L'Arôme by the Sea

L'Arôme by the Sea occupies a glass-walled dining room on the rocks at Kalim Bay, just north of Patong, with the whole bay laid out below. Guests usually start on The Sunset Deck, the rooftop bar upstairs, before moving down for dinner. Executive chef Maksym Chukanov, whose CV includes Noma in Copenhagen, Ikarus in Salzburg and Cure in Singapore, leads the kitchen.

Dinner is a seasonal tasting menu built around the sea, applying French technique to Thai produce and imported European ingredients; curing, ageing and fermentation feature, and sauces such as beurre blanc meet yuzu kosho. The courses change with the seasons, and the MICHELIN Guide notes nods to tom kha and som tam. A vegetarian tasting menu is available with notice. On the deck, French oysters and Kaviari Oscietra caviar go with Champagne.

Best kept for anniversaries and special dinners; arrive between 5.30 and 6.30pm for the sunset. The dress code is resort chic, with no flip-flops or sportswear, and children under seven eat on the rooftop. The wine list runs past 200 labels, mostly French.