Quince

Quince has been open for several months now; I have been to Quince several times and its time to review the restaurant that everyone in town is talking about.  Its the hip & happening place on Sukhumvit.  Weekends are impossible to get a seat...well actually, it seem like practically every night its impossible to get a seat.

Quince's design is quite unique in town...its industrial; full of glass, steel and concrete.  Yet its the decor that softens up the harshness and coldness of the industrial design.  The dinning furniture is a mix bag of different styles that blend in well with the concept.  Some tables are of wood & steel, some chairs are wood with canvass, etc.

There are four dinning areas; the front room with the view of the soi, the back room, second floor with private rooms and the loungey outdoor garden area.

The volume & space of the restaurant is intense and massive...I do like it very much; however, what I do not understand is that with all the amazing thinking going into the architecture & decor; there is one design flaw...no one thought of the acoustics, something so fundamental in a restaurant's design.

Its absolutely dreadful at Quince's front dinning room.  Because of all the glass; the sound in the room echos back.  People cannot hear their own conversations so they talk louder; the ripple affect is that other tables start talking louder...etc, etc.  In the end it does become unbearable as the evening goes on. I highly recommend eating in the back room.

The starter dish was Panisse Eggplant (150 baht).  The melange of eggplant, feta cheese, and fava beans was a very nice combination.  Tons of colours, textures and flavours.  A very creative and refreshing way to start the meal.

The next starter dish was Bone Marrow (250 baht).  I truly think Quince is the only restaurant in town serving bone marrow...and what an amazing idea.  When the buttery bone marrow was assembled on the freshly toasted bread, adding some parsley & capers...a unique explosion of textures and flavours come out.

The main dish was Hanger Steak (450 baht).  The hanger steak was cooked perfectly (as ordered), the meat was tender and juicy.  The sauce was not too overwhelming and added the right flavours to accompany the meat.  A good portion for two.

The side dish was Roasted Carrots (150 baht).  The roasted carrots with thyme, poppy seeds, shallots and glazed with honey is a lovely dish.  The carrots were fresh, bright in colour, tender and flavourful.

Another main dish to share was Hand cut noodles with Rabbit (300 baht).  When this dish arrived I at first thought they got our order wrong.  On the menu; it sounded like a pasta dish; we were not expecting this dish to be in a broth.  However; the dish turned out to be very tasty.  The noodles were cooked nicely, the rabbit was very tender.  The broth added the much needed flavours to the pasta and rabbit.

The back dinning room with the view of the wine cave.

Overall;  the service (which I know there is a difficulty in finding good staff right now in town) is not consistent; though the service staff are always friendly and attentive at times...they are not fine on the details.  For example; staff & kitchen not communicating.  We asked for our carrots to be part of the main course; of course they arrived as appetizers, or not pouring wine when the wine glasses are empty, or clearing the table at the end of the meal but then not coming back with the dessert menu.  I know; I am difficult and probably too attentive to details.  However; these are my humble suggestions for improvement and its up to the restaurants to take notice and improve.

On the other hand; Quince lives up to it's hype.  The food is very exciting, fresh and relevant (using fresh, local and organic if possible products).  The menu is in my opinion limited; but I guess that allows the kitchen to perfect the dishes.

The food is very good...and most of the dishes are well executed & presented.  The prices are really reasonable for the quality & type of restaurant.  Quince has an amazing wine list from different countries but what makes Quince really unique in this area is that they have a great selection of Spanish wines at amazingly affordable prices...which no other restaurant in town can compare with.  The staff is always friendly and attentive even when the place is bulging with customers; they still do their job well.

If you can get a table; Quince is the place to be right now for a very good food, wine and ambiance.

Address: Sukhumvit soi 45
Phone #: 02-662-4478
Opening hours:  daily 11:30 - 1:00 am