Disclaimer: In exchange for a review of UNO MAS, my associate and I received a comped dinner; photos are courtesy of Mr. Mark Reardon and UNO MAS. Original review (with more photos) is at: http://buildingmybento.com/2016/01/11/restaurant-review-uno-mas-bangkok-thailand/.
“Spanish food in Bangkok, Thailand?”, you reluctantly utter…why not, I say. After repeatedly telling Thai restaurants pet pet (very spicy) and consequently, repeatedly not being able to speak for ten minutes at a time due to pet pet – by the way, do you know which peninsula introduced chilies to Thailand and much of the rest of the world? – I figured it was time for a change.
Located on the 54th floor of the Centara Grand hotel right behind the CentralWorld shopping center, close to the Siam and Ploenchit BTS (elevated rapid transit system) stations along the ever busy thoroughfare known as Sukhumvit, UNO MAS offers patrons not only a quality blend of Spanish and Catalan fare but also excellent views
of the sprawling Bangkok cityscape. The head chef, Joan Tanya Dot, is
an affable fellow and comes with more than fifteen years experience
cooking in restaurants in England, the Cayman Islands and Spain.
Open daily from 16:00-01:00, UNO MAS (uno más= “one more”),
which just opened early in December 2015, is separated into three parts:
the 42-seat Wine Cellar right by the entrance, the casual 60-seat Tapas
& Raw Bar and the somewhat more upscale 78-seat Open Air Dining
Deck.
WINE CELLAR
TAPAS & RAW BAR
DINING DECK
My associate and I were seated in the raw bar & tapas area, right
by the window. There was a rather loud party seated not too far from
us, but so as to not embarrass our host, I didn’t want to rock the boat.
Uploading…
SANGRIA
Clockwise from the center: wild porcini mushroom croquettes, chicharrones, Catalan-style roasted vegetables “escalivada”
with anchovies, Marcona almonds – one of my many weaknesses, “Joselito”
charcuterie board, sardines with piquillo pepper sauce, sangria-drowned
watermelon cubes, also known as “mock tuna on ice,” and potatoes with
aioli. Everything was a hit…which proved to be an issue with trying to finish savor the rest of the meal.
(The PR person introduced herself and said that everything would be
ready in half an hour…in other words, they already had a set menu to
introduce to us. Phew, that makes it easy, because nearly everything on the
menu sounded tempting.)
Cochinillo asado, or roast suckling pig, is one of the signature
dishes of the restaurant. Amusingly, it is served with standard issue
gravy, Canary Islands green mojo sauce (made of cilantro, oil and
vinegar) and as a bow to the local population, nam jim jeaw, or dried
chili sauce. Chef Joan, in the style of the Segovia region of Spain,
cut the beautifully cooked pork with a plate, and then proceeded to
break the plate, as if to say to the animal, “we’re even.” Maybe.
Moving
southeast towards the coastal city of Valencia, we were also served
seafood paella, replete with saffron-cooked rice, lobster, prawns,
mussels, clams, and scallops (vieira). I know we’re both from the US but, even our
stomachs have their limits. Still, both the paella and the cochinillo
were quite nice, particularly considering the breadth of different
flavors and textures available.
You really shouldn’t have…churros with Valrhona chocolate sauce. Finished within two minutes. Even the cinnamon wasn’t spared.
My only two complaints about UNO MAS are that the bread was very
underwhelming – though that night, it’s not as if we needed bread – and
lobster forks/claw openers were given to us only after we finished the
lobster. It is likely that the bread will improve over time, and I
reckon the latter issue was simply because the restaurant was still
working out a few opening month kinks.
In all, with that caliber of cooking, good overall service and
alfresco dining available year-round, I have high hopes for UNO MAS.
