Nawa Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Khlong Tan Nuea Subdistrict

Why I Gave a Low Rating

Taste The taste was the worst part. Overall, everything was too salty. The table next to us ordered four bottles of wine just to get through the overly salty menu. We didn't order any because, well, we’re a bit stingy.

Let’s go dish by dish. Starting with the best: the desserts. I absolutely loved the watermelon dessert. The refreshing watermelon paired perfectly with the creamy ice cream and that thin yellow layer on top (too long ago to remember the texture) was delightful.

But then the next dessert was a letdown. It had the same thick, creamy ice cream but with flavorless green strips, which I think were pandan noodles, and some yellow balls, like a thicker version of a traditional Thai dessert. But it was just cloyingly sweet and nothing else. It repeated the flavor of the first dessert, which was redundant, and wasn’t even served cold. I couldn't finish it.

The next trio of desserts was worse. It was just three Thai snacks. The mini pancake was undercooked and doughy. I wanted to tell the chef to check out the street vendors selling them for 30 baht to see how it's done. The pandan cake was so soft you couldn't pick it up. And the white rose on the green pandan cake and the popsicle-like thing tasted just like the previous desserts. I thought, how lazy can you be? I really didn't want to eat anymore.

As for the main dishes, there was nothing special or surprising. The curry fish had no flavor, the duck-shaped duck balls tasted weird, and the soft-shell crab was too sweet and not crispy, not even close to the 200 baht tempura you can find. The soup was too bland, missing the essence of Thai sour soup. It was like they just rolled a couple of tomatoes in water, but the shrimp was well-prepared—the highlight of the meal. The fried egg dish was a disaster. Thailand is known for its eggs, and they couldn't even fry one properly. There was also a rolled soft-boiled egg that tasted worse than the ones from 7-11. The shrimp paste with tiny shrimp wasn’t special either, just a generic dip.

The appetizers were forgettable but decent.

Ingredients Now, let's talk ingredients. For a restaurant where the average bill is over 5000+ THB per person, it’s a rip-off. Aside from a tiny bit of sea urchin in the appetizers, every dish used basic, inexpensive ingredients that you could find in any Thai restaurant, where no single dish would cost over 300 THB. Who in their right mind would eat here? Are they exploiting foreigners who don’t know better? This attitude is really disheartening.

Environment The place was cramped, the hall was small and crowded, with no special decor. You could hear the conversations from the next table. If you’re looking to impress someone, sorry, look elsewhere. Bangkok has plenty of great Michelin-starred places that are worth your time and money.

Attitude Finally, the owner/manager asked how we liked the food. I gave an honest review, and he seemed shocked, maybe even a bit condescending. My friend and I are young women, and he probably thought we didn’t know any better and couldn’t accept the critique. Look, I don’t need to prove myself. If the customer thinks the food isn’t good or worth the money, that’s the reality because we’re paying real money, not dining for free. When I gave my feedback, he should have listened. Instead, he asked me which restaurants I liked better. I named a few cheaper but better places, and he replied, "Oh, I know the chef there, he works here now." So? Why is the food still bad then?

Looking at other reviews, it seems the previous menu might have been better. But this summer menu was disappointing. Don’t waste your time coming here.

This review has been...

Nawa was an amazing restaurant deserving of its 1star, and in certain aspects such as hospitality, I felt closer to 2/3stars. I could see the efforts to deliver a great exprience through each dish, which were all exquisitely plated and presented. The taste was layered, and ingredients used were high quality.

Despite that, you might be wondering why I rated it only 2/5 stars on this review? For me, I thought they had overlooked the importance of delivering an enjoyable meal across its different courses. Three big issues - overwhelming spicyness, dishes do not complement one another, and expensive ingredients used superficially. Please allow me to explain below.

The biggest issue for me was that they did not seem to control the taste profile across all the dishes. Each segment (except desserts) was overwhelmingly and long lastingly spicy. I tremendously enjoyed it during the amuse bouche/appetizers where two of the three items had a strong burst of spicyness. However, after three segments, my palate was completely overwhelmed and shutted down. My Thai friend and I both had physiological responses (i.e. sniffing) due too constant barrage of spicyness. Thankfully, I didnt do any alcohol pairing (alcohol and spicyness do not go well together). As someone who grew up in SEA and am used to spicyness, I enjoy it and am at least average in my ability to tolerate it.

Repetition of ingredients in dishes which had different themes. For instance, river prawns used in two dishes. Cavier used in three dishes (I didnt think using cavier in tom yum goong really elevated my exprience of the dish). In the same vein, I didnt really see the relevance of using expensive uni or cavier for the dishes they were included as it didnt elevate the dishes.

Last, while each was exquisite, it didnt complement each other well. There were no synergy within each course and between each course.

Overall, I can see the restaurant working hard to provide good fine dining elements befitting 2/3stars restaurant. For instance, impeccable service, posh interior, expensive foreign ingredients, hospitality to anniversary and birthdays, exit gift. However, the lack or mastery over their food, sometimes superficial display of engagement (e.g. deliberately mixing of the river prawn with the condiments in front of diners), and high price made it difficult for me to recommend this place...

We came to try Nawa’s winter tasting menu for our anniversary, and the entire team made our night so special!

First off: every dish was a creative delight. Personally, I’ll be thinking about the trio of appetizers and six different desserts for a long time, but really every single item was a hit. Of the starters, the oyster presentation was hyperrealistic and artfully done. The blue crab coconut truffle soup was one of the best flavor combinations we’d ever tried. The main course salt baked fish with gooseberry salad was my favorite bite of food on our whole Thailand trip - reminded me of a fusion between penang curry and peanut sauce, and the fish was wonderfully tender and soft. The strawberry, pumpkin, and duck dishes were such perfect choices for the winter season. I’ll also never forget the “black sesame” perilla sticky rice dessert - wow!

Overall, thai flavors were highlighted so beautifully and creatively in this entire meal, but elevated masterfully using modern gastronomic techniques. Such a cohesive menu that flowed wonderfully.

As for the service, 5 stars for friendliness and beautiful presentations. Our server James presented each dish with detailed explanations and was very friendly and helpful! Head Chef Sept also came by several times to prepare a few dishes tableside, which was very unique and artful, especially for the oyster and fish. I loved that the overall vibes of the restaurant were inclusive and not stuffy too, which made for an inviting and relaxed atmosphere. You can tell a lot of care and thought goes into every detail, even down to each place setting and decor, with multiple staff in tandem presenting the courses and settings like a beautifully choreographed dance. They even surprised us with an anniversary cake, took our picture and printed it for us, and brought another dessert gift-wrapped to take home. Thanks to the entire team for making our celebration so special!

Come experience the magic of thai flavors with a modern innovative flair, and I can guarantee you will be thinking of this meal for a long time. I wish we didn’t live on the opposite side of the world — would love to experience the spring, summer, and fall menus...