The Sukhothai Bangkok

Location very good, you can reach a lot of sightseeing’s nearby Atmosphere - friendly, helpful, no stress Rooms spacious and peaceful Excellent

A review of the Sunday Brunch at Colonnade, The Sukhothai Bangkok, which reopened on 4 October after approximately three months of renovation. After quite a long wait, Sunday Brunch at Colonnade is finally back. But how does it compare with the experience people remember? Let’s take a look. The Restaurant and Brunch Timing The restaurant has been given a fresh coat of paint, and the curtains have also been updated, making the overall space look brighter. However, in terms of layout, almost everything remains the same. There are no major changes that make the space feel particularly different. Sunday Brunch still starts at 12:30 PM, as it always has. Personally, though, I have started to feel that this is rather late compared with other venues nowadays, many of which begin at 12:00 PM. If I remember correctly, The Sukhothai and The St. Regis are among the few places that still start at 12:30 PM. Some guests deliberately skip breakfast so they can enjoy Sunday Brunch, so I think starting promptly at 12:00 PM would be a welcome improvement. Food Theme and Beverage Packages For its return, the brunch features a Chinese food theme. The restaurant plans to rotate the themes, with Southeast Asian cuisine, Italian food, oysters and other offerings expected in the future. We will have to wait and see how these turn out. A fresh coconut is served as a welcome drink, followed by a choice of beverage packages, including soft drinks and alcoholic options. As for the food selection, I have to be honest. My first impression was that the overall presentation felt less impressive than before, and the variety also seemed to have decreased compared with what I remember from previous visits. The Dim Sum Station The dim sum station should have been one of the highlights of a Chinese-themed brunch. However, this time, it felt rather small. More importantly, the food was not coming out fast enough to keep up with demand, and the waiting time was quite long. I understand that steamed dim sum takes time to prepare. However, when the restaurant already knows that these dishes require time, the kitchen should plan accordingly rather than leaving guests waiting for so long. That said, I have to give credit where it is due. The dim sum itself was genuinely delicious. Every item I tried was well prepared and tasted good. It was just a shame that the quantity and frequency of replenishment did not meet the same standard. Seafood on Ice This station still has plenty to offer, including lobster, king crab, other crab varieties and oysters of different varieties. The selection here remains fairly generous, so seafood lovers should still find plenty to enjoy. Japanese Station There is a selection of sushi and sashimi, with various ingredients available at the sashimi counter, including raw fish, squid, hotate (scallops), lobster sashimi and uni. I would like to mention the uni in particular. Personally, I found its smell and taste rather pronounced, with a noticeable fishy flavour, even though it looked fresh. I did not ask which species of uni was being served, so I would not want to jump to conclusions. However, considering the price of Sunday Brunch here, I feel that using Bafun uni, if feasible, could elevate this part of the experience. Different species and grades of uni can have quite different flavours and overall quality. A Wide Selection That Feels More Repetitive Than It Looks Another thing I noticed was that some dishes felt repetitive in terms of ingredients and preparation. For example, the shrimp selection included boiled whole shrimp, grilled whole shrimp, grilled butterflied shrimp and butterflied shrimp topped with a spicy Thai-style dressing. There was both squid on ice and grilled squid, while the crab selection included both crab on ice and grilled crab. I am not saying these dishes are bad. However, in terms of variety, I think introducing more genuinely different dishes would make the buffet more interesting than simply presenting the same ingredients in several different ways. Hot Pot and Italian Stations The hot pot dishes were delicious, but the selection was rather limited. A few more options would have been welcome. The Italian station offered spaghetti and other pasta dishes. This section was well executed, and I enjoyed the food here. Foie Gras Needs Improvement The foie gras was not quite there this time. I have no particular issue with the thickness of the slices. Whether they are thick or thin is not the point. The main problem was the cooking. The exterior had not developed a proper golden-brown colour before the foie gras was taken off the heat, while the inside remained far too soft and almost mushy in texture. The sauce also lacked the depth needed to bring out the flavour of the foie gras. This was another dish that I hope the team will improve. Roasted Meat Station I did not try the roasted meat selection, as I do not usually eat beef. However, I noticed what appeared to be grilled bone marrow as well. Personally, I feel that grilled bone marrow is a rather niche item. It is certainly not something I would eat, and I wonder whether a more broadly appealing dish might be a better choice for a Sunday Brunch buffet. Dessert Station The dessert selection also seemed to have decreased quite considerably this time. Let me start with the mango sticky rice. The sticky rice was not quite right. It was not soft enough, and the grains remained rather distinct instead of having the soft, chewy texture that good mango sticky rice should have. The coconut milk also did not seem to have been absorbed