Meliá Chiang Mai has opened a 40-seater fine-dining restaurant on its 21st floor, serving contemporary Northern Thai dishes with Mediterranean influences.
Adjacent to the hotel’s executive lounge and tucked under the highest rooftop bar in the city, diners enter the venue under an arch that pays homage to a nearby temple. In a salute to Chiang Mai’s Bo Sang Umbrella Village, large lit installations of umbrella ribs cling to the ceiling. Various artworks of umbrella canopies hang on the walls, such as those made from antique Chiang Mai textiles.
Under the stewardship of executive chef Suksant Chutinthratip (Billy) and sous chef Karn Phojun, each dish from the restaurant’s seasonal menu is prepared à la minute from an open kitchen.
Expect dishes such as the Pla Salmon Nham Prik Oung, a baked salmon fillet with northern Thai-style tomato confit, sautéed gurmar leaves and pickled garlic served on steamed pandan rice.
Of the 28 menu options, 12 belong to the hotel’s ‘360° Cuisine’ concept, which has been designed to minimise waste and carbon emissions. Under the programme, chefs craft dishes using produce from the hotel’s nearby organic gourmet farm partnership with ORI9IN, and use every part of each ingredient possible before leftovers are returned to the farm as compost.
Minimum spending for private events at Mai Restaurant & Bar is 120,000 baht (US$3,213) per meal, with set menu prices starting from 1,300 baht per person.
