The meat-free scene has never been so vibrant. Thanks to the butter-averse peeps at Veganerie, we learned that desserts made without any dairy can actually taste good (flip to page 28 to read about their latest cafe). Their efforts were recently followed up by plant-based vegetarian dessert cafe Patisserie Potager—and however horrible you think “plant-based vegetarian desserts” sound, think again. Meanwhile at Broccoli Revolution they’ve been doing their best to make vegetables as delicious as all our favorite full-fat comfort food.  

 

Clean-eating freaks can have their fill—or at least their carefully controlled portion size—at any number of new places across the city. Our top spots for a bit of culinary self-punishment include the new venue of Dressed in Asoke, Phuket-born Dressed lookey-likey Farmfactory (opening in Paragon soon), and Absolute Fit Food, which just opened its first cafe  after years of delivery service. You can also head over to new player Brekkie for your dose of flaxseed, acai berry, chia seed and other such wonderful offerings. 

 

After the Robuchons and Sushi Ichis of 2014, things have gotten a whole lot more… relaxed. The restaurants most causing a stir over the past 12 months have been down-to-earth spots like Err (courtesy of the Bo.lan people), Baan (courtesy of the Le Du people) and Baa Ga Din (courtesy of the Le Du people, again). All of these places go in for classic, rootsy Thai flavors in some form or another—and serve up some excellent drinks, too. Even fine-dining megastar Gaggan has taken things down a notch with his latest, Meatlicious (the name tells you all you need to know), while Water Library tapped into its inner Opposite Mess Hall to give us Seed.

 

Beer pairings are here and they’re here to stay—and we don’t just mean Leo and somtam. Taking the concept to its highest level, Upstairs at Mikkeller doles out nine courses of food way too fancy to be lurking above a beer bar, each one paired with a different brew from Mikkeller’s arsenal. The whole shebang costs nearly B5,000, but it’s worth it. For something easier on the wallet, check out Changwon Express’s Korean-Mexican grub served up with one of the best beer menus in town, or head over to Err (see above) for one of their soon-to-come beer pairing events. 

 

Now we don’t just eat pizza. We eat 72-hour-rested, wood-fired pizza certified by some officious chaps in Naples (Peppina). When we eat waffles, we don’t just eat waffles. We eat overnight yeast-raised waffles for a crispier crust and light interior (Jona Waffle and Chu). And it’s not just the bakers who are at it. Sloane’s sausages come from pigs whose lives rank higher on the happiness index than yours does; Meat & Bones’ beef ribs get labored with more love and affection than a new-born baby; and Holy Moly’s pies—make that, “gourmet pastry parcels”— are so damn special they belong in a gallery. 

 

Arno’s is like the stuff of dreams: a butcher who’ll sell you a 1kg, dry-aged steak for half the price of any other place in town then cook it to perfection for you right there and then. We’d love it even more if we could ever get a table. We can at least content ourselves with the other places running similar operations like El Toro and El Gaucho. 

 

It’s the hottest foreign cuisine in town. From upscale offerings like La Monita Urban Cantina to the return of Bangkok’s original margarita-jug-maestros, Coyote. Then there’s Ari’s Casa Azul, Koh Chang-hailing Barrio Bonito, Nana’s The Mexican and the new Tacos & Salsa (see page 20) before we even get onto the food trucks and stalls. Take a deep breath: Tacos Factory, Express Mexican Food, Cactus, Taco Taxi, Ta’Cone, Two Angels and, the latest contender, Luca Thaiger from the team behind burger truck Daniel Thaiger. (We’re talking under 12 months of openings here.) 

 

We all love Junker and Bar’s burgers (OK, maybe not the lamb-mint one), but they’re not the only ones at it.  And good news is that it’s now not the only bar you can get great burgers. You can now also get BBQ Sandwich King’s handfuls at rooftop bar 722 Craft Experience, and Daniel Thaiger’s creations at both Craft on 23 and Game Over Lounge, as well as its new back-to-basics burgers at Seen Space’s Brew Beers and Cider. The list continues with Bricks & Bone whiskey bar, Hair of the Dog and Let the Boy Die. 

 

---

Essentials