into the rice sufficiently. Another issue was the waiting time for the mangoes. Most guests tend to head to the dessert station around the same time, but there was only one staff member peeling mangoes, one at a time. As a result, the queue moved rather slowly. I understand that mangoes need to be freshly peeled to maintain their quality. However, when the restaurant can reasonably anticipate that many guests will arrive at the dessert station at roughly the same time, staffing should be planned accordingly. On a more positive note, the ice cream station was better this time. The ice cream remained properly frozen and firm, rather than becoming soft and runny as I had experienced on previous visits. This was a welcome improvement. Dishes Served at Scheduled Times There were also several dishes served at specific times during the brunch. One of them was a Korean-style noodle dish, as described by the restaurant. I have to admit that I was a little puzzled about how it fitted into a Chinese-themed brunch. 555 (Thai internet slang for laughter.) As for the taste, I did not find it particularly enjoyable. Next was the Sichuan soup. I am certainly no expert in Chinese cuisine, but based on the versions I have tried before, Sichuan soup, particularly the hot and sour variety, is usually thicker, with a more substantial consistency, tofu and what seems to be egg, along with a distinctive spicy and sour flavour. The version served here reminded me more of kimchi soup. Perhaps this is simply the restaurant’s own interpretation. I am not saying that it is necessarily wrong, but for a Chinese-themed brunch, I would have liked the dishes to reflect their respective culinary identities more clearly. The Biggest Issue: Timing This is probably the most important issue for me. The cheese station only became available at around 2:10 PM, even though brunch had started at 12:30 PM. That meant guests had to wait approximately 100 minutes. I really do not think this is acceptable. Think about a typical buffet at a shopping mall. Many restaurants have a 90-minute dining limit, after which guests are expected to leave. In reality, plenty of people do not even need the full 90 minutes. Some are already full after an hour. But this is Sunday Brunch, where guests pay a considerably higher price. Cheese is one of the things some guests specifically come for, yet they had to wait around 100 minutes before they could even start enjoying it. The person dining with me is a big cheese lover, and watching him sit there waiting so long was quite a sight. He looked absolutely desperate for some cheese. 555. As for me, I had already given up waiting because I was full from eating other dishes. There was also a cart serving ice cream and desserts that came out at around 2:30 PM. The dessert was delicious, but by that point, we were already full. I genuinely think the food service schedule needs a serious review. No matter how good the food is, if dishes that guests are looking forward to only become available after they are already full, the overall dining experience inevitably suffers. Service On the service side, the overall experience was good. There seemed to be quite a few new staff members this time, so many faces were unfamiliar. However, Khun Eve and Khun Pim are still here, and both continued to provide very good service, just as they have on previous visits. The other staff members were also attentive and pleasant. I had no major complaints about the service overall. I also had the chance to meet Khun Anan, the new FB Manager, and briefly speak with him. He was polite and approachable. I have already shared my feedback with him, so I will have to wait and see how the team takes these suggestions forward and what improvements they make. Overall Impression For me, this reopening has not quite lived up to expectations. That said, I am willing to give the team some time. This was only the first brunch since the restaurant reopened after approximately three months of renovation, so there is still room to improve the food selection, the quality of certain dishes, the overall variety, replenishment and, most importantly, the timing of the food service. To be fair, quite a few dishes were good. The dim sum was delicious, the Italian food was enjoyable, the seafood selection still had some good offerings, and the overall service remained good. The main problem was not that the food was simply bad. Rather, it was the overall management and the value of the experience as a whole. At THB 3,900++ per person, excluding beverages, this is a high-priced Sunday Brunch. Competition in Bangkok has also become much stronger, with plenty of other venues offering their own brunch experiences. If The Sukhothai wants to maintain its position in the market, I believe having quality ingredients and a generous seafood selection alone is no longer enough. Everything needs to justify the price, from food quality and variety to consistent replenishment and the overall dining experience. There are still several areas that need improvement. Nevertheless, I will give the team the benefit of the doubt for now, as the brunch has only just returned. Hopefully, on my next visit, I will see more tangible improvements and an experience that does greater justice to the return of this legendary Bangkok Sunday Brunch.

Try personal trainer for the first time. PT khun Kob is very knowledgeable give advice for my practice during rehabilitation. Nice ka

Sukhothai’s chocolate buffet is its signature treat. With Thai music and beautiful architecture, it’s such a unique experience. Nadia, Nong and AM celebrated our birthday with us. Amazing service! We’ll be back.

Good vibe Good service with Nong / Am / Nadia /chefkeen