Indigo Restaurant, Bangkok

[Guest fountainhall]

NIrish, you are not alone!

 

In view of NIrish' comments about his dreadful experience with the Manager at Indigo, I checked tripadviser for other comments. Overall it is given 4 stars out of 5. Of the 114 reviews, the ratings are –

 

Excellent - 46

Very Good - 38

Average - 10

Poor - 3

Terrible - 15

 

But any restaurant that gets 15 ‘terrible’ comments clearly has something wrong. So I checked reviews back a year. Those who gave it one star said this –

Reviewed November 12, 2012

This place has gone from bad to worse since my last review. There is nothing worse than an arogant owner, a useless manager and a so..so cook ! The owner "fired" his drunken son...that was a good move....but these people take all their clients for granted and over charge with no care to competitors.....so how do they make it? Location...location ! That does work.

Reviewed April 9, 2012

One of the biggest mistakes I have made on my trip to Thailand is visiting this restaurant. The staff are rude, the manager owner is drunk and abusive towards his staff.

Reviewed March 17, 2012

Although this restaurant has reasonably priced food and a nice wine list, the staff is the worst. The (usually intoxicated) French manager is the rudest person I have ever encountered in Thailand (I live in Bangkok approximately 2 blocks from the restaurant).

Reviewed March 17, 2012

The "manager" does nothing at all except smoke and drink at the bar counter. He sits around and eats with french people now and again though even they dont seem to like him.He never shows guests to a table or asks about their meal orthe usual things a manager is usually hired for. The owner shows up now and again to "show who is boss" and to "slap around" the staff and even his son, who is drunk whenever he shows up

 

Although none of the comments concern homophobia, there's enough there that totally corroborates your views. Mind you, the French do not have a monopoly on rude and drunken proprietors. I found this about the owner of a restaurant in England.

When it comes to loopy local landlords, the doyen was indisputably Squire Kim Joseph Hollick De La Taste Tickell, who ran the Tickell Arms, Whittlesford until his death in 1990 (and, apart from the Kim, that was his real name!). In those days, the place had no Inn sign, so you rolled up at what looked like a country house. After parking carefully (see later) you approached the front door, on which was posted a long handwritten list of house rules – No Long-Haired Lefties, No Tee Shirts, No Trainers, No CND-ers and so on.

 

The Squire himself usually presided over his empire in 18th century style attire including knee breeches and an eye glass. He was spectacularly rude, usually for no good reason, and was prone to outrageous behaviour. He once poured the ice bucket down a customer's trousers because his shirt had come untucked and he was therefore “undressed”. A large pair of scissors was kept behind the bar so he could snip off any ties which offended him. Should a customer not have parked sufficiently neatly, he would call out their number plates through a megaphone, demanding they adjust the vehicle now. The walls were adorned with large weapons which he sometimes used for chasing people out of the building.

 

Classical music, generally Wagner, blared out but both the interior and garden were entirely charming (as they still are). The real ale, served from unmarked porcelain pumps, was Adnams Bitter, mostly warm and with bits in. The food tended to excellence so long as, for instance, you didn't mind finding pieces of shot in your pheasant.

 

After the Squire's death, the pub was run for a while by his German boyfriend but was never the same. Replacing the handwritten rules with a typed version said it all.

 

http://www.cambridge-camra.org.uk/ale/354/characters.html

 

Sounds rather too much like Fawlty Towers! I should add that new management has transformed the Tickell Arms and it now routinely gets excellent reviews!

[Guest thaiworthy]

People who deal with the public, especially at tourist places, can be exceptionally arrogant. I don't know if Indigo is a tourist place, but if you look like a tourist, I wonder how that would fare for you. I would not isolate the French as the only ones who can be placed in this category, but when such things happen among a whole nationality, it does not surprise me. Then of course, there's New York City, which is in a category by itself. Then there's a category for the patrons themselves:

 

A very long time ago, I ate at a very prestigious and exclusive French restaurant named Ma Maison, in Los Angeles, with two gay and much older, Ivy League-educated entrepreneurs. They were full of snooty remarks and completely full of themselves. I came with a Hispanic date. They informed me in front of him that he should be waiting and bussing the tables instead of being seated with me as a patron.

[KhorTose]

I ate at Indigo twice and think most of the poor reviews where generated by the ex owner of the Fan club as Both times the place was filled with gays and there were no problems.  The second time I dined there it was with a farang/gay couple where the boy is an outrageous ladyboy and I choose the main table next to the door going into the indoor dining.  The food is great and the price is right.  When i go to Bangkok it is where I plan to continue eating.

