Au Bon Coin is still owned and run by jovial restaurateur chef Jose Cohen and partner Khun Orathai who presents a small but exceptional menu with international dishes using the freshest ingredients of the day plus wonderful authentic French regional recipes including those from Jose’s native Auvergne region of France.  

The cuisine of Auvergne in Central France is noted for hearty country style ‘peasant’ food, plus salted hams, dried sausages and internationally famous Tome de Cantal cheese.  The new bistro style Au Bon Coin is located in a two storey house in its own grounds half way along a small road between Soi 5 and 6 off Pratumnak Road.  The interior of this unpretentious restaurant is reminiscent of an elegant French wooden chalet with subdued lighting and an intimate and relaxing atmosphere.  There is also an outside terrace area available for smokers.  There are two menus to choose from: a regular and a daily Special menu.  The regular menu contains a small assortment of homemade soups such as Onion Gratinee (120 baht), salads (Nicoise at 130 baht) and specialty French starters like Duck Pate (140 baht) or the classic Rillettes Pate (120 baht).  Seafood starters are available such as Stuffed Mussels (120 baht) and Shrimps Sauteed in Pastis (250 baht).

The main courses include meat served either charcoal grilled like Rib Eye (390 baht) and Pork Tenderloin (190 baht) or with sauces such as Duck with Green Peppercorn Sauce (290 baht) or Tenderloin with Mushroom Sauce (390 baht). One of the house specialties is the classic Boeuf Bourguignon (290 baht).  The fish dishes served depend on what is fresh that day in the markets.   This evening, Parrot Fish and Red Snapper Meuniere dishes were available at 290 baht each. There is also a small Thai food menu provided all at 150 baht each dish.  The Special Daily menu had an assortment of mainly French recipes including starters such as Foie Gras de Canard (390 baht) and Goat Cheese Spring Rolls (170 baht) and main courses such as Duck leg in Red Wine (290 baht) and Rabbit Stew (370 baht).   We sampled an assortment of the delicious starters, being a slice of Quiche Lorraine (120 baht), a wonderfully creamy textured egg, cheese and bacon mixture in a light flaky pastry case.  

The Country Pate (120 baht) was very rich and flavoursome and went well with the excellent bread and rolls served with it.  This was followed by Scallops Meuniere (230 baht).  A plate full of juicy queen scallops in a light cream sauce.  For the main course we tried the excellent Beef Tenderloin Steak (350 baht) and Pork Tenderloin (190 baht) both were tender and succulent being charcoal grilled to perfection and served with a selection of crunchy vegetables and creamy mashed potato.  The fish dish we sampled was Indian Halibut Steak with a Shrimp Sauce (290 baht).  This was an excellent combination of a flaky fish cutlet with a light seafood sauce.   Finally, we tried a house special, Lamb with Flageolets (370 baht).  This was an amazingly rich and powerful Lamb Stew; tender chunks of lean boneless Lamb Fillet that is cooked for 5 hours with Flageolet Beans.  Wine, French of course, is served by the glass (140 baht) or carafe (320/460 baht).    All in all, a great culinary experience, thanks to Chef Jose!

Au Bon Coin is highly recommended.   Open from 5.00pm to 11.00pm.  Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday!  Good parking spaces available.  Telephone: 038-364-542.