Gaggan has made the The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list every year since 2014, ranking as number 5 in 2018 as well as number 1 on Asias 50 Best Restaurants list, and holds 2 Michelin Stars and so on a recent trip to Bangkok, we visited this Progressive Indian fine dining restaurant known for its molecular gastronomy to see what all the fuss was about.
Gaggan, named after its owner, opened in 2010 and has taken the culinary world by storm ever since, re-defining Indian cuisine with creativity and innovative presentation, and redefining the meaning of fine dining.
It is located in a former 19th century townhouse and is a beautiful venue. I would recommend making a booking months in advance as it is difficult to get a table. Dinner seatings are at 6pm and 9pm and there is a 25 course tasting menu and you have to choose between Vegetarian and non-Vegetarian. Note that there is no a la carte menu.
Upon arrival we were presented with an emoji menu. There are no words or descriptions and so you have to guess what each course is by the emoji. Its a fun different way of dining for sure! Don’t worry – at the end of your meal you are presented with a menu which details which dish matched which emoji so you can see how many flavours you got correct!
Without going into each of the 25 courses so as not to ruin too much of the experience, I’ll share some of my highlights from our tasting menu, which we all opted for the Vegetarian one. None of us tried the non-vegetarian menu and so I can’t comment on it but I have heard good things about it.
I loved the presentation of the dishes, especially the fun element of it. For a 2 Michelin star restaurant there is no pretentiousness, just playfulness and it was a really enjoyable experience.
One of my favourite dishes was the third dish denoted with a tongue emoji called “Lick it up.” There was a speaker brought to the table which played the tune Lick it up by Kiss whilst you were encouraged to…lick the plate! The flavours were of Green Peas and it was so much fun! It also breaks the ice on the table and so you are more or less anticipating more theatrical dishes to arrive.
I also really enjoyed dish 23, which was the emoji of a flower and called Flower Power Lychee.
We ended course 25 with Yin & Yang, flavoured with Saffron and Pistachio, which was sublime!
I also loved the dishes which were presented as pieces of a Jigsaw puzzle and at the end you had to put them together to see what it was – I don’t want to ruin the surprise and so will give you a clue with dish 7, which was Charcoal Samosa Channa and just incredible.
Though expensive at 6500 Thai Baht per person, it is a unique dining experience and a truly memorable one. We got through all 25 courses and not even one was disappointing – they all had various influences, ranging from Indian, Thai to Japanese. We were also not in a food coma at the end but suitably full and so don’t let the thought of 25 dishes to get through put you off as they are manageable sizes and brought in quick succession and so you don’t really have a chance to even think you are full!
The service on the evening was excellent with the staff adding to the ambience and element of fun every time they introduced the dishes and explained how to eat each one.
If you are heading to Bangkok get this booked in advance – it is definitely one of the most fun dining experiences I have had. It is only open until 2020 as Chef Anand has announced he will be closing the restaurant and opening a 10-seater weekend-only restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan.
Find out more here: http://eatatgaggan.com
68/1 ซอยหลังสวน Thanon Phloen Chit, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Laura says
Wow what an incredible dining experience! I love the fun factors too!
Stefan (BerkeleySqB) says
Any 25-course tasting menu is bound to blow anyone’s mind, but seems a fair price for a two-starred restaurant that made it to the top of that 50 Best Restaurants list.
Binita Shah-Patel says
It was incredible! Pricey but matches the value! Sad it closed 🙁