Koi Bangkok: For Japanese with a contemporary Californian twist

Back when Bangkok Japanese restaurant Koi opened in 2005, it was the place to see and be seen.

Celebrities and high-society types fought for tables every night of the week, with everyone wanting to dine in the Bangkok branch of the famed celebrity-ridden restaurant chain with locations in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York.  

These days, you won’t have much trouble getting a table. But fortunately the Japanese contemporary cuisine, made with Californian influences, is still as good as ever.

Signature dishes at Koi include tuna tartare with crispy wontons, Wagyu beef carpaccio with truffle citrus soy sauce, salmon carpaccio black truffle and ponzu and yellowtail carpaccio with oven roasted garlic and peppers.  

The drinks are just as unique as the dishes. If it’s full-on Japanese flavor you’re looking for, try the Wasabi Tini, made with vodka and, of course, wasabi. 

Koi's interiors are understated but elegant, decorated with plenty of glass, dark woods and reds. Next door, as part of the multi-venue complex, is the Koi Fashion Lounge, which holds regular models' nights.

If the sight of long-legged European models lounging outside in the courtyard smoking cigarettes doesn’t turn your appetite, try one of Koi's fantastic desserts. Highly recommended is the superb flourless molten chocolate volcano cake.