Despite its location in the colonial Baan Silom complex, Couple Double offers a dining experience similar to most farang-friendly Thai restaurants. But the attentive service and tasty Thai dishes make up for its predictability. As its name suggests, the restaurant encourages its diners to enjoy a meal with company.
Couple Double is radiant with red walls and overhead chandeliers, while snug sofas, paintings and an easy-listening soundtrack complete the cozy feel. Morning people can drop by for Oriental and European breakfast sets. During the day, it serves as a lunch spot for neighborhood office workers. As dusk falls, the soft lighting and flickering candles set a more romantic tone as farang patrons and their pretty Thai dates snuggle up for a lingering dinner.
Filled with familiar Thai recipes like tom kha kai and kai pad med ma muang (stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts), nothing on the small menu would raise your eyebrows. Portions are big, and so are the prices that hover around B150-300. Though the food arrives fast, the flavors are relatively bland; you might need a few drops of nampla prik. Grilled beef sirloin served with somtam, for example, came with juicy and tender medium rare beef, but the accompanying jaew sauce and papaya salad had noticeably sweet touches. We weren’t impressed with Couple Double’s plain execution of stir-fried Japanese tofu with enoki mushrooms and celery either. The Chinese-style starchy gravy was thin in texture and weak on flavor.
But it wasn’t all a let down. The restaurant’s saving graces are its special of the month menus and the staff recommendations. Tom klong pla krob was as hot and spicy as it should be. (Though the “pla krob” turned out to be deep-fried sea bass fillets instead of small crisp dried fish). Flavor-packed, tom yum koong fried rice was topped with two plump prawns and lived up to expectations. Two thumbs up also go to the service. The knowledgeable servers are more than willing to recommend dishes and are prompt in clearing away empty plates and topping off drinks.
For a restaurant that claims to double as a “wine bar”, the wine list at Couple Double is pretty small, featuring some New World selections and less than 20 choices overall. House wine is also on offer at B125 by glass and B370 a carafe. As long as you follow the recommendations, Couple Double is a pleasant spot to linger over a meal with a couple of friends.
