BANGKOK — At Arno’s, don’t be confused by the menu listing only value-oriented wines instead of food. Nor the waiter who doesn’t take your order. Instead turn your attention to the jovial Frenchman behind the glass counter waving a cleaver and hacking away at cuts of beef he’s aged for 45, 75 and 100 days. Master butcher Arnaud Carre will take care of you.
Arno’s diners might feel like they’re in a butcher’s shop rather than a restaurant, and that’s because Carre is, first and foremost, a butcher. His rise to steak-serving stardom wasn’t planned, actually his original plan was to supply Bangkok with honest-to-goodness aged beef at reasonable prices. Imported beef faces heavy duties and local beef suffers from gristle and odd cuts that don’t showcase the marbling or nuanced flavors of the meat.
Carre is changing that by bringing his French butchery expertise and undercutting the competition, offering quality meat at prices unheard of in Bangkok.