Aussie chef David Thompson raids old cookbooks for Charoen Krung’s ‘Aksorn’

Anything Australian chef David Thompson touches generates buzz. And Aksorn, his newest restaurant offering a time-traveling journey to the past via old cookbooks, has drawn tons of attention, if not adoration, in many in Bangkok’s food circles.

Perched on the fifth floor of Central: The Original Store on Charoen Krung Road, Aksorn is meant to embrace the building’s midcentury bookstore roots. Designed by Japanese design team Tripster, the restaurant evokes that legacy with a contemporary touch.

The homey, 40-seat space swims in warm yellow light that shines off a stone-tiled floor, the building’s red-orange brick walls, and the granite countertop in the open kitchen. The best seats in the house? Those are on the balcony, where sofa and table seating offer views of Sathorn’s sky towers through lush plants.

The focus here is forgotten,…