Opened last month on a rooftop floor of the three-year-old Avani+ Riverside Bangkok, this week's subject of review, Seen, is a brainchild of Olivier Da Costa, one of Portugal's most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs.
Following his success with 23 restaurants worldwide, Seen, of which its flagship opened in São Paulo in 2017, is Da Costa's latest gastronomic concept featuring an exclusive top-floor restaurant serving up artisanal tapas, cold cuts, seafood and sushi.
Guests stepping into the Bangkok establishment will be fascinated by its breathtaking cosmopolitan space blessed with an unobstructed bird's eye view of the Chao Phraya River bend.
Seen taco with Alaskan king crab meat, guacamole, red cabbage, tobiko roe, mango, pomegranate and spiced mayonnaise.
In there is housed a contemporary restaurant with a dashing Art Deco touch, a large island bar serving sushi and cocktails and a spacious poolside outdoor dining terrace walled with nothing but the city's sky high panorama -- all energised by nu-disco background beats.
Nevertheless, the 185-seater sees itself as a food-driven establishment. The ambience just happens to be a perfect complement. At least, that was what the restaurant's French executive chef Alexandre Castaldi said, and I truly agreed.
Castaldi, whose career has seen a meteoric rise from Michelin-starred Parisian restaurants to Asia's hottest dining joints, described his cuisine at Seen as modern European prepared with locally-sourced organic produce.
There are two menus: the sushi bar and the à la carte. The sushi bar offers 20 items of prime-grade sashimi, sushi and rolls as well as some speciality light bites.
Of it, I highly recommend maki chutoro (820 baht). Four hefty slices of the sushi roll, each featuring equal proportions of sushi rice, Alaskan king crab meat filling, supple fillet of blue fin tuna belly and crunchy tobiko (flying fish roe), provided a sumptuously succulent mouthfeel.
Offering as luxurious a palate pleaser was nigiri unagi special (450 baht). Double ecstasy in one bite, the hand-shaped sushi presented grilled freshwater eel together with a firm morsel of seared foie gras all brushed with sweet teriyaki glaze. The characteristically oily fish and the creamy duck liver were complemented by a smoky whiff from flame-broiling while a garnish of green apple sunomono gave the rich-tasting delicacy a perfect refreshing contrast.
Seen taco (620 baht) proved as well order-worthy. In a half-folded crispy corn tortilla shell was a delicious combination of Alaskan king crab meat, guacamole, red cabbage, tobiko roe, mango, pomegranate and spiced mayonnaise. A drizzle of fresh-squeezed lime juice lent to the taco a bracing tangy finish.
Octopus carpaccio with lemon vinaigrette, capsicum, microgreen cilantro and chive.
My dining companion and I disagreed on truffle gunkan (560 baht), an innovative sushi roll with a generous helping of fresh salmon, fried soft-shell crab, quail egg confit and freshly-grated black truffle. She loved the lavish combination of the delicacy while I found the eggy taste of the yolk sadly subdued all other good components.
From the 38-item repertoire of à la carte options, dishes may look homespun and less photogenic when compared with those from the sushi bar. But taste-wise, they were a true charmer.
Truffle lobster salad (690 baht) was delicious proof of the above. It's a guacamole-lookalike jumble of lobster meat, asparagus, caramelised apple, avocado and truffle flakes that tasted so heavenly addictive.
The kitchen proved to make the best octopus carpaccio (520 baht). Laid flat on the plate were paper-thin sheets of pressed Spanish octopus that's been slow-cooked until super tender yet fully retaining its flavoursome character. The octopus was seasoned with lemon vinaigrette, capsicum, microgreen cilantro and chive with every single ingredient being allowed to showcase their genuine fragrance and tang.
Upon the first bite, I instantly fall in love with jumbo prawns with semolina gnocchi and roasted heirloom tomatoes (890 baht).
Thoroughly drenched with garlic herb cream, the sharing-portioned dish offered a captivating French taste profile with its aromatic butter-rich character that enhanced well the springy plump crustaceans and pleasantly chewy gnocchi.
Recommended for beef connoisseurs is 250g slices of wagyu rump steak with chimichurri sauce and truffle Parmesan spaghetti (1,390 baht).
We found dulce de leche souffle (450 baht) enjoyable though the accompanying guava sorbet tasted a bit weird.
A collection of signature cocktails, and also lusciously fanciful mocktails, by award-winning in-house mixologist Mochammad Fadli is also highlighted.
I had Lady Mermaid (280 baht) and was super happy with the candyfloss inspired non-alcohol concoction.
Service was fine. Reservations are recommended.
