Nimitr Restaurant & Rooftop Bar Bangkok
Words: Alison Christ
Photos: Monica Tindall
A few weeks ago, Monica asked me to join her for dinner at Nimitr on the roof of 137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok. I looked on Google Maps for the walking distance from my flat, and it said it would take six minutes. I had to go! I would have gone to share a meal with Mon anyway, no matter where in Bangkok, but that Nimitr is on my street in the Phrom Phong area, on Soi 39, about a 15-minute walk from Sukhumvit was a sign. Just absolutely by coincidence, so serendipitous! Bangkok is huge, it has to mean something great.
Nimitr Bangkok
Monica arrived earlier in the afternoon and was already checked into her Suite when I arrive to meet her for dinner. I find my way up to the 27th floor; the lift opens onto a grandiose room with the highest ceilings imaginable. I am guessing eight metres high. The inside dining room is blue and gold filled with intricate ornamental gold panels up above the open kitchen, with beautiful long chandeliers dripping down into the room.
The staff are outfitted in smart blue vests and skirts or pants, cleverly matching the interior design. It’s a lot to take in, I almost (almost) missed the big bowl of chilled wines on display. I am trying to go slowly, but then I see the view! It’s a stunning cityscape above the awesome and unique Bangkok skyline. I continue walking towards the outdoor dining area and finally see Monica’s beautiful, smiling face, a face I haven’t seen in a couple of months. We are both very happy to reconnect here on this amazing rooftop in the heart of Bangkok. We are cheerfully escorted to our table which is quite comfy and just right up to a glass wall overlooking the street 27th floors below. We’ve come early, so we can catch the sunset, which starts uneventfully and then leads us into a surprise of pinks and blues that keep evolving throughout our meal.
Nimitr is a modern Thai restaurant focusing on all the wonderful herbs and spices from the rich tapestry of Thailand’s diverse regions. There is a cool map at the beginning of the menu that details the abundance of nature’s gifts found in each area. In Thailand’s mountainous northern region, you can find edible flowers and unique vegetables that like the cool climate, such as pak waan (a slightly sweet green often used in soups). The Northeast region, known as Isaan, is famous for livestock farming, producing high-quality Thai Wagyu beef, chickens, and delicious sticky rice. The southern region is famous for its stunning coastlines, abundant fresh seafood, and arguably the best-tasting coconuts in Southeast Asia. The central area has fertile plains surrounded by a nurturing river, which aids in producing high-quality jasmine rice. The merging of fresh and saltwater fosters unique greens and sea life.
Chef Nat is focused on utilising all of these amazing things to capture the essence of what makes this part of Aisa a wondrous place. He aspires to create dishes that appeal to locals and travellers alike. Chef also prioritises using local and sustainable products as much as possible with a goal of achieving one hundred per cent in the near future.
Nimitr Menu
Nimitr’s full menu has over fifty items to choose from if you’d like to order à la carte, or you can choose the Tasting Journey four-course menu that includes all the elements of a traditional Thai meal. Or if you’re with a group of four, there is the Journey Through Thailand, which comes with a choice of seven dishes and easily feeds four hungry adults (four-course THB 1,500++ per person with an option to add THB 1,000++ per person for three glasses of GranMonte Thai wine or the Journey Through Thailand for four persons THB 3,700++). Monica and I go for the four-course Tasting Journey with a specially curated pairing of award-winning wines from GranMonte, Thailand’s premier winery. I personally find the tasting menus much more navigable than the à la carte (everything sounds good, and I will never make up my mind). The chef offers a few choices for each course on both tasting menus.
Nimitr Four-course Tasting Journey
While we are perusing our dinner options, our server brings us some “too” delicious Tom Yum-flavoured Popcorn that we can’t resist. A few moments later, Chef Nanang sends over an amuse-bouche of spicy papaya and mango wrapped in rice paper. This definitely wets our palate, and we are ready to start our tasting journey!
First Course
Monica and I both choose the Miang Kham King Scallops. The seared scallops are served on top of crispy betel leaves with Thai herbs, dried coconut, and sugar cane sauce. To our pleasure, the sauce is not sweet but balanced and makes us smile as we pick up the crunchy betel leaf and fill our mouths. I’ve never had a fried betel leaf before, and I like the texture and the nutty quality it offers.
GranMonte Sakuna Syrah, Rosé, 2024 is complementing the dish. The rosé brings the movie “Pretty in Pink” to my mind. It has a lovely strawberry bouquet, which is not sweet on the palate, with a touch of creaminess and ripe pineapples. The Syrah used to make this Rosé comes from fourteen-year-old blocks of vines on a slope with deep red clay soils, quite impressive for Thailand. As a sommelier living in non-wine-producing Asian countries for over 12 years, I absolutely love that Thailand is producing wines and that they are getting better and better at it. They are a baby in the industry, and all of you wino’s out there should show some love! GranMonte has received many awards and I think it’s important that they have Thai cuisine and the Thai palate in mind when crafting cuvees.