[Guest fountainhall]

Suggestion to mods

 

It might be useful to move threads 6 onwards in 

French Butcher Shop Off Silom

 over to the start of this thread since these deal specifically with Indigo restaurant rater than the butcher shop. Thanks.

[NIrishGuy]

I ate at Indigo twice and think most of the poor reviews where generated by the ex owner of the Fan club ..........

 

 

Out of interest why would the ex owner have anything to say about the place ? Could it be that they of had some ongoing dispute with the Owner of Indigo perhaps ? - just as I described perhaps ? - and trust me I'm a real cynic I would certainly not just have taken one farang massage bosses opinion of neighbours place / owner as gospel truth without checking ( and witnessing it myself first hand of course) as both I and my Thai friend spoke to several of the places massage boys boy in and on and also outside of his premises who told us story after story about the guy.

 

Also by "ex" owner of fan club do you mean the Austrailian guy with the blonde hair ? As if so I thought he was a relatively new owner ( maybe two years or so ? ) and he was certainly the owner back in December when I was there and it was he personally who told me some of the details.

 

Also without getting into it here lets just say the fathers "straight" (cough cough) drunk son may just be the reason for some of the fathers overt homophobia when drunk "apparently" - and that didn't come from Fan massage but a totally independent bkk gay business source who would let's say be in a perfect position to know these things.

 

 

 

 

"When i go to Bangkok it is where I plan to continue eating".

 

Good for you, enjoy your meal, as I said the place looked quite good to me and I was sorry I didn't get eating there myself that night, it's not like I'm asking or suggesting anyone boycotts the place, I'm merely sharing my experience of (not) dining there and passing on what an undoubted homophobic asshole the owner absolutely IS.

 

So assuming that you don't have my problems there ( as I'm sure 9 times out of ten you wont as I've already stated the guy tries to hide his feelings well I thin in front of his own customers and assuming you don't particularly  care to whom your money goes ( and why should you as I'm sure we all fund homophobic busniness owners every day of the week without knowing - (although for me once "I" KNOW it then to me is a different matter of course and I would chose to shop elsewhere), but I wouldn't expect any one else to follow that view based solely on someone else's experience, we;ll all our own people and make our own choices in life, so I bon appetite and I hope you have a nice night.

 

 

[Guest fountainhall]

Like KhorTose, my friends and I will almost certainly continue our occasional dinners there - unless there is an incident where we are subject to the rants of the drunken owner. I've walked out of restaurants before, and will have no hesitation in doing so again, should the circumstances so dictate.

[NIrishGuy]

I'm sure the owner will be delighted to hear that :-) - Again, Bon appetite to you all.

[KhorTose]

I'm sure the owner will be delighted to hear that :-) - Again, Bon appetite to you all.

et la même chose pour vous, monsieur

[Guest fountainhall]

I was just talking with one of the friends I dined with last Sunday. He was disturbed by NIrish' tale and also the tripadviser reviews. He wants us to try Chez Pépin later in the month. This is a French bistro not so far away in Suan Phlu Soi 1. Seems it's open Wednesday to Sunday and according to a Bangkok Post  listing has a very inexpensive set menu at Bt. 490 for 3 courses AND a glass of wine! But i am not sure how up to date that is.

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/food/restaurants/listing/chez-pepin/25562/

 

A la carte prices are on its Facebook page and it's clearly a bit cheaper than Indigo -

 

https://www.facebook.com/lapagepepin

 

Whilst on the subject of French restaurants, there is another we have been to twice in the last few months - Paris which is just off Soi Saladaeng Soi 1 (close to HSBC and next to the Jim Thomson restaurant). The atmosphere is extremely pleasant although we found the quality at dinner only so-so. For those in the market for lunch, they have a 3-course menu with coffee/tea at Bt. 490++, or two dishes for Bt. 360++. A la carte prices are similar to those at Indigo.

 

http://www.parisbangkok.com/set_lunch.php

[KhorTose]

Next time any of you are in Chiang Mai, I recommend this French restaurant for good food and reasonable prices.

 

La Fouchette--They are still working on a web site but there are these.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293917-d2051656-Reviews-La_Fourchette-Chiang_Mai.html

http://www.facebook.com/LaFourchetteFrenchRestaurant

[Guest thaiworthy]

What is so good about French cuisine? What makes it so special for you? Anyone?

[KhorTose]

What is so good about French cuisine? What makes it so special for you? Anyone?

