This Q&A is a part of Observer’s Knowledgeable Insights sequence, the place business leaders, innovators and strategists distill years of expertise into direct, sensible takeaways and ship readability on the problems shaping their industries. In New York Metropolis’s continually mutating eating panorama, the place ideas seem in a single day and disappear simply as rapidly, Chef Max Wittawat has managed to construct one thing way more enduring: a restaurant that feels each distinctly Thai and unmistakably New York.
Because the chef and inventive pressure behind Bangkok Supper Membership, Wittawat has translated Bangkok’s kinetic late-night meals tradition into a elegant, trendy eating expertise that mirrors the power of his hometown whereas assembly the realities of town’s tightly wound restaurant financial system. His strategy rejects nostalgia and as a substitute embraces a forward-looking interpretation of Thai delicacies pushed by collaboration, fixed experimentation and a deep respect for regional flavors.
In simply two years, Bangkok Supper Membership has change into one of many metropolis’s most talked-about chef-driven ideas, identified for seasonal tasting menus, surprising partnerships and a high-touch hospitality mannequin that blurs the traces between eating and nightlife. Wittawat’s management is formed by years in Thailand’s company hospitality world, giving him the operational rigor wanted to help the artistic freedom that defines the restaurant’s identification.
At a second when “trendy Asian” ideas are proliferating throughout New York, Wittawat stands aside by utilizing storytelling because the spine of his delicacies, inviting visitors to know the cultural, private and culinary influences behind every dish. From sustainability commitments to zero-waste-inspired cocktails to multisensory late-night eating experiences, his work demonstrates how a restaurant may be each deeply rooted in tradition and absolutely attuned to a worldwide viewers.
Bangkok Supper Membership was impressed by Bangkok’s late-night eating tradition. What drew you to recreate that power in New York, and the way did you adapt it to the realities of town’s eating financial system?
Bangkok Supper Membership was born from my reminiscences of Bangkok at night time—the power, the noise and the best way the night time appears to maintain unfolding. In Thailand, late-night eating is its personal tradition. After dinner or drinks, you don’t go dwelling; you exit once more. Possibly to a road stall for noodles, a grill stand for skewers or a small restaurant for one thing spicy. Nights out are about social connection, spontaneity and sharing each second with mates or household. That feeling of late-night gathering is strictly what I wished to deliver to New York.
For me, Bangkok Supper Membership needed to be a spot the place individuals come to have fun, join with mates and revel in meals that feels creative however approachable. The area wanted to really feel alive in each method—the music, the lighting, the stream of service and the best way our beverage program interacts with the meals had been all designed deliberately to seize that vibrancy of Bangkok, blurring the traces between eating and nightlife.
New York operates on a special tempo. Folks plan their meals out weeks prematurely, and town doesn’t have the identical late-night eating tradition. My aim was to seize the sensation of Bangkok—the heat, the continual power and that sense that the night time is all the time nonetheless younger. We translated that spirit into a elegant, considerate area that matches inside this metropolis whereas nonetheless conserving the heartbeat of my dwelling alive.
That stability between genuine power and New York sensibility is what defines Bangkok Supper Membership.
Late-night eating typically runs counter to conventional fine-dining hours. What have you ever discovered about balancing operational challenges—staffing, prices, turnover—with the artistic freedom of that format?
One factor individuals are typically shocked by is that Bangkok Supper Membership doesn’t function as late as eating places in Thailand, regardless of that being the inspiration for the idea. In Bangkok, late-night eating typically goes into the early morning, however in New York, the economics, laws and tradition make that tough. We blur the traces of eating and nightlife by working nearer to conventional fine-dining hours, which helps us keep constant and defend the well-being of our crew, all whereas capturing the spirit and power of a late-night eating ambiance by our meals.
Operationally, we face the identical challenges as everybody else, however I really feel lucky to have a core crew that has been with us since day one. Turnover is of course a part of this business, and folks come and go, however the stability inside our management crew offers us a robust basis. We constructed methods and staffing fashions which can be lifelike for our enterprise, and we attempt to not deviate from them. That construction permits us to handle labor prices, set clear expectations and preserve high quality each night time.
A extra informal late-night format often has larger turnover and extra flexibility, however as a result of we goal to function at a fine-dining degree, we have to guarantee our crew is constant, supported and dedicated. The important thing has been discovering the stability between construction and creativity. When operations are strong and everybody feels taken care of, the kitchen and bar have the liberty to experiment, evolve and create the form of power that defines Bangkok Supper Membership.
This stability permits us to deliver the spirit of Bangkok’s nightlife to New York whereas nonetheless operating a considerate, sustainable and disciplined operation.
