For Valentine’s Day this year, I took my gal to Chez Papa (official Facebook page) where we had an amazing experience discovering French-style tapas. We both agreed that this was a hidden gem that needed to be further explored and shared. So on our return visit, we sampled more from their menu and had a fantastic time learning more about the restaurant from their passionate French owner.
I’m happy to share that delicious experience with you…
Let’s eat!
If you’re looking to discover an excellent venue where you can enjoy incredible bites and drinks at a very fair price this article will be of interest to you!
Their menu…
Chez Papa’s menu has a variety of categories from light bites to main meals. For this visit, we sampled the light bites offered on their pinchos, tapas, tostas, cheese, and dessert menu. If you take a look at their menu you’ll see that even then we only scratched the surface of what they have to offer even in those categories!
PRO TIP: If you want to really sample their light bite menu at an incredible price check out their ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT events every Tuesday advertised on their Facebook page for 690 baht! Their special menu for the event offers a lot of variety and value.
Pinchos
Pinchos (7 for 380 baht)
Chez Papa’s pincho menu features 12 different light bites on a thin slice of baguette bread. They receive their bread from a local French bakery 70% cooked so that they can finish the cooking in-house giving diners that fresh-out-of-the-oven flavor. The toppings are based on the style of what you’d find in cafes in southern France or the Basque region of Spain. But there are a few fusion-flavored outliers such as their Crispy Tofu Kimchi pincho.
Their pinchos come in plates of 3 (180 baht), 5 (280 baht), and 7 (380 baht). That gives guests a lot of flavor combinations to play with. It can be a bit tough to choose because they ALL look delicious, too!
For our visit, we tried the Goat Cheese & Beetroot, Chicken Oyster Onion, Duck & Mango, Blue Cheese & Apple, Eggplant & Blue Cheese, Anchovy and Mozzarella, and Crispy Tofu Kimchi pinchos. Both in flavor and presentation, these super-sized canapes were a great way to get our appetites going for the meal that unfolded after…
Tapas
Butcher’s Cut Chimichurri Sauce (380 baht)
Chez Papa’s tapas menu features 20 different sumptuous appetizers. From our previous visit, we were thoroughly impressed with everything we’d tried. I took advantage of the opportunity to ask the owner, Eric, if someone only wanted to try one tapas what would that tapas be? Without hesitation, he said that the Butcher’s Cut Chimichurri Sauce (380 baht) was the most popular tapas dish and a must-try for any meat lover.
I can understand why it’s so popular and why he’d recommend it. As someone who does enjoy beef, this skirt steak, thinly sliced and cooked perfectly medium-rare, was super tender and flavorful with the fresh chimichurri sauce. I highly recommend this dish!
Tostas
Cheese, Serrano, Tomatoes, Mushroom, Garlic Tosta (260 baht)
What’s a tosta? At Chez Papa a tosta is a halved baguette loaf that is toasted with lots of tasty toppings. They’re perfect for sharing, but they’d also be hearty enough as a standalone dish if you’re dining solo. It’s also conveniently sliced so that it can be experienced in bite-sized portions. We tried the Cheese, Serrano, Tomatoes, Mushroom, and Garlic Tosta (260 baht).
So satisfying!
Baked fresh, the bread was toasted nice and crunchy on the outside with a fluffy, chewy center. A generous portion of melty cheese, serrano ham, and tomatoes with a light drizzle of truffle oil and fresh rocket leaf topped this tosta. The combination of flavors and textures made this a very satisfying dish. It’s certainly a sandwich to crave!
Rounding out the experience…
A tasty variety of French cheeses…
When my gal and I normally dine at a French bistro we’re often torn between rounding out the meal with a little cheese sampling or something sweet. My recommendation, if you visit Chez Papa, is to have both!
Choose your cheese and or meats…
Chez Papa’s cold cuts & cheeses menu offers 8 different meats and cheeses. They are served in selections of 3 (420 baht), 5 (640 baht), and 7 (790 baht) so it’s easy to tailor the ultimate tasting experience for your pleasure.
Chez Papa Catalana Cake (180 baht)
But you’ll be disappointed if you don’t also get something from their dessert menu. We tried the Chez Papa Catalana Cake (180 baht) and it was an amazing dish to finish the excellent meal we’d just had. I would describe this decadent signature dessert dish as rich crème brûlée on a creme-topped chocolate biscuit with fruit topping. It’s just layers and layers of flavor…
It’s a dessert that really MUST BE experienced if you visit!
A chat with the owner…
Proprietor, Eric
During our visit to Chez Papa, we had the good fortune to be joined by the proprietor, Eric. Hailing from Grasse, France, Eric has lived much of his life abroad. Many of those years have been spent in Bangkok. Chez Papa is located where The 51 Tasty Moments once stood. Fans of the blog may recall the article featuring that restaurant and the endearing owner, Ahmet (Nicknamed “Papa” to those close to him). The restaurant is named in homage to Ahmet who was instrumental in Chez Papa’s opening.
A family-style concept…
Eric’s vision for this French bistro was for it to be a place where guests could enjoy a unique dining menu experience either family-style or solo. There are several tapas restaurants in Bangkok. But where are you going to find French-style tapas? Well as of July 2022, the answer is Chez Papa.
With their exciting menu of unique dishes and reasonable prices for food and drinks, Chez Papa is an excellent place to meet with friends and family to make memories and make many plates empty.
I’m hungry. Where is it?
Chez Papa is located at the end of Sukhumvit Soi 51. It’s an easy 5-minute walk from the Thonglor BTS station and even easier to grab a motorbike taxi near the BTS exit if you want to save the tread on your shoes.
They offer indoor seating (and private room dining for large groups if notified in advance) as well as outdoor seating. But on Tuesdays when they have their special menu ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT event you will want to contact them in advance to secure a table!
I want to hear from you!
Should you decide to experience Chez Papa, I’d love to hear your feedback in the comment section below, directly to me, or via message on either the Chow Traveller Facebook page or Chow Traveller Instagram (and feel free to like/follow these pages if you want to learn about more about the foodie gems I find). However you choose to reach out, I’d love to hear from you!