I actually think Italian is the best cooking in the world, but if you are into simple food made great by using sauces then you want French or Chinese food.

[Guest fountainhall]

Hard to answer unless you also discuss what is so special about most other major cuisines, like Chinese. 'Chinese' includes a whole variety of different cuisines - Cantonese, Szechuan, Beijing, Shanghai, Chiu Chow, Hunan and a host of other lesser regional varieties. The same can be said of Italian cuisine.

 

I think the key factor in almost any cuisine is not only the fresh local ingredients used in 'classic' or imaginative ways that bring out the full flavours of those ingredients, but also the variety of available ingredients. Then combine these flavours with complimentary or contrasting sauces and spices, and accompany them with wines which complement the flavours.

 

I'm not a fan of classic French haut cuisine - if only because I can't afford it and rarely get a chance to taste it. Nouvelle cuisine likewise does little for me. But I really enjoy local more rustic cuisines with local dishes and wines. And all that is before we talk about French desserts . . . 

[kokopelli]

What is so good about French cuisine? What makes it so special for you? Anyone?

Not experienced with the Big Mango, but only the Little Papaya and can only speak to it.

French restaurants/cuisne just seem to offer more of everything in every way. Most of the other ethnic restaurants such as German, Indian, Chinese, Russian, Arab, etc offer little to entice me. There are some British style restaurants that are attractive but no American restaurants that I am familiar with. So it is not just the cuisine but the whole package, ambiance, price, presentation, cute waiters,variety of food, quality of food, etc. And, unlike some French restaurants, no snotty waiters, although it seems there are some snotty owners both in the Mango and the Papaya.

[kokopelli]

After a little thinking there is an American restaurant in Pattaya, Rich Man, Poor Man which serves classic style American grub. Very popular with many farang; noted for its smoked entrees.

[Guest thaiworthy]

After a little thinking there is an American restaurant in Pattaya, Rich Man, Poor Man which serves classic style American grub. Very popular with many farang; noted for its smoked entrees.

 

Ha-ha! Cigarette-smoked entrees, I presume? I agree. Love the food when I want to be a very bad boy on my diet. But the idea of all that cigarette smoke puts me off. 

[Guest thaiworthy]

Protection against owner/bouncers and style for your individuality-- for your next exciting visit at the notorious Indigo Restaurant, if you dare!

 

 

Absolutely outrageous!

[Guest fountainhall]

Most of the other ethnic restaurants such as . . . Chinese . . . etc offer little to entice me

 

That is probably because you have been to Chinese restaurants serving Chinese cuisine as they think foreigners prefer it. Real Chinese cuisines are spectacular - even when served in tiny, simple restaurants. 

 

Have you ever tried dishes like Shanghai soup dumplings (where you must be careful to get the whole dumpling in your mouth and then let the soup ooze out when you bite it), chili prawns simply fried and eaten with small strips of ginger, or Beggar's Chicken? This is a whole chicken stuffed with vegetables and spices. The chicken is wrapped in lotus leaves and completely covered in clay. It is then cooked in a slow oven for several hours. During this time the flavour of the spices and the lotus leaves seep into the flesh. When it is served, you are given a mallet to break open the clay. Then feast on a stunning dish!

[Guest scottishguy]

... you must be careful to get the whole dumpling in your mouth and then let the soup ooze out ...

 

I haven't tried that, but I've done something very similar....

[ChristianPFC]

I stil revel in memory of the salmon and pizza (Margharita, with goat's cheese ?) we had in the canteen when I was working in France. Apart from that, the food was to much based on meat. My favorite cuisine is Italian (pizza, pasta).

[KhorTose]

Italian is my favorite by far, but you are missing out on some fine food.  If you don't like meat skip the Primo,l but do have the aperitivo, the antipasto, the  contorno, the insulata, the formaggi e frutta, the dolce, the caffe and the digestivo.  A completely satisfying meal experience.to be enjoyed leisurely with friends.
 

 

Hmmm, it looks like I am showing off, but Italian is my favorite food and Italy is my favorite country.  I would not dare live there or I would soon weigh 200 kilo.

[Guest fountainhall]

You forgot the cornetto! 

[NIrishGuy]

Italian is my favorite by far, the caffe and the digestivo.  

 

I'm more a hob knob man myself but I find those picky Italians get AWFULLY prissy when you start dunking them in their caffe and even more so if they break off before you get eating them and they start to ask you to leave, see between them and the damned french.......God SOME people eh ! :-)