Your partnership with 55 Hospitality is a significant a part of the restaurant’s success. What made the collaboration work from a enterprise perspective, and the way did you align artistic and operational priorities early on?
My partnership with 55 Hospitality works as a result of we every deliver one thing important to the desk, permitting Bangkok Supper Membership to flourish because it’s meant to. From the start, Jenn Saesue and Chat Suansilphong (55 Hospitality co-founders) created a strong basis that allowed me to focus absolutely on the meals and the artistic route. Their power is in operating a enterprise at a excessive degree. They’re consultants in operations, funds, advertising, logistics and all of the methods that preserve a restaurant secure and scalable. That basis has allowed me to hyper-focus on constantly evolving the menu, shaping the power of the area and main the kitchen with out being overwhelmed by each operational element.
Early on, we made positive our priorities had been aligned. We agreed that the visitor expertise, crew tradition and high quality of the meals would all the time lead the dialog. On the similar time, we constructed clear buildings round budgeting, staffing and every day operations, so the enterprise might develop in a disciplined method. That readability gave me the liberty to push creatively, attempt new concepts, develop seasonal menus and collaborate with different cooks, whereas realizing the monetary and strategic aspect was being managed thoughtfully.
What makes the partnership profitable is belief. They belief my imaginative and prescient for the meals and the ambiance, and I belief their experience in conserving the enterprise wholesome. When these two issues work collectively, creativity and stability change into one and the identical, and that’s what permits Bangkok Supper Membership to evolve whereas sustaining the excellence visitors anticipate.
Many chef-driven eating places battle with sustainability as soon as the preliminary buzz fades. How do you and your companions take into consideration sustaining momentum and long-term relevance in such a aggressive market?
For us, the aim is long-term relevance by steady creation—exploring new taste profiles and inspiration factors that give visitors new causes to return. Innovation is a part of who we’re. This yr alone, we developed greater than forty new dishes by chef collaborations, seasonal tastings and specialty menus. That fixed evolution retains the expertise thrilling for each our visitors and our crew.
Collaborations are a relentless supply of inspiration. Partnering with cooks from spots, together with Lysée, Marea and Theodora, allowed us to mix views, introduce flavors individuals don’t sometimes affiliate with Thai cooking and construct a wider artistic group.
This fall, we created a three-part dinner sequence that put a highlight on Bangkok’s late-night meals tradition, with every expertise constructed round a wholly new menu—whether or not impressed by a selected area or formed by chef collaborations. It pushed us creatively and gave visitors one thing actually new to find each time.
The kitchen counter tasting menu we launched this summer time has additionally change into an vital artistic touchpoint. Past providing a variety of bites in a single meal, it offers me the prospect to attach instantly with visitors who be a part of us from everywhere in the world. These private, extra intimate interactions floor us and create a direct line from particular person to plate.
In a aggressive market, momentum comes from staying curious, constructing group and by no means letting the restaurant stand nonetheless. So long as we preserve creating and evolving, we hope that Bangkok Supper Membership will stay related in a method that stays true to our imaginative and prescient.
Bangkok Supper Membership feels each distinctly Thai and deeply New York. How do you stability the stress between preserving cultural authenticity and creating one thing new for a worldwide viewers?
For me, authenticity has all the time been on the coronary heart of Bangkok Supper Membership. I’m from Thailand, and after shifting to New York simply two years in the past, sharing an actual understanding and satisfaction in regional Thai flavors and strategies continues to information every part we do. However cooking in New York additionally means serving an viewers that values individuality, creativity and private expression—so the meals naturally evolves by native inspiration.
I attempt to deliver my very own persona into each dish, drawing from my travels, my coaching and the totally different cooking types I’ve discovered alongside the best way. And it goes past the meals—the inside, the uniforms, the visitor expertise, even the floral preparations all come from eager to create an area that looks like an extension of myself. These small touches make the expertise really feel each historically Thai and uniquely my very own.
In fact, I can’t recreate Thailand precisely. We’re not in a tropical local weather, and a few elements merely don’t exist right here in the identical method. My aim is to honor the spirit and stability of Thai delicacies whereas adapting to what’s native and seasonal. I’m all the time exploring new elements and strategies that allow me seize the flavors of dwelling in a method that feels true however nonetheless contemporary. The stability is about respecting custom whereas embracing evolution. It’s rooted in the place I come from, however formed by the creativity and power of New York eating.
Some restaurateurs chase scale. Others appear to pursue depth. How do you consider development? Is there a enterprise mannequin for increasing with out diluting the intimacy and storytelling that outline Bangkok Supper Membership?
