French Butcher Shop Off Silom

[Guest fountainhall]

Noticed a new butcher’s shop in BKK last week in the sub-soi on the right as you turn into Convent from Silom. It’s across from the restaurant Indigo and two down from Fan Club Massage. It’s managed by the restaurant whose French manager assured me the meat was the same high quality as he uses in the restaurant.

Dined at Indigo last night with two friends and found it as good as ever, even though the service remains very Gallic – lacking the charm of other similar restaurants.

 

 

[kokopelli]

Nothing tastes better than a plump, well butchered Frenchman.

[Guest scottishguy]

Did christianpfc tell you that one? 

 

But seriously - why would there be much demand for a French butcher in BKK? - I don't get it - the French have no international reputation for producing quality meat.

 

[kokopelli]

Maybe their reputation is how the cut the meat?

[mahjongguy]

I recommend a mint sauce. Otherwise, given their hygeine, they can be a bit gamy.

[NIrishGuy]

I hope you didn't let the owner know you're gay as he's a homophobic twat - and I use that term totally intentionally after being asked to leave his eatery as "he doesn't want our sort there" - that being myself and the Thai boyfriend de jour that I happened to be with that night and neither of us are 30 year screaming queens or any such thing ( not that there's anything wrong with that of course)

 

The sad thing was that he hadn't even the balls T the start to just ask us to leave outright and tried to use his feeble pussy manager to pretend our table had been reserved ( which it hadn't) as one of his other junior staff had actually just placed us there and eventually after I realised his game and told him I KNEW exactly why he was trying to bully us into leaving and that he would and couldn't it wouldn't intimidate or embarrass me as I was not embarrassed to be gay he then let go of all pretence and lost it calling us both fucking faggots among other things and shouted at us to get out, resulting in him and I almost coming to blows in the entrance to the place in full view of the whole restaurant - where I should add several people also heard his faggot comments and were equally disgusted at him.

 

I should add I found out later that this is and was par for the course for him and he had also been terrorising the massage place and the gay guys there for months as well - however he bit off more than he could chew that night and his manager was a watery wee weasel who was happy to do his bosses dirty work for him until it all kicked off and the fat owner interjected himself with his homophobic hatred.

 

However as with so many almost violent homophobic people I found out shortly after that he had lets just say personal family reasons for behaving as he did and obviously had a lot of unresolved issues ( not that that's any excuse for being a homophobic asshole of course)

 

And if a Mod is reading is and wondering is this ok to post every word is the truth and I can and will stand over it anywhere - as the guy was as I've said above a totally homophobic twat.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Maybe their reputation is how the cut the meat?

 

Nah, their reputation is more like how to cut the cheese.

[Guest fountainhall]

I'm sorry to hear about NIrish' experience at Indigo. I visit the restaurant maybe four or five times a year and have only met the owner once. And yes, he is a boorish lout-type character who seemed at least half drunk.

 

On the other hand, I have never come across any form of homophobia there. On Sunday, we were three gays. Sometimes I'll have dinner with a farang friend and his much younger boyfriend. Or an American friend and his Japanese boyfriend.  Once we had a party of about 8 there with three young Thais. Absolutely no problem. And we all agreed out waiter last Sunday was not just gay, but very gay!

[NIrishGuy]

@Fountain hall - of that I have no doubt as I believe that our problems where a driect result of the Owner and certainly not the staff  - and a weak manager who hadn't the balls to stand up to his boss perhaps !   Our problem started I believe on arrival as we were sitting at the bar waiting for our table and my Soi twilight BF de jour got talking to the barman who my Bf knew to be quietly gay and was chatting away to him for a long time in Thai and they were getting on like a house on fire, we were then seated at our table and were browsing the menu and chatting quietly between ourselves for maybe 10 minutes or more when the manager came up and told us there had been a mistake and our table was already taken and we shouldn't have just walked in and sat there as they were full and we'd have to leave!  I assumed that this was a genuine mistake and pointed out we had already been in restaurant for about half an hour already and in fact it was his staff who had seated us and we hadn't just taken a random table and he said no, this simply wasn't true and we were to leave immediately.

 

Again assuming a genuine misunderstanding had occurred I asked my Thai friend to call the waiter who seated us over and they then confirmed my story to the Manager -then the guy who I now know to be the Owner came up and up behind me stood RIGHT tight to my chair as the Manager repeated again "I don't care what my staff said you must go", I actually still stupidly assumed the owner was perhaps the other customer who was waiting on "his" table and actually apologised to him for the obvious confusion and said I'm sure they have it all sorted in a moment for us all ( and was very nice about that) where upon his realising that I didn't "get it" as to who he was the owner then "flipped" and very subtly but VERY forcefully grabbed the back of my chair and quietly but menacing whispered " just get out, GET OUT, we don't want YOUR sort in here" - and even then I STILL didn't get it.

 

I should add by the way that I'm a "normal looking" 44 year old farang and my bf was a 35 yr old respectfully dressed, but yes probably obviously gay guy to other Thai's at least I guess and it's not like we were two raving queens, far from it and I should also clarify that we were neither loud in any way nor drunk etc as it was only 7pm and this was our first stop on our night out.

 

My Thai friend then spoke quickly and in Thai to the waiter who seated us who apologised profusely unofficially and explained we'd been seen by the owner chatting to his (gay) bar staff member on arrival and he didn't like "the gays" coming to his restaurant and that was enough to "disgust him" apparently, so little did we know our card was marked from that point on and the rest re the table being booked etc was all just bullshit to get us out and he had sent the pathetic excuse of a Manager over to act on his wishes and hence their little game.

 

So on hearing the truth from my boyfriend I said to the owner in a reasonably quiet but still polite voice " hold on, I know what this is about, you just don't want us here as we're gay, is that right?" which he hesitated for a millisecond and then just grabbed the back of my chair and started to up end it saying louder and louder " just go, you go NOW, get OUT" and when I repeated my question louder he finally cracked and gave up all attempts at hiding his real views and really went for it saying " yes, FINE, that's right, we don't want YOUR sort in here now get OUT" and when I said loudly enough for half the restaurant to hear his "what ! You want to throw is out of here because we're GAY ?!" he again just agreed and kept saying "yes now get out, GET OUT YOU FAGGOTS" and started losing his temper more and more as he went as I wasn't going quietly as he had hoped or expected.

 

It was also very obvious that he'd been drinking and he then grabbed my by the arm as if he was going to pull me out of my chair to assist me off his premises - bad mistake ! as I squared up to him and told him I would "drop him" in the middle of his restaurant if he didn't get his hands off me straight away and he and I had a full on Mexican stand off all the way from our table to the door, with him calling me a faggot over and over again and saying how I / we disgusted him and me shouting that he was nothing but a drunken homophobic prick etc etc ( quite a spectacle for his other diners I can assure you lol)

 

This all then spilled out to the Soi as we left and I fully admit the next bit was childish on my part but I couldn't resist :-) so, as we were about to walk away I turned and said "look no hard feelings eh, lets just shake on it and we won't ever come back"  (as he so wanted to punch me never mind shake my faggot hand lol) - at which point my BF nearly had a coronary and started kicking my shin and glaring at me for trying to make peace with the guy - but the guy obviously figured he would do anything just to get us away from his place and as he I begrudgingly held out his arm to half heartedly shake hands I quickly raised mine but continued on right up into his face and gave him the fingers told him to go f**k himself with a few other choice words thrown in for good measure about his weight, his overall sweatiness and stink and also perhaps an unsubtle questioning of his parentage as I flicked my heels in the gayest was I possibly could and turned left him standing fuming with rage as we walked away - all of which was witnessed by the 6 or 8 massage boys sitting on the terrace opposite who had been watching the whole thing and who all burst out in cheers and a round of applause as we walked up their Soi - making the twisted bugger madder than ever ! lol

 

I found out later that this type of thing had been going on for several months actually and he had done everything in his power to bully all the Thai boys and the gay farang owner of the massage place as he thought it lowered their very existence and presence in his Soi lowered the tone of his restaurant and he's even gone to the extent of going inside their massage place and threatening to have it burnt down on one occasion. However as I'd mentioned I was then talking to a well respected business owner in Soi 4 who told me like all homophobes there were lets just say certain family reasons re one of his siblings as to why he didn't like gay people but I'll leave that aside for now.

 

I had since heard some terribly sad news about an accident that occurred at his home with tragic results which if true was terribly sad but I'll not comment further on that here perhaps, but as this IS a GAY Thailand board I felt that it was important to post THE FACTS for us gay guys to read so we know exactly where our pink pound is going these days as homophobic twats like him DEFINITELY don't deserve our valued custom, especially if it means we have to be less gay to fit in to his narrow view of the world !

 

And sorry for the long post but I did want to be accurate for others to get the full story and unlike some others here I'm not known for my brevity :-)

[Guest scottishguy]

I can't help but wonder if this homophobic restaurant owner was perhaps a

Cardinal before coming to Thailand.

 

 

I do believe that many years ago there was a de-frocked Catholic priest running a boy go-go bar near BT - so anything is possible.

 

 

[Guest thaiworthy]

Like go-go bars, I suppose a restaurant can have an off night. I don't know if that's the case here, because I do not know every little or subtle circumstance in which NIrishguy had visited this shop. It sounded horrible. Same for Fountainhall, which sounded pleasant enough. Something is missing here. However, after reading NIrishguy's post, I am inclined to agree with his feelings. Not a place I would want to visit, unfortunately.

 

It is confusing as hell how one person can say complimentary things and another experiences something so vastly different. It is far easier to damage a business with one unfavorable remark than it is to recommend same with several complimentary things. NIrishguy's experience sure sounds horrific! I cannot doubt what he experienced was extremely unpleasant and it would very hard for me to visit this place after knowing this happened. These are two elements that would keep me away: homophobia and bad manners. You don't refuse service to people who have not done anything wrong. There is no excuse for telling a customer "Get out, faggot."

 

If there is a misunderstanding, where is it? All I can think of is that the owner was having a bad day or someone, somehow, unwittingly rubbed him the wrong way. Possibly both. People can be pleasant one day and monsters the next. This is certainly perplexing.

[NIrishGuy]

No I believe the owner is just a prick, plain and simple, who among being a bit of a brutish drunk who likes to bully people also just happens to be totally homophobic for his own family / personal reasons.

 

I actually don't doubt for a second the restaurant in itself is ok and just think its sad the manager hasn't the balls to tell his boss to wind his neck in, but based on his size and his loud over bearing behaviour when he had drink taken I'm not surprised that the manager just does what he's told for a quiet life perhaps.

 

As I said I was told later that this wasnt a one off incident and it actually had nothing to do with me or my BF per se and my BFs talking to his member of staff ( and so I would assume pointed himself out then as gay) seemed to be enough to push the owner over whatever thin edge he has when drinking it seems. As I'd mentioned he also has a reputation for fighting and terrorising ( which was a word their farang boss used to describe his actions when telling me how the guy had behaved towards the massage boys and directly to the farang owner himself. The owner actually posted in SGF re all of this as well but Neal requested he stop the conversation and I believe they then had a few words themselves over that so the guy left that board but he's still the owner there I believe so if anyone drops in I'm sure all or any of the boys working there will happily fill you in on the guys long campaign of annoyance and general homophobic behaviour.

 

So yes, the restaurant itself is probably lovely, I don't doubt that, but the owner is without doubt one hateful homophobic sod - there are a few other respected gay business owners in BKK who are also aware of this fact and told me both more info re that and also the story behind it all which explains the guys "issues" but I'll not go in to that if you don't mind as its not my place to repeat their words without their express permission (which I don't have of course), but every word I've said I'm happy to stand over as its all fact and happened and I have plenty of witnesses as to the fact and I make no apology for passing on these facts as people should know who their hard money is going to I guess. Anyway, I've said what happened and I'll leave it at that, if you're back three some night you'll maybe give us a food review as I was busting to try it actually as the menu looked quite nice ! Sods law eh ! :-(

[Guest fountainhall]

No I believe the owner is just a prick, plain and simple, who among being a bit of a brutish drunk who likes to bully people also just happens to be totally homophobic for his own family / personal reasons.

 

I'm glad you posted your experience and am sorry you had a dreadful time there. As I said, I agree with you re the owner. Like you, I met him just once and did not like him - but that was nothing to do with any perceived homophobia. He struck me as a typically French provincial boor who drinks too much and who treats most of his guests with none of the pleasantries you find elsewhere in Thailand. There are lots that I've come across like that in France. And it does seem quite a lot of his diners are from the French community in BKK.

 

What I can't square is his being violently homophobic but happily employs gay waiters! As I said, our waiter on Sunday was clearly gay and knew that we were. There are plenty of straight - or straight-looking - waiters around town!

 

As I'd mentioned he also has a reputation for fighting and terrorising . . . 

 

Again NIrish I will not dispute anything you say about your personal experience. But if the owner has such a foul reputation, how come he has managed to keep that restaurant going for the 13 years he's owned it? Not only that, as I know from past experience he's more often than not full or nearly full for both lunch and dinner! (The set lunch at around Bt. 375 looked great value, although I've never had lunch there). It was certainly packed on Sunday with Thais and farang! 

 

So yes, the restaurant itself is probably lovely, I don't doubt that

 

I'd describe it as 'pleasant' rather than lovely, with very good provincial French cuisine. In view of your sad tale, then it should perhaps not be included in any listing here of restaurants for gays to visit in Bangkok. And yet, I have to come back to my own experience. Never had any problem whatever with any of the staff - nor that one time with the owner. Have always seen at least one gay waiter there (not always the same guy). Have always visited with gay friends - both Thai (often younger that NIrish' friend) and farang. Have often seen other gay couples dining there - usually 50s+ farang with 20s to 30s Thais - and never seen any problems. And I've been dining there off and on for at least 6 years.

 

As for food review, here's a brief description of our dinner on Sunday. For starters, one of my friends had his usual oysters which he says are amongst the best in town. I had a lovely, light cheese souffle. Our other friend had scallops wrapped in bacon with, I believe, some Pernod sauce. For main course, I had sole meuniere -  slightly disappointing. One had the French black pudding and the other duck - both very good. For dessert, two of us had the pear tarte with cream and ice cream; the other a chocolate mousse. All excellent. We started with a round of drinks, then three glasses of wine and three of water, and the bill was just on Bt. 5,000.

 

But we had reason to be grateful to our nice gay waiter. We were celebrating a birthday and one of us had brought along a half bottle of one of the best dessert wines. We hoped we wouldn't have to pay the corkage. WIth a nod and a wink, the waiter opened the bottle and brought three small glasses. No corkage charge!

[Rogie]

... One had the French black pudding . . .

 

Is there a specific variety of black pudding known as French? If so, how does it differ from the one we are familiar with in Britain?

 

But we had reason to be grateful to our nice gay waiter. We were celebrating a birthday and one of us had brought along a half bottle of one of the best dessert wines. We hoped we wouldn't have to pay the corkage. WIth a nod and a wink, the waiter opened the bottle and brought three small glasses. No corkage charge!

 

Very civilised.

[Guest fountainhall]

I'm no cook and black pudding holds no interest for me. But check this out - 

 

http://www.them-apples.co.uk/2011/11/how-to-make-boudin-noir/

[NIrishGuy]

What I can't square is his being violently homophobic but happily employs gay waiters! As I said, our waiter on Sunday was clearly gay and knew that we were. 

 

Yes, I fully understand your point and can only guess that a) he's quite happy to let the manager employ "whoever" to get on and actually physically run the working end of the resturant as he can of course bully and order them round should he so wish ( as my Thai friend had said the Thai waiter had told him when he asked what the guys problem was at the very start of proceedings' and b) I can also only guess that "perhaps" ( and I am guessing here) that the owner recognised my friend as a well known Soi Twilight bar waiter / boy and didn't want "his sort" about the place - as to whether that was i regards to his sexuality or his employment I don't know, but I do know it absolutely ended up 100% about our sexuality in general and nothing else.

 

Again NIrish I will not dispute anything you say about your personal experience. But if the owner has such a foul reputation, how come he has managed to keep that restaurant going for the 13 years he's owned it? Not only that, as I know from past experience he's more often than not full or nearly full for both lunch and dinner! (The set lunch at around Bt. 375 looked great value, although I've never had lunch there). It was certainly packed on Sunday with Thais and farang! 

 

I think the simple answer as to why its a busy restaurant is that is probably not a bad  french restaurant, situated bang in the centre of bangkok and frequented by many tourists and expats alike, I think his drunken antics probably only raise their head on occasion as I know for instance at the start of proceedings he was doing his UTMOST to try and quietly shu us out without US causing any sort of scene and was VERY aware of his diners and it's only once he realised that he couldn't bully me and say the stuff that he was saying that he lost it more - and even THEN he was still trying to move me towards the door the whole time as I KNOW from his body language and temper that if we hadn't of been inside the restaurant it would have been 10 times worse, so i guess the answer as to why people dont now is that he hides his views and behaviour very well and isn't stupid enough to let his own paying customers see what's really going on in his head ( although he was so boorish I find that hard ot believe actually but that's my guess) - but as I say next time you're going stop by in the massage place opposite and ask their opinion and for some of the stories and they'll happily tell you as it's been an ongoing problem for them - and likewise if you know any BKK gay bar owners perhaps as his reputation seems to have preceeded himself in some quarters as incredibly he's also known to drink with one of them ( who has confirmed my view of him privately to me as he's not quite as well tolerated as he seems to think by his "friends" it appears :-)

 

So yes, the guy on so many levels does appear to be a total contradiction in terms, I absolutely agree but what was going on under his skin that night was very real and absolutely what he REALLY thinks - and of that I have no doubt !  So, as I say next time you're there ask about and I'd love to hear other peoples comments who know or work for him perhaps as maybe the poor guy was just having a bad day..........he wasn't he was just drunk and being himself IMHO :-)    

 

 

 

 

 

Again NIrish I will not dispute anything you say about your personal experience. But if the owner has such a foul reputation, how come he has managed to keep that restaurant going for the 13 years he's owned it? Not only that, as I know from past experience he's more often than not full or nearly full for both lunch and dinner! (The set lunch at around Bt. 375 looked great value, although I've never had lunch there). It was certainly packed on Sunday with Thais and farang! 

 

 

I'd describe it as 'pleasant' rather than lovely, with very good provincial French cuisine. In view of your sad tale, then it should perhaps not be included in any listing here of restaurants for gays to visit in Bangkok. And yet, I have to come back to my own experience. Never had any problem whatever with any of the staff - nor that one time with the owner. Have always seen at least one gay waiter there (not always the same guy). Have always visited with gay friends - both Thai (often younger that NIrish' friend) and farang. Have often seen other gay couples dining there - usually 50s+ farang with 20s to 30s Thais - and never seen any problems. And I've been dining there off and on for at least 6 years.

 

As for food review, here's a brief description of our dinner on Sunday. For starters, one of my friends had his usual oysters which he says are amongst the best in town. I had a lovely, light cheese souffle. Our other friend had scallops wrapped in bacon with, I believe, some Pernod sauce. For main course, I had sole meuniere -  slightly disappointing. One had the French black pudding and the other duck - both very good. For dessert, two of us had the pear tarte with cream and ice cream; the other a chocolate mousse. All excellent. We started with a round of drinks, then three glasses of wine and three of water, and the bill was just on Bt. 5,000.

 

But we had reason to be grateful to our nice gay waiter. We were celebrating a birthday and one of us had brought along a half bottle of one of the best dessert wines. We hoped we wouldn't have to pay the corkage. WIth a nod and a wink, the waiter opened the bottle and brought three small glasses. No corkage charge!