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Published on September 16, 2007

Popular Witch's Oyster Bar has been "re-vamped" with owner Wanit "Ed" Mekdhanasarn adding his own touches to the decoration and the menu.

Walk in, look to your right, and you'll see his creation - 97 jars of vodka, gin and tequila lining the wall. The liquor in each jar is marinating something, from chillies to fruits, and, Ed assures, each is drinkable.

On the ground floor, he's had Witch's decorated to look like a traditional men's club, upstairs is in a colonial theme, with a private room seating 10.

"We're the first - and maybe only - oyster bar in Bangkok," says Ed.

The oyster selection depends on availability, but usually, each costs from Bt100 to Bt120. If you prefer yours cooked, a dish involving five oysters (Bt700) can be prepared as oysters Rockefeller, Kilpatrick or Mornay - or other ways.

Witch's is well stocked in terms of alcoholic drinks, malt whiskies and spirits as well as more than 100 wines from Europe and the Americas, apart from a huge range of cocktails, mixed drinks and shooters. Ed has even created his very own "cigar menu", offering top-class stogies for guests to enjoy on the ground floor.

The menu (for food that is) offers a range of dishes. The tapas section is especially extensive, perfect either for snacking as you sip a drink of your choice or as an appetiser, such as the seared tuna carpaccio (Bt220). You can also choose other tapas like a dim sum basket (Bt180), yum woonsen or glass-noodle salad with seafood (Bt180), chicken tikka with onion rings and mango chutney (Bt180) as well as imported Serrano ham, prosciutto and other traditional tapas. The roast duck ravioli in a white wine sauce (Bt180) is among the most popular.

Call Ed eclectic. The kitchen produces fresh bread, pasta and sausage, and his favourite dish on the menu is the oxtail soup (Bt250), a very hearty, tasty broth. Gis menu also has a section of sushi and sashimi (Bt100-Bt350).

In the pasta section, you can order Witch's spaghetti with seafood in tomato sauce or pesto and white wine (Bt350).

Witch's even has pies on the menu - steak and Guinness, beef and Stilton, and so on.

You know what? Drop by and check out what's on the menu.

Ed loves good food, good wine and lots of people around. You might even get the chance to taste what's in those bottles on the wall.

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation