Tucked away on a soi near the end of Ekkamai lurks a concept more than a mere restaurant, a café that transcends theme and rather embodies an attitude towards the beautiful, stylish, and sublime. Tuba Design is a truly unique experience – I hesitate to call it a “dining experience” because there is so much more to it than that – it is a place to lounge, to shop, to appreciate the beautiful and well-crafted – and most of all to be inspired by all of these things and by the people who frequent this haunt.

The fact that the Tuba experience is defined by more than its food is a good thing too, because given the quality of the food, one would not want Tuba to stand on that alone. It is not that Tuba’s food is downright bad. In fact, some of it is good: The rocket salad (120b) had slivers of almond that gave the salad a lovely flavor, and the Yam Goong Fuu (180b) – a beautifully arranged fluffy fried prawn and mango salad dish – was delicious with large pieces of flavorful prawn and a delicate sauce. However, for every good dish there was one that simply didn’t measure up. The Foie Gras Salad (590b) was overcooked and overpriced; the baked spinach suffocated under piles of under-salted cheese (120b); and the “Tuba special” (grilled seafood in what tasted like basil) should have been called the “Tuba Pedestrian,” as it was simply unremarkable. Tuba’s hit-or-miss quality may be attributed to an overly ambitious menu, with pages and pages of Thai, Italian, and Californian fare – and even a section devoted to German sausages. This is not to say don’t eat here – rather, understand that Tuba is meant to go beyond the food.

The most important aspect of Tuba is the atmosphere. The owner, Khun Tong, runs a sister company as well – a furniture warehouse called Papaya, located nearby on Ratchadaphisek Road – and so Tuba acts as a sort of showroom for alternatingly art-deco, chic, kitschy, beautiful furniture and other interior solutions. If you are looking to out-fit your pad, you can rent the pieces as well. As you peruse, you can enjoy delicious cocktails as well: signature mojitos are served in gigantic margarita glasses; be careful with these glasses around young children – as they are truly a drowning hazard. “Tuba is like a home: we have kitchen, the lounge room, the bar,” says Yim, one of the restaurant creators, “and Tuba has an atmosphere of love: we love furniture, we love jazz.” This sentiment alone puts Tuba vastly ahead of the prosaic and soulless yuppie cafes springing up in the Sukhumvit corridor – by frequenting it you will not only be indulging in something truly different, but you will help support Bangkok’s budding alterna/art scene. And that is worth picking your way through the minefield of a menu.

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