Bangkok dining: The Garret @ Ekamai

Today I had a wonderful girls day out with a group of friends I've known since I was still in fifth grade.  Gosh it was a long time ago, but it's always good to see everyone again.  We use birthdays as an excuse to catch up, chit chat and try out new restaurants.  Today the birthday girl decided that we go try out this restaurant ontop of the Mini showroom called "The Garret." We all loved it and spent a good few hours there enjoying the company, the food, and the ambiance. Thank you for finding this place :)


Now I'm a big fan of Mini Coopers which made the journey to the final destination that much more fun.   I got there early, walked around the showroom and immersed myself in the cuteness of Mini Cooper.  There's something about it that just makes you smile when you see it.  Especially when they are there sitting in rows as if it were waiting for me to just pop in and take a ride.  It pains me to think that if I lived in the US it would be much much cheaper than in Bangkok (tax is around 240%) and it would cost less than my  little white Honda Jazz.  Oh well.  One can't have everything in life.



I eventually make it to "The Garet Secret Bistro Bar." I have no clue what the name means and google enlightens me with a definition "An attic or semi-finished room just beneath the roof of a house." It makes perfect sense. This is a room above the Mini showroom. I wonder though, Why is it secret? If anyone knows, please let me know. Thank you.
I like the atmosphere.  Being lunchtime, it was nice and airy with a rooftop view of Bangkok. Colours are my thing and I particularly enjoyed the splashes of colours here and there that were used in the room's interior.  The yellow and slate coloured uniforms of the waiters and waitresses and the green background of the bar contrasted with yellow lampshades.  The dark red cushions with wooden chairs gives the place a comfortable and warm ambiance.  It was a relaxing place to be, not too overdone.   There's a bicycle by the entrance and some random pieces of sculpture and an old telephone.  It goes well nevertheless.






We stayed there until almost 3pm.  A three hour lunch.

I think the fact that once the few tables that ate at the place finished their lunch, it seemed like we had the place to ourselves.  You might wonder why were there so few people? I wondered too.  I think it's because it's probably a place that's more frequented at night than during the day time.

The food was my cup of tea.  I like food like this. I like burgers, big juicy ones where you can take big satisfying bites into.  They have a page full of burgers for you to choose from ranging from Wagyu Chunk beef burger (950thb), Lamb burger (390thb), to Foie Gras Burger (570thb).   I also liked the fact that you can choose what time of bread you want, your side dishes, and if you want truffle french fries it's an additional 100thb.  Not bad.  I wanted it to be as good as the Shoestring truffle fries at PS Cafe in Singapore, but it wasn't.  It was good juicy fries, but I wished there were more truffle.


If you are not a meat eater (as were some of my friends), the sphagetti were just as good.  The Italian sausage with spicy tomato sauce (280thb) was indeed spicy, and the parmigiana (350thb) was good.

Dessert was also not bad.  We had the molten chocolate (which wasn't very molten, but that maybe because we spent too much time looking and taking pictures that the chocolate continued to cook inside), the Apple Garret (190thb) whch is really lovely tin slices of apple pie served with custard and Pineapple Tarte Tartin (190thb). 

Portion sizewise it is also quite reasonable and if you don't eat too much any main can easily be shared for two.  We just went all out and ate our hearts out.  13 dishes for six people not including drinks.  Yes we ate that much.  I counted.  Tomorrow I'm going to have to make up by running my heart out and doing extra cardio, but it was worth it.  What's exercise if you can't enjoy life now and then right?





The service was also wonderful.  There are plenty of staff and when I asked them to bring out some cake I had bought for the Bday girl and asked them to put on some candles, they did so happily.  Everything came out on a beautiful platter and a candle for wish to blow on.  Thank you Garet :)

So if you want somewhere secluded, fun, and good food, I recommend "The Garet" during lunchtime.  In the evening I'm sure there'll be a different vibe, with the balcony and people walking out and about. If you have Citibank, it gives you  25 percent discount on food!!! Woa....  I like it and as it goes, no I'm not getting paid to write this :)  Check out their website:  http://www.thegarretbistrobar.com/


Bon appetit!

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