The restaurant's name is neither indicative, inspiring nor promising, and its debut had created quite a controversy among well-travelled diners.
But my recent lunch at Noname turned out to be so lovely that I felt bad for going in with low expectations.
The 70-seat establishment, opened almost a year ago at the ritzy Gaysorn Centre, takes its cues from some of London's famous steakhouses. The warmly-lit space has a classic English vibe, with red brick walls, wooden furniture, leather upholstery, drinks bar and worn-out floor. A small corner even serves as a gentleman's tailor shop (on the day I visited it still looked like a mock-up).
Noname specialises in steak, seafood and tapas. Its 70-dish menu lists a respectable selection of steaks with six beef cuts from Australia and one from Japan. Specials, such as seasonal offerings, catches of the day and special dry-aged beef, are written on the blackboard and changed regularly.
Imported prime seafood is on offer in the shape of Alaskan king crab, Canadian lobster, French oysters, oscietra and beluga caviar, Japanese uni (sea urchin roe) and Spanish carabineros prawn.
I started off with the carabineros prawn, served with smoked salt flakes and a grilled lemon half (666 baht). The meat was juicy and sweet but rather overpriced given it is only a one-bite pleasure.
Following that was the squid-ink risotto with baby squid and Hokkaido uni (1,350 baht). The rice was perfectly cooked in the pitch black sauce and went wonderfully with the generous helping of creamy, custard-like sea urchin roe. From the pasta menu, the wagyu lasagne (550 baht) proved a delight.
Given that Noname is at heart a steakhouse, it wouldn't be a crime to skip all the entrées and go straight for the steak. All the beef featured here, with the exception of the Japanese A5 Miyazaki wagyu, is from leading Australian beef producer Rangers Valley.
The restaurant's best-selling Flat Iron (500 baht) is a sizeable 180g flame-grilled shoulder blade steak on a stone plate. Unless diners specifically request otherwise, the steak will come medium rare.
Flat Iron steak with Hokkaido uni topping.
To enhance the flavour, you can choose from a selection of sauces (50-100 baht extra), including Cafe de Paris, truffle cream sauce and Thai-style spicy jaew sauce.
However, I usually prefer my steak with just a sprinkle of salt. The tender, deep-pink, perfectly-charred Flat Iron steak needed nothing more; the taste was impeccable. Considering the portion and quality of meat, I'd say Noname's Flat Iron is one of the best steak deals the city has to offer.
For a more luxurious texture, connoisseurs might want to go for the Australian Wagyu Flat Iron (1,200 baht), which was just as pleasing taste-wise, but juicier, and the meat had a wonderful melting softness.
Should you feel that eating a steak without the trimmings is too vulgar, there are some great toppings and side dishes to choose from. These include fried eggs (80 baht), lava cheese (250 baht), Hokkaido scallop (350 baht), half a lobster thermidore (850 baht) and Hokkaido uni (1,200 baht).
You won't regret pairing your steak with the creamy uni, while the plump and firm French foie gras (390 baht) is also a bargain. As a side dish, go for the baked bone marrow (420 baht), served on a lengthwise-cut bone with caramelised onion. So good. If that doesn't appeal, another great side dish option is the crème brûlée sweetcorn (150 baht). It may sound less adventurous, but it's equally heavenly.
To end the meal, staff recommended the signature dessert, Puff The Magic Dragon (280 baht), a sweet puffy snack flash-frozen in a bubbling bowl of liquid nitrogen. Chewing the crunchy puffs creates a smoke-like vapour from your nose and mouth. To me, the experience was more of a novelty than a particularly satisfying taste experience.
Better to go with another top-seller: warm sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream (280 baht). It may not be the best in town but the thick and gooey pudding was still very enjoyable.
The bar offers a decent selection of cocktails, both classic and house-concocted, as well as wines, sake, beers, mocktails and milkshakes.
During our visit, service was amiable and the food arrived quickly.
