The Capital by Water Library @ Empire Tower, Bangkok - เดอะ แคปปิตอล บาย วอเตอร์ ไลบรารี่ @ อาคารเอ็มไพร์ทาวเวอร์ กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Steakhouse / Seafood / Burger / Grill Bar

Map: The Capital by Water Library @ Empire Tower, Bangkok - เดอะ แคปปิตอล บาย วอเตอร์ ไลบรารี่ @ อาคารเอ็มไพร์ทาวเวอร์ กรุงเทพฯ

Price: THB2,700 per person (what we paid for)

Visited: 28 March 2015

Food: 8/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: 8/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

In general, restaurants associated with Water Library do guarantee consumers at some degree of appreciation for example Water Library @ Chamchuri Square in the form of fine dining and 1881 by Water Library @ Central World in the concept of hanging out bar. Here "The Capital by Water Library", which is located on the 2nd floor of Empire Tower, comes in the concept of urban steakhouse and grill bar. Inside, the ambient is cool and chic resembling the old time New York financial theme with strikingly elegant and opulent decoration. It was my first time here at The Capital and I felt from the first moment that this was going to be a nice meal. And yes, from the service to food, we were totally satisfied. I have to say that the service here is good, and could even beat the service Water Library @ Chamchuri Square where I had felt the let down in service quality during my last visit.

Here, if you are crazy about steak, you can find quite a variety of beef: from German Simmental to Piedmontese to Japanese Kamichiku and grass fed vs. grain fed. Steak lover will sure be excited. What I really like about this place apart from great food and lovely service is the location. Location, Location, and Location is always and still all time classic important factor. Being situated in Empire Tower which is on Sathon Road means that it is right adjacent to BTS Chong Nonsri Station. It is, hence, super convenient to come by via public transport. Though driving here for dinner during weekdays can be a bit of disaster on an unfortunate day due to office staffs storming out heading home, it is at least away from night time/weekend hanging districts like Siam Square, Thonglor, or Sukhumvit Road in which traffic is definitely less crowded during weekend.

The Capital by Water Library @ Empire Tower, Bangkok

restaurant entrance

30's style fashion of interior

comfy seats outside the main restaurant

For me, one of the very first thing to arrive on the table, being bread and butter, happens to be one of my all time favourite. Bread here, at The Capital, did not disappoint me at all. The soft kind of bread came along with yuzu and cranberry butter: mild flavour and aroma with delicacy. Additionally, I, without fail, did swipe through the moderate list of wine in which I found reasonably selected. The list is not extensive but modest and comprehensive. It ranges selection from both old world and new world: sparkling wine, Champagne, white wine, red wine, and dessert wine. Wines are categorised by variety of grapes and then sub-categorised by new or old world. Pricing wise, I would say the mark up is moderate. Not exactly value for money nor ridiculously expensive. For the night, I had Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe 2004 (93pts). The tannic and complexity of this Barolo crafted by Cavallotto did pair wonderfully with tenderloin. I have to say I do like this one a lot and ones should not miss it if you happen to face one.

bread portion

Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe 2004 (93pts)

When it came to the actual food, the first to arrive on the table was Wagyu Bolognese (9/10). This was so so so classically delicious. There is perhaps no need for necessity of Kamichiku wagyu at all. Any decent beef would be so delicious with this recipe and skill. The flavour was just right with good balance of herbs and spices. Texture was delicate. It was served with in-house made pappadelle cooked to al dente. This was my first dish here and the best dish as well. Next was an American classic style of sandwich: Philadelphia Steak and Cheese (8/10). Just by looking what had been placed on the table, I drooled unconsciously already. Tender slices of steak and cheese complemented so well with generous vegetable and peppers. It was the peppers that brought the picture together nicely. The final magic was the bread which was soft but crisp on the outside. Just the first two dishes, good impression has started building up.

Wagyu Bolognese (THB420)

Philadelphia Steak and Cheese (THB470)

Moving on to steak, there were German Simmental Tenderloin 230g (7/10) and Japanese Kamichiku Striploin A4 150g (8/10) for the night: two kinds of beef from two different cuts and from two continents. Both were tender and yielded distinctive flavour and aroma. The German tenderloin was less fatty and less juicy (of course) but exposed more of natural flavour and texture of meat. On the other hand, Kamichiku striploin burst out the juicy fatty character more and indeed was more tender on the touch. Personally, I enjoy the German tenderloin more due to the bite-able texture. Only if the cut was thicker, meaning heavier weight, it would be such a perfect piece.

On the downside, steak at The Capital does not come with any kind of sauce at all. You will have to order if you would like one. For us, we did try Mushroom Cream Sauce (THB150) which was nice, aromatic, and creamy. But honestly, this was too expensive for such a small portion of sauce (approx. 2 portions of glass shots). I believe this should not be charged to customer at all. It is just sauce and sauce should usually compliment along side steak, unless the restaurant sees that their steak does not need any kind of sauce at all to be enjoyed. From my point of view, a touch of Dijon mustard does its job wonderfully. By the way, salt also played a crucial role for steak and there are 3 types of sea salt here to be chosen from: white flake from UK, merlot infused himalayan, and spices infused himalayan.

Last but not least, a side dish was also ordered to complete the act: Dauphinoise Potatoes (8/10) or simply called potatoes gratin. It was so creamy, so cheese, and so flavourful. Well, all in all The Capital is definitely an excellent place for dining. It is not cheap but it sure will satisfy your appetite.