Bangkok’s most expensive business set lunch? Diners at Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie can easily spend THB 15,000 or more if they go all in.

Le Normandie, the famed 68-year-old Mandarin Oriental restaurant recently won a regional award for Asia’s restaurant new opening of the year. This caught my eye as it is typically rare for a restaurant of such vintage to be considered new.  

Perhaps in celebration, and to help widen its range of clientele, Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie is now promoting a 75-minute business lunch priced at THB 4,500++ for the basic offering, plus all sorts of exciting add-ons if you wish to splash out further. It was the premium lunch, rather than the somewhat odd award, that piqued my interest so I booked a table for two. After all, it had been a number of years since my last visit to what was once an absolute personal favourite. It was time to put that right.

Le Normandie has recently undergone a major refurb as it switched from in-house crew to famed restaurant/ celebrity chef collaboration. Anne-Sophie Pic, much-accoladed and now helming Maison Pic in France, has her name on the door in this complete re-imagination of what, for many years, was the un-disputed best fine-dining restaurant in Bangkok. 

I thought the new design looked fabulous with beige, blue and grey tones throughout all aspects of the room, including matching server uniforms, blending in with a very open ambience. My guest thought otherwise, finding it a little too modern for his liking. But we agreed the Chao Phraya River vista remains as magical as ever.

We were the only diners on the lunchtime booked, that is until very late into the meal when another pair arrived. The price tag of THB 4,500++ without add-ons may be a factor, an implication that a meal of this expectant quality would be turned round hastily may be another. We also mused that business people, blessed with necessary generous expense budgets, might prefer more leisurely dining as they work on the fine details of that next major deal.  

I arrived early and was given a well-rehearsed assessment of a futuristic metal sculpture by Madame Pic’s favorite artist, Maxime Lhermet. It’s impressive and on entry is hard to miss. Created to celebrate the juxtaposition of the components of fine French dining with Thai heritage, it catches the eye. The receptionist was keen to point out the tobacco pipe hidden among the detail in tribute to Khun Adisorn, a long-time director of the hotel (and not the founder of the restaurant as I was told mistakenly), who died in a small-plane crash many years ago. He was a close friend and I had dinner with him at Le Normandie, which he loved in particular for its extraordinary wine-list, just weeks before the accident. It is indeed a nice touch to remember him in this sculpture.

On to the food. My guest went for the meat set and I had asked for a vegetarian option. Both have wine and non-alcohol drinks pairings and there are 3 potential add-ons for the meat choice. Famed les berlingots were added as a fourth course without hesitation by both my guest and I. The veal was chosen by my carnivore friend, and a soft drink pairing courtesy of the hotel marketing team was much appreciated. Then the stop watch started.

First up was a trio of amuse bouche. Of mine, yuzu ball in a delicate chocolate casing left an extraordinary freshness on the palate that may have burst with basil, coriander and star anise that lingered long after its two Thai-cheese based cohorts had been devoured. Next up I chose, as recommended by our delightful server, crispy tomato shell with lavender caraway seeds, smoked vanilla and a divine broth. It was a work of art assembled as if in homage to Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, and her polka-dotted pumpkin creations, who had died at 97 years the day before our meal. There was also a green and yellow wax bean alternative with crispy fig leaf, kombucha cream, pine bud and passion marigold plate that my guest told me was exquisite.

A word about the breads: sourdough, mini baguette and brioche. Incredible.

You simply cannot miss adding les berlingots. It’s a gorgeous circle of 6 or 7 pasta packets containing Nakhon Phanom Brie style cheese topped with a smoky foam and a medley of mushrooms. This famed extra is not a dish I’d like to follow if I were a main course. If you sing for a living, it’s like having Taylor Swift as your warm up act.

I’d heard much about Madame Pic’s beetroot-based creations so I was pleased to see la betterave de Chang Mai offered as main course. Visually it was a mashed ball-shaped mixture of Chiang Mai beetroot, cooked in fir bud salt with blackcurrant puree and madras infused curry emulsion. It lacked the sensory attraction of other dishes and felt as if it was not easy to prepare and that maybe there was a touch too much on the plate; which may have been welcomed had I not opted for les berlingots.

My business friend took the slow-baked veal cheek from Limousin option as main course, which comes with a B4,000++ supplement. It looked, and was cooked, as imagined and the taste I was told, matched. It was simple in presentation, cooked as requested, and my friend, a veal lover for sure, said it matched his best expectations. A win here then for the meat eater.

The soft drink pairings also deserve a mention. The servers worked hard to add a sense of drama to each drink and the winner in presentation was the slow drip coffee that accompanied the veal. There was also an excellent non-alcohol rose wine with a negroni-style shiraz berry with a spicy character and a hint of bitter beetroot, and Wolong tea that was a little tart for my liking. But this being a business lunch we paid little attention to the voluminous supply of soft drinks as we tried to settle our imaginary deal within the time allotted.

Onto the fourth course, a winner that got the meal back on the “beyond expectation” track for me. Fresh strawberries with a creamy matcha ganache, sesame praline, shiso sorbet and a table poured berry jus. Sublime.  

Servers were perhaps inevitably over attentive as there was no-one else there for them to attend to. We ordered a final coffee and called for the bill. A glance at the watch showed that we had taken exactly 75 minutes. We asked to meet the chef to offer thanks for such a fine meal. Chef Tamaki who helms the kitchen, and has worked for Madame Pic for close to 15 years, was not on duty that lunchtime so we met sous chef Leon Inpik, a young Malaysian lad, who had cooked our meals and seems destined for great things in the culinary world

Le Normandie had worked its magic and our business discussion was fruitful. Depending on drinks pairings and extras added the bill for two people could land anywhere between B15k and B30k. That is pricey in any city in the world. But I guess Bangkok is not just any city and Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie is not just any restaurant.