The Brooklyn-style façade of Gaso Bar & Bistro looks very appealing, with its glass and steel panels. The interior, too, boasts an impressive décor, from the artworks strewn across the walls to the chalk drawings of what looks like a quaint, European town to the vivid red brick feature wall. While the place looks the part, it’s generally a bit lazy in regards to being a serious bar and bistro. The booze list is not the most exciting, for starters, though you can enjoy Hitachino craft beers, Beerlao and Phuket Beer. Strangely, given the décor’s attention to detail, the clipboard menu looks haphazardly put together, each listing spelled out in the most basic of terms. More worryingly, they share the same kitchen with faux-bistro Wine Happening. Nonetheless there are some undeniably pleasant and comforting Thai and inter dishes, though the kitchen is clearly aimed at pleasing the Thai palate. The fish & chips (B160) comes with very fresh pieces of fried fish in a crunchy breading and a tartar sauce that superbly blends sweet and sour. The moo manao (boiled pork with spicy sauce, B100) strikes a similarly delicious balance between these flavors, even if it isn’t as spicy as we would have liked. Other tasty options are the stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts (B100), which comes with a very nice salty and sweet sauce, and the pasta with bacon and chili (B185), another salt-fueled delight. The success of even a simple dish like kao pad goong (stir fried rice with shrimp, B95) shows that the kitchen is onto something good. There are slight missteps; the New Zealand mussels with spicy sauce (B145) were overcooked on our last visit, saved only by the tangy “nam yam” (spicy sauce). (Nor do we understand why they topped the dish with chopped carrots, as it doesn’t do it any favors in either appearance or taste.) Overall, though, while the place can be pretty quiet even on a Saturday night, Gaso makes for a solid place to hang out over a beer and some tasty food at reasonable prices. Corkage charge B300.