GranMonte, which translates to “big Mountain”, is located in the beautiful Asoke Valley adjacent to Khao Yai National Park, approximately 160 kilometres from Bangkok, and it is definitely worth a visit! At 350 metres above sea level, in a valley with a total area of 100 rai (approximately 40 acres), GranMonte has the ideal microclimate for growing high-quality grapes for winemaking in a difficult wet tropical climate. You can read about the full review Monica did on her visit to the winery back in June here.
Second Course
Our second course of soup is being served as we sip the last of our Rosé. Monica chooses the Tom Kha Gai Yang Coconut Cream Soup with grilled chicken and mushrooms, and I go with Tom Yum Goong Spicy Prawn Soup with tomato, mushroom, and Thai aromatic herbs. Since the very first time I went to Thailand over a decade ago, I fell in love with Tom Yum; maybe there’s some Freudian thing happening in my head with the word Yum, and it’s just a coincidence that we are with The Yum List. Did you know that the Thai word Yum doesn’t mean yummy (although it might as well)? In my simplified explanation, it means to mix, which is crucial in achieving the balance between the heat of the spice, saltiness, sweetness, and savouriness of ingredients. And in the end, isn’t that actually striving for yumminess!?
Monica’s Tom Kha Gai Yang is coconut creamy delicious with tender local gai yang (chicken) bursting with the familiar Thai flavours we love, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and ginger with only a dash of chilli. My Tom Yum arrives as a single radiant orange tiger prawn (goong) in the centre of a delicate deep bowl, and our server pours the broth over the prawn to complete the dish. This checks all the boxes of pleasure from a Tom Yum for me. It’s got a kick to it, and the GranMonte Spring Unwooded Chenin Blanc 2021 is doing exactly what it was created to do, balancing the heat on my palate. The chenin grapes are grown in the interior of the canopy, which has adequate shading from the sun to achieve a higher level of acidity (acidity is key when pairing food and wine together). The wine has pronounced salinity, fresh citrus, and ripe tropical fruit notes.
Main Course
For our main course, Mon and I both go for the Gai Yang with Ma Kham Sauce, free-range baby chicken with tamarind sauce, and Thai condiments. It’s tender, perfectly grilled meat. We are instructed to mix all of the ingredients, including little puffed rice, kaffir leaf, chilli, shallots, and my favourite bits of fried garlic, together and incorporate some with each mouthful. The tamarind adds a unique tangy, slightly sweet taste that compliments the dish. We are served as much sticky rice as we like out of a beautiful ceramic pot offered to us by our server.
For the wine, we get an upgrade from the “Spring “selections and are served the higher-end GranMonte “Heritage” Syrah Viognier, 2020. This is my favourite of the three wines, and it is varietally correct. I think it could be blind-tasted as a Syrah (I might have to sneak it into one of my sommelier sessions).
Nimitr Dessert
Monica and I have known each other for over seven years, and during this trip to Thailand together, I found out that she has a little secret… an addiction I didn’t know about. Mango sticky rice, Monica is addicted to mango sticky rice. You can’t blame her, actually; it’s easy to acquire! Of course, for dessert, Mon goes for the Khao Neaw Mam Uang, mango sticky rice with mango mousse and coconut flakes. I decide to try something new and order the Kanom Peak Poon, rice charcoal pudding served with coconut cream, ginkgo, grated coconut and coconut mousse.
I do love me some mango sticky rice, though, and beg Monica for a spoonful. She hesitantly obliges, and boy, is it yumm-o, as my mother would say. I’m on a health kick with charcoal lately, and I don’t usually eat dessert, so I am curious about my dish. Did I mention I love coconuts?! Mine doesn’t disappoint and leaves me feeling less guilty and more satisfied about eating dessert.
The breeze on the rooftop right now is glorious and our barman comes over to inform us that it’s happy hour on the roof until 7 pm and we better not miss out. For all 137 Pillars suite guests from 6 pm -7 pm, they offer complimentary cocktails or wine. Monica goes with her usual Negroni, which is done completely to her liking, and I stick with wine so I can try the “Spring” version of the Syrah, which is a good everyday drinking red and perfect for a little stroll around the rooftop to admire the skyline and enjoy the setting suns grand finale before Monica and I say good night for the evening, until next time my dear friend.
Reasons to visit Nimitr: stunning view, happy hour (come at sunset!), delicious food, locally sourced ingredients, many organic and sustainable ingredients, awesome mango sticky rice, value for baht, and a menu clearly marked for varying dietary preferences.
Nimitr
137 Pillars Suites & Residences
59/1 Sukhumvit 39, Sukhumvit Road,
Klongton-Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand 10110
BTS Phrom Phong
Complimentary shuttle service is available to and from EmQuartier (in front of Emporio Armani) every hour until 9 pm
+66 (0)2 079 7000
[email protected]
Line: @137pillarshotels
Nimitr Opening Hours
Daily: 5 pm – 11 pm
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