Bangkok is home to many fine dining restaurants and one of the latest additions is Elements, a one-star Michelin restaurant since 2018 located inside the Okura Prestige hotel.

Inside, the restaurant has an open kitchen and the dining room is charmingly decorated with a lot of wood and some colourful lamps. Guests also have the option to dine al fresco on the terrace overlooking the Bangkok skyline, although that is quite ambitious given the local temperatures. Regardless of where you sit, the interior is well balanced between class and comfort with enough space to seat up to 40 covers at a time.

The man in charge of the kitchen is Executive Chef Alvaro Roa. Originally from Spain, Chef Roa has travelled the world and boasts an impressive culinary track record. Throughout his travels, Chef Roa gained experience at renowned international venues such as the Mayfair hotel in London, the Grand Hyatt in Santiago, Chile and the Kempinski Mall in Dubai. Prior to moving to Bangkok, Chef Roa was the Chef de Cuisine at a restaurant in the Shangri La in Shanghai.

At Elements he now uses his experience to bring a cuisine that focuses on the quality of the ingredients with a strong influence of Japanese techniques. This Japanese aspect is very visible in all three tasting menus through the use of typical Japanese ingredients dashi, miso or wagyu beef. Good examples are the signature dish with duck or the starter combination of oyster and tuna, both classic French dishes but with a lot of Japanese flavours.

Chef Roa tries to enhance this even more by looking for local suppliers with organic farms though in Thailand they are not that easy to find yet. For the further development of the menu, Elements restaurant has a partnership with Le Ciel Blue in Amsterdam of Chef Onno Kokmeijer.

At the table the service is polite and friendly, even a little informal despite the well-dressed staff as old school fine dining is still relatively new in Thailand. The focus is on the experience, for example by pouring the sauce at the table and by giving a detailed explanation of each course. The wine pairing with the menu is decent and intentionally not done with over-the-top big names to help educate the customers.

All in all, Elements is a very refined restaurant that offers excellent value for money. The tastes are fresh and the atmosphere is great. It is a place where you should go back every now and then.

Gastronomy

Chef & Team

Interior/exterior

Written by Sebastiaan