BANGKOK RESTAURANT

Water Front

2
Average: 2 (1 vote)

Water Front is the first branch of the eponymous restaurant by Krung Thon Bridge (470 Ratchawithee Rd., 02-883-1802), which does classic Thai seafood dishes; and it shows, for better and for worse. The bad bit is probably the décor, whose laminated tables, giant print of the aforementioned bridge covering an entire wall and faux bricks just look cheap—not to mention a bit grubby (the pillows on the banquettes, in particular) and frayed at the edges. This branch is also blessed with a near-complete lack of customers and a half-dozen perfectly unsmiling staff—a situation that’s bordering on tense. All this is pretty much compensated for by a kind of brutal efficiency, both in the fast, no-nonsense service and the well-executed food. In fact, this is the Thai seafood and service you’ve had at countless terrazzo tables, with a plastic awning over your head and surrounded by bored dek serve shuffling about in their matching polos. So while Waterfront doesn’t deliver any fireworks, it’s a solid, reasonably priced Thai seafood restaurant, which, given that’s in a mall, is somewhat noteworthy.  A tad oily (even by this particular dish’s standards), the squid stir-fried in salted eggs (B180) is nonetheless a pleasant play on textures: the grainy egg, the tender squid, the spicy oil, the crispy bell peppers and onions bordering on raw. Similarly fresh produce can be found in the seafood glass noodles salad (B150), which mixes plump shrimps, squid, and chunky morsels of white-fleshed fish. A bit less orthodox, the steamed oyster omelet (B180) is bordering on liquid, lacking that slightly denser, rad na-like glueyness that’s expected of it. And of course, this is food for the Bangkokian palate, so that the fresh, well-cooked deep-fried seabass comes with a sauce that’s bordering on pure syrup, despite the crispy, tangy green mango sticks mixed in. The original Water Front must be a fairly nice restaurant, but replace the river views with a giant print-out and you’re left with one sad dining room despite the solid kitchen. 

Venue Details
Address: Water Front, 4/F, Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., Bangkok, Thailand
Phone: 02-610-9490
Area: Siam
Cuisine: Thai
Price Range: BB
Opening hours: daily 9am-9pm
Parking available
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