Chesa Swiss Cuisine

A nicely converted house, the restaurant is situated opposite Windsor Suites Hotel, down a short driveway just far enough to help assure guests don't hear the local traffic while enjoying their dinner. Upon entering the restaurant, patrons find a modern look, with an ambiance of bright colors, a wall of white pillars with a trademark red wave even displayed on staff uniforms. There's a private room for 24, along with a dark wood bar and seating for about 80 persons but you won't find photos of the snow-covered Alps, any chattering cookoo clocks, the clatter of wooden shoes, or pig-tailed ladies with funny hats yodeling for patrons. Now there are two painted "paper-mache" cows heads that gaze down from their perch on the back wall, in a partitioned-off room but I'm not really sure what they represent.

A lot has been said about Chesa and the ability of this authentic Swiss restaurant to easily survive the test of time for almost a decade. Many restaurants have opened and also closed, even some good Swiss eateries, however Chesa has become more and more popular to become Bangkok's icon of fine Swiss cuisine. It isn't really that surprising or hard to figure out. When you combine the finest imported ingredients with the best quality produce available and a truly remarkable chef works his genius in the kitchen, it is no wonder the food then becomes "culinary magic". The head chef is "Thomas Nowak", co-proprietor with his partner, another skilled chef "Rene" who now oversees another Chesa venture called Fondooz that is located on the 7th floor in Central World.

So let's get down to the food. My dining partner and I were seated in the main dining room next to one of the large windows. The wine menu was brought to us first and while my dining partner was pondering over the menu of 6 or 7 pages of food on offer, I looked at the wine list. Other than the fact that the list offers about 30 reds from most of the free world, as well as some nice choices of Swiss wines, and after I deliberated quite intently on the choice of wine for a few minutes, my date says she would like a glass of Chenin Blanc. OK, I had my eye on a bottle of Cabernet but now plan B will be to check out the "wines by the glass". It was a perfect choice as she opted for a glass of Chenin Blanc from South Africa while I selected a glass of a Swiss Pinot Noir 2006 Du Valais. Both turned out to be good selections as we were both pleased enough to order a second glass of wine during our meal.

As if the menu wasn't enough, there is also a selection of Specials, since Thomas, the head chef, cooks according to the market, especially for items on the Special menu that are featured for a week or so before disappearing. For an appetizer, we first decided to share the capuns, which are Swiss chard dumplings made with a gnoochi-style dough filling with bacon, onions, and cheese in a cream sauce, a house specialty popular with many of the locals that come here often. After just one bite it was apparent why this Swiss-style dim sum is such a big hit. The sauce is half the story. Made from a chicken or beef stock and fresh cream it goes perfect with these dumplings.

Swiss cuisine on the menu features so many irresistable dishes its hard to choose but we didn't want to stray far from the Swiss theme of cuisine. Another appetizer we selected was the Bundnertella (imported air-dried beef with bacon and ham). This small platter of thinly sliced cold-cuts was a perfect prelude to our main course.

Who can think of Swiss cuisine without thinking of raclette or fondue so we chose the traditional Cheese Fondue since my date for the evening wasn't much of a meat-eater. I would have loved to ordered the Fondue Bourguignon with pieces of beef tenderloin cubes, cooked at the table accompanied by a number of sauces but I will try it on my next visit as my choice for this evening happened to be the Australian Rack of Lamb with herb crust in a garlic gravy served with a potato rosti. I requested the lamb to be cooked medium-rare and that is how it was presented. The meat so tender I hardly needed a knife. I couldn't resist (oh I know, it's not polite) picking up each chop and eating the meat from the bone with a little gravy dipped onto the meat. It was delicious. There is also chateaubriand, (min 2 persons), beef tenderloin served with a bearnaise sauce and fresh vegetables among many other dishes that exemplify authentic Swiss Cuisine with some having regional influences.

From the dessert menu there is chocolate mousse with whipped cream and grated Toblerone chocolate, deep-fried apple rings in beer batter, or the Swiss chocolate fondue with assorted fresh fruits but my date opted for the Rhubarb Compote with Swiss "Movenpick Vanilla Dream" Ice cream. In Thailand, I have only seen this brand of Swiss Ice Cream at the Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula Hotels. For my dessert, I chose the Creme Brulee, a dish often sold at many types of restaurants. The Creme Brulee was perfect with an indescribably delicious taste, The top of the dessert was perfectly fired to make a candy hard topping with fresh raspberries and whipped cream sitting atop.

Swiss Capuns
Pan-Fried Goose Liver
Chateaubriand (Min 2 Persons)
Australian Rack of Lamb
Basel-style Salmon Steak
Cheese & Chocolate Fondue
Rhubarb Compote
Creme Brulee

Dress:Casual
Set Meals: Lunch
Buffet: Sunday Brunch
Vegetarian Dishes: 10+
Use Of MSG: No
Free Water: No
Mobile Phones: Yes
Corkage: 500 baht

Accepts Major Credit Cards