Chef's Special Menu — Bangkok
This is the shortlist — the dishes head chef Santosh Shah puts his name against and the ones regulars ask for by habit. Some are tandoor classics, some are slow gravies, all are cooked exactly the way he learned them. If it is your first visit and you want a safe bet, start from these 10 plates.
All chef's specials
Butter Chicken
Tandoori chicken in a creamy, buttery tomato gravy finished with kasoori methi.
Paneer Butter Masala
Fresh paneer in a strained tomato and cashew gravy finished with butter, cream and crushed kasoori methi.
Dal Makhani
Black urad and kidney beans soaked overnight, then simmered about eight hours with tomato, ginger, garlic, butter and cream.
Chicken Tikka
Boneless chicken thigh marinated overnight in hung yogurt with ginger, garlic and Kashmiri chilli, then charcoal-roasted in the tandoor.
Malai Kofta
Fried paneer and potato dumplings with raisin and cashew, served in a mild, creamy cashew gravy.
Kadai Chicken
Stir-fried in an iron wok with bell peppers, onion and freshly ground kadai masala.
Mutton Rogan Josh
Goat slow-cooked the Kashmiri way in a deep red, aromatic gravy.
Paneer Tikka
Fresh paneer marinated in hung yogurt and Punjabi spices, skewered with onion and capsicum and charcoal-roasted in the tandoor.
Chicken Biryani
Halal chicken layered raw with aged basmati, fried onion, mint and saffron milk, then sealed and dum-cooked about 35 minutes.
Chilli Chicken
Boneless chicken thigh in a light cornflour coating, fried crisp and tossed on the wok station with onion, capsicum and green chilli.
Notes from the kitchen — Chef's Special
Worth knowing before you order: every plate on this page also sits in its own section of the menu, at exactly the same price. Butter chicken is here and in the non-veg mains at ฿280; chicken tikka is here and in the tandoor starters at ฿260; chilli chicken is here and in the Indo-Chinese list at ฿240. This is a shortlist of what gets reordered most, not a separate menu with separate pricing.
The cook behind this list is one chef from Uttarakhand, and the two plates most tables start with have pages of their own — butter chicken and biryani. The dishes most guests start with here are Butter Chicken, Paneer Butter Masala and Dal Makhani — each has its own page with how it is cooked, what it pairs with and the questions guests ask most.
Frequently Asked Questions about Chef's Special
What is on the Chef's Special list?
These are the 10 dishes the chef has pulled forward off the main menu: two tandoor plates, five curries and a dal, one biryani and one Indo-Chinese plate — which makes it the quickest way to eat widely on a first visit.
Which of these are mild and which are hot?
Mild: butter chicken, paneer butter masala, dal makhani and malai kofta — cream, butter and cashew gravies with no chilli burn. Medium: chicken tikka, kadai chicken, mutton rogan josh, paneer tikka and chicken biryani. Hot: chilli chicken. Any of them moves up or down a level when you order, because the masala goes into the pan fresh rather than being stirred in from a sauce.
Are the Chef's Special dishes halal?
Yes — the specials follow the same sourcing as the whole kitchen: halal-marked chicken (CP Foods and Betagro lines, bought fresh from Makro), halal-marked bone-in goat from our halal supplier, no pork anywhere, and no alcohol in any cooking. BHARAT is halal-friendly rather than formally CICOT-certified, and we are open about that.
What should a first-time visitor pick from this list?
Two or three plates plus bread and rice feeds a couple well: one tandoor item, one gravy (butter chicken or dal makhani territory), and a biryani if you are hungry. Every special can be made milder or hotter on request.