Water Library – Bangkok – Restaurant Review
Wed 9 Jun 2010
I first read about The Water Library in an in-flight magazine, and the idea was intriguing: A restaurant with a large selection of fine mineral waters imported from around the world. I just had to try it, and finally had the chance last week for lunch.
The restaurant is located in the recently opened Chamchuri Square, in a large circular space with floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto the tree-filled plaza of the building. The Water Library offers a daily set lunch from a menu of selections that changes monthly. At 800 Baht for two courses or 850 for three, it’s one of the most expensive lunches you can get in Bangkok. The mostly continental selections included soft-shelled crab salad, oxtail won-ton dumplings, crispy Atlantic salmon and several pastas. I eventually settled on the mushroom soup for starters with the Wagyu beef burger for the main course. The set lunch price doesn’t include drinks. There is of course the list of waters, or an extensive wine list if you’d like something a little stiffer.
The mushroom soup was served with a dollop of foamed milk on top and some bread. It was suitably earthy in taste, albeit a little bit salty. However, it went down very well with the crispy-crusted bread rolls.
Wagyu Beef Burger from The Water Library
The burger, when served, was quite a sight to behold. There was the Wagyu beef of course, plus bacon, cheese, a poached egg, a wafer of deep-fried Parmesan, tomato and lettuce, all on a home-made sesame seed bun. It was a truly epic burger. The beef was indeed quite tasty. I would have preferred it to be a little more well done, but I think most people would prefer it the way it was.
The Water Library is not the kind of place where you’re going to go for a quick lunch or casual dinner. Despite the fact I opted for a burger, this is a fine dining restaurant, a place to take business associates for a fancy lunch, or perhaps a place to take someone special for a special meal in Bangkok.
The restaurant is located in Chamchuri Square on Rama IV road at the Samyan junction. That’s very close to the Silom Road area, and there is direct access to the shopping center from the Samyan subway station. See the Water Library web site for a map and more information.
Tags: Bangkok • Continental • Fine Dining
[3] Comments
3 Responses to “Water Library – Bangkok – Restaurant Review”
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June 9th, 2010 at 9:30 am
How much was that burger? Now THAT’S a burger! Their website is lacking. Can’t read all the fine print in the fine font. The water menu is a turn-off for me, having seen all the spoofs on people with tap water in candid camera situations. Points for being different though!
June 9th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
The burger was included in the 800 Baht set lunch. With a large bottle of Welsh Ty Nant water, it came to 1,100 Baht, plus tax and service charges (apparently, they don’t know that restaurants are supposed to quote prices inclusive of taxes). It was definitely very expensive. For a good burger, I’d stick with Dukes, but for a special evening I’d consider this place.
Their web site is definitely a disgrace. Looks like it hasn’t even been touched in more than a year.
June 16th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
[...] different for your fine dining needs in Bangkok, you might want to have a look at my review of the Water Library, a very nice independent restaurant in the heart of Bangkok that offers and extensive menu of [...]