Palate – An Affordable Bangkok Rooftop Bar Experience!

A friend recently recommended Palate (official Facebook page) to me as a hidden foodie gem in Bangkok. Palate offers an expansive menu filled with delicious and shockingly inexpensive Thai cuisine. Take a look at their menu and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

I brought my visiting family there to try it out and we were very impressed with the quality and taste of their food, the incredibly reasonable prices, fast service, and ambience of their rooftop bar. I decided then that this  would be a place worth returning to and writing about.

Now I want to be clear that this rooftop bar will not afford you incredible views of the Bangkok city skyline. If a view is what you want, this place will not impress you. Palate’s rooftop bar is on the 6th floor. But if you’re happy being away from the traffic and noise of the city and just want an intimate place to dine and entertain your friends with good food and drink that doesn’t break the bank, then this place will impress you!

Let me show you what I mean…

A feast for the Palate!

You can see I tried my best to get a fair sampling from Palate’s menu. But choosing these dishes was tough as everything on their menu looks so good and is so reasonably priced!

I must have crispy pork!

I am a huge fan of crispy pork. This Deep Fried Pork Belly with Spicy Salad and Herbs (160 baht) is a winner. There are many different crispy pork options on their menu and I’m confident you won’t be disappointed with any of them. This particular dish is made with crispy pork tossed with the same herbs and dressing that is in larb. I love the spice and tang of it mixed with the crunch of the pork crackling! I highly recommend this dish (or any of their crispy pork dishes).

Deep fried yum!

If you’re a fan of fried shrimp you will love this. I did. The Deep Fried Breaded Prawns with Lime Cream Sauce (180 baht) is lightly battered (don’t expect Tempura style) and though it’s deep fried it’s not greasy at all. The sweet and tangy lime cream sauce drizzled over the perfectly cooked shrimp is absolutely delicious, too!

Some serious pepper!

This Stir Fried Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce (170 baht) isn’t sparing the pepper. It’s intensely flavorful and you’re going to want to have some rice or noodles to eat with it. If you’ve been disappointed with bland pepper sauce dishes before you will find this experience quite different!

Oh yeah!

I’m not normally a rice person. But Palate offers some great rice dishes. The problem is trying to decide which one you want! I am a fan of Pad Krapao so this Hot Basil Fried Rice with Beef (160 baht) is perfect for me. They don’t skimp on the flavor here. There’s lots of basil leaves, spicy birds eye chilies, and plenty of minced beef. If you like a stir fried rice dish with a kick you will love this!

GIANT river prawns!

At this price the Pad Thai with River Prawns (190 baht) is an amazing value. Look at those river prawns. They are HUGE! The pad thai is made with Sen Chan noodles which I enjoy as they are more “chewier”. I also loved that Palate puts the chili, sugar, and peanuts on the side so that you can spice it how you like. They do use palm sugar to make this dish (which gives it a creamy sweetness) so you may find the granulated sugar unneeded. I recommend you taste before you season it–it may just be perfect as it is!

Where has this been all my life?

This dish blew me away. It’s incredible! The Raw Salmon in Spicy Chili Paste (170 baht) is a dish that is a symphony of flavors. Take the thin slices of raw salmon and roll it up around a dollop of roasted sweet chili paste laden with red and green onion and slivers of fresh lemongrass. Your mouth will thank you. This is another dish I highly recommend, especially if you’re enjoying some drinks!

A word about drinks…

Palate has a fantastic selection of cocktails and beers (both bottle and draft). All of them are very reasonably priced. Their cocktails are average priced at a reasonable 150 baht.  They offer several German and Belgium brews ranging from 190-270 baht. Local beers are 90 baht, and you can pick up a pint of Asahi on draft for a mere 140 baht. They also sell the draft beers by jugs and towers if you want to buy in bulk.

A chat with the owners…

I had the good fortune to meet with the owners of Palate, Aey and Oil. They started Palate in August, 2016 as a shabu hotpot style restaurant (you can still find some pretty amazing hotpot dishes on their menu).

They decided to expand their menu to seafood after operating for 6 months.  Then they rented out the entire building to expand their operations so that they could include a bar and rooftop bar (located on the 5th and 6th floors).

The name “Palate” was chosen for 3 reasons. It plays on the same sounding word “pallet” which was what some of their furniture was made with when they were starting out. It also plays on the Thai word “Pa– take you to” and “late“–as in encouraging customers to stay longer. Finally, it is also references “palate“,  a person’s appreciation for taste and flavor.

All of their seafood (with the exception of their salmon) is purchased from the Saphan Pla Fish Market located on Charoen Krung every night from 12am-1am. All of their produce is purchased nearby at the Pak Khlong Market. Khun Oil prides herself on doing the shopping herself to ensure the quality and freshness of the ingredients.

Both Aey and Oil are proud of the rapid growth of Palate, and the large fan base that enjoys eating their delicious food and enjoying the scene. They’ve taken great care to ensure that processes have been adopted to provide a consistent dining experience, and that kitchen stocks are properly managed to provide fresh ingredients at all times and keep the costs low. They have every reason to be proud of their creation.

I’m hungry. Where is it?

There are 6 floors to the building. Only the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th floors are used for dining and drinking. So if the rooftop experience is what you desire, don’t be turned away when you climb the stairs and find the 3rd and 4th floors not being used for customers. Keep climbing and you will be rewarded!

Palate is located just a few minutes walk from the Saphan Taksin BTS exit on Charoen Krung Road. Palate is a great place to dine alone, as a couple, or as a large group. They are also able to provide for private/event functions. Tuesdays through Fridays they have live acoustic music on the rooftop. Check out their Facebook page to see their latest promotions.