate lovers can indulge in Valrhona Delicacy, a treat that impressively combines three types of chocolate in different forms (B360).