Nowhere is where you can find Eurasian cuisine.
NOWHERE EURASIAN Mon-Fri, 5pm-midnight, Sat-Sun, 11am-midnight 6/F, THA City Loft Hotel, Ekkamai Soi 6 fb.com/nowherebkk 099-314-4417
THE SETTING
Nestled six floors above busy Ekkamai sits Nowhere. The restaurant immediately gives off a chilled and homey vibe the minute you walk in. The windows offer a great view despite the fact that the restaurant is not that high off the ground and also gives patrons a front-row seat for sunsets, which we reckon is the reason why they open at 5pm on weekdays. Getting there could be a little confusing; you don’t actually have to enter THA City Loft Hotel and use their elevator to get up to the rooftop, which amusingly put us in a situation where we had to ask one of the staff, “How do we get to Nowhere?” Instead, walk past the entrance of the hotel and you’ll find a small set of stairs with a sign that leads you to an elevator that takes you up to the roof. We definitely think that this is a good place to go to after work to unwind or a place to spend a quiet afternoon with friends over the weekend. Ambience and aesthetics-wise, Nowhere is pleasant. Read on to find out if the same can be said about their menu.
THE MENU
Nowhere mixes, matches and blends the best of cuisines from Asia and Europe. In our opinion, it’s a pretty risky move, but high risk equals high reward. Take a close look at its menu — which by the way looks more like a magazine and can be taken home — and you’ll find that each dish has a certain twist to it so that they aren’t just the run-of-the-mill dishes you’d find at every restaurant.
We started off with the Watermelon salad (B240++) which is not a dish you normally see, and its ingredients are pretty peculiar as well. It’s topped off with bonito flakes (dried fish, basically) and feta cheese and drizzled with Sumac vinaigrette. However, once you try it, you’ll find that the watermelon and all the ingredients magically work and complement each other beautifully.
We moved on to the Moo-ping pâté (B350++), which the menu touts as “Thai street food in French style”. This is another peculiar dish that Nowhere gets right. Served with crunchy toasted English muffins and pickled vegetables, the pâté itself is already delectable and tastes like the moo ping you buy on the street. Put the pâté on top of a muffin along with some pickled vegetables and you have something truly spectacular. This meeting of French and Thai cuisines is one we really dig.
Nowhere’s got a selection of pastas and we opted for the Black truffle with special cream sauce pasta (B580++), because who doesn’t love black truffle? “What’s so special about the cream sauce?”, you may ask. It is mixed in with eggplant purée instead of cheese but this doesn’t lessen the creaminess. And whatever you think it will taste like, just because of the eggplant, you can put your worries to rest. This pasta is a knockout.
For the main course, we tried Nowhere’s Hoi-sin beef (B975++). It might be a little disheartening at first glance just because the portions seem a little small considering the price you’re paying for it. However, that’s justified because of the quality of the dish. The beef, tender and cooked medium-rare to perfection, is marinated in Hoi-sin sauce, giving it a tad bit of sweetness. The dish is also served with generous slices of sautéed potatoes to complement the meat.
For dessert, we tried A mess of nowhere (B220++), Nowhere’s version of the English dessert Eton mess. There’s a strong hint of rum at first when starting at the top, but that’s quickly overpowered by the sweetness of the chocolate and chewy meringue. The yoghurt isn’t too sour and while the strawberries do give the dessert some sourness, it’s still pretty much a sweet dessert. Oh, and cherries linger at the bottom of the glass — a pleasant surprise.
INSIDER’S TIP
Certain dishes can be made vegan-friendly and the menu will indicate which ones. There is also drink pairing for some dishes. One we strongly suggest is the Where are you tonight (B350++), which goes extremely well with the Watermelon salad. Nowhere also has a weekend tapas menu from 11am-5pm.
VALUE & VERDICT
Nowhere offers chilled-out and relaxing vibes along with an outstanding menu, with an appropriate price tag to go with it. This may not be for those looking to hang out on a budget, but if you’ve got a few bucks to spare or you want to splurge, then definitely give Nowhere a visit.