I have passed the Vatel Restaurant about a zillion times, and I finally decided to give it a try last night.  It is located on Barommrachachonnai just after it makes the left turn past Pin Klao and into Tailinchan.

The restaurant is in a nice old house-style building.  It serves French, Italian, and Thai food. I hadn't realized it, but it is the practical application venue for SUIC's BBA program in Hotel Management.  Most of the staff are students who need to work there to get their graduation credits.  There is a professional chef in the kitchen and a professional floor manager.  There was a "teaching waiter" who was a pro and was guiding the students through their paces.

As it is a teaching application, the prices are really quite reasonable.  My friend and I both decided to go French, and the main course, appetizer, drink, and dessert came to 400 baht apiece.

We ordered Duck ala Orange and and a beef fillet in a cognac pepper sauce.

It takes a bit for the food to come as the chef is guiding the students inside the kitchen, to the bread was a welcome addition and rather good.

My beef came with a nice melon/proscuitto salad.  Not spectacular, but good.  The duck came with a pea soup, but my friend changed that to onion soup.  The soup was OK, but I would have liked more onion and a little less beefiness in the stock.

The main courses came with a nice potato dish, an olive tamponade, and ratatouille.   Those were universally excellent.  The duck was quite well-prepared, but I would have wanted a little more of the orange,  It was delicious, though. For Thai beef, the fillet was very good even if not up to western beef standards.  But as with the duck, the beef could have used more of the cognac in the sauce. 

The dessert was chocolate mouse and a cream caramel. The mousse was outstanding.  The cream caramel was very light and almost fluffy.  Very good.

The drink was a sugary punch, maybe OK for kids, but too sweet for me.

The service was abut the best I have had in Bangkok, and the presentation was very nice.

Overall, for 400 baht, this was a very, very good meal.  And I found out that on Saturdays, they feature a lunch and dinner buffet.  Both buffets feature dishes from all three menus.  And get this:  the lunch is 250 baht, the dinner 280 baht!  

Next week is a regional French gourmet promotion.  I didn't see the menu, but the dishes are from the Rhone-Alps, Alsace-Lorraine. Sud-Ouest, and Bourgogne.

This is not the best French food I have ever eaten.  But given that it is certainly good, and given the price and the fact that I am in Bangkok, this place is really worth a try.

I pass by here very often and will take a look the place! Never thought of going before since it looks a bit old from the outside, thanksnfor the review.

Just a follow-up:

I went to the buffet Saturday night.

There was a nice little salad bar and some limited appetizers. The breaded shrimp and the samosas were the best of the lot, in my opinion.

There were two Thai main courses and four western.  The western were orange chicken, pork loin in onion sauce, john dory in olive sauce, and a penne (i forgot the name of the sauce, but it was sort of puntenesca-like).  THe pork was weak.  It was sliced too thin for a buffet and subsequently dried out.  The john dory was quite good, the pasta decent, and the orange chicken delicious. I particularly loved putting the sauce over one of the side dishes, pineapple fried rice.

Desserts were so-so.  Fruit and a few small cakes.

The cost was 280 baht.  I would be happy to pay 280 as a regular meal for just the chicken, salad, shrimp appetizer, and fruit dessert.  For the price, the buffet is well worth it.

Bottom line?  I would not drive from Min Buri to eat there.  But for people in Thon Buri, it is certainly worth the visit.

olive tamponade

while i have never been particularly squeamish, this is quite an unfortunate typo.

the "tamponade" probably went well with the "chocolate mouse"