For me, development is about stability, as is a majority of what I do. In fact, we would like the enterprise to develop, but it surely’s simply as vital that Bangkok Supper Membership stays particular and distinctive. The intimacy, the storytelling and the connections we construct with our visitors and our crew are what make this place significant, and I by no means wish to lose that. On the similar time, we have to run a sustainable enterprise. Progress helps us help our crew, create new alternatives and preserve investing in creativity and innovation. Each resolution we make comes again to that—the best way to develop in a considerate method with out dropping the center of what we do.
The guideline is staying true to myself, to my flavors and to the imaginative and prescient I’ve for the restaurant. Each new thought, menu or collaboration is supposed to deepen the visitor expertise, not dilute it. For me, development isn’t nearly including extra seats or extra areas. It’s about sharing the expertise we’ve created with extra individuals whereas conserving it genuine, private and intentional.
There’s a robust narrative element in your meals: it tells a narrative with out counting on nostalgia. What function do you suppose storytelling performs in client engagement?
Storytelling performs an enormous function in how visitors join with what we do. Thai delicacies is filled with custom, but it surely’s additionally continually evolving, and I need individuals to know that stability. By sharing the inspiration behind every dish—why I created it, the place the influences come from and the way we’re reinterpreting conventional flavors in New York—visitors can see that whereas the core tastes keep true, there’s additionally creativity and private expression in each plate.
It additionally empowers our crew. After they perceive the tales behind the dishes, they’ll information visitors in a method that feels real and significant. These conversations typically change into essentially the most memorable a part of somebody’s night time. We take the identical strategy on-line by our Instagram account. Exhibiting the method behind new dishes, from the primary thought to the ultimate plate, helps individuals perceive our philosophy and keep engaged with what we’re creating. For me, storytelling offers context. It helps us talk who we’re, have fun Thai tradition and invite visitors to expertise the meals on a deeper degree—not simply by style, however by understanding and connection.
New York’s eating scene is usually described as oversaturated. How do you differentiate Bangkok Supper Membership amid a wave of “trendy Asian” ideas vying for consideration?
Fixed creativity and a transparent imaginative and prescient. That’s actually how we differentiate ourselves in a crowded eating scene. I develop three to 4 tasting menus a yr, together with seasonal specials and collaborations, which preserve the expertise contemporary and provides visitors one thing actually new each time they go to. Even inside our personal hospitality group, every Thai idea has its personal identification. Fish Cheeks and Bangkok Supper Membership are each Thai, however they provide utterly totally different experiences and cuisines.
We’ve seen eating places take inspiration from what we do, and I take that as a praise. It exhibits there’s actual pleasure round Thai meals proper now, and it pushes us to maintain evolving. However our focus is all the time on originality somewhat than chasing developments, ensuring we maintain onto our personal voice available in the market. Ultimately, standing out comes from staying true to who we’re, persevering with to create and innovate and providing a definite expertise visitors can’t discover wherever else.
Your profession spans company hospitality and deeply private tasks. How did your time at bigger teams like Minor Meals form your management or your strategy to constructing groups?
My time at Minor Meals Group taught me so much about the best way to run a restaurant as a enterprise whereas nonetheless supporting creativity within the kitchen. Working in a bigger group confirmed me the significance of robust methods, consistency and clear communication. I discovered the best way to doc recipes, normal working procedures and workflows in order that anybody on the crew, irrespective of their background, might execute the meals to the identical normal each time.
That have has formed how I lead at Bangkok Supper Membership. I need my crew to really feel assured, supported and succesful, and having strong methods in place permits them to deal with studying, experimenting and rising. It additionally offers me the liberty to create, discover and collaborate, realizing the inspiration of the restaurant is robust.
How did you strategy crafting an expertise that seamlessly blends all three?
For us, the ambiance and bar program aren’t separate from the meals—they’re all a part of the identical expertise. That’s how late-night eating works in Bangkok, and it’s the sensation we wish to deliver to Bangkok Supper Membership. We take into consideration how every part comes collectively—the dishes, the drinks and the power of the room. Our bar program works hand-in-hand with the kitchen; a number of cocktails use elements that may in any other case go to waste, turning kitchen leftovers into considerate, artistic drinks. Being a part of Mill’s Make Meals Not Waste initiative this yr, which allowed us to create a zero-waste-inspired dish, has solely strengthened our dedication to sustainability.
The collaboration between the bar and kitchen ensures that each aspect enhances the others. Flavors from the dishes encourage the cocktails and the drinks are designed to raise the eating expertise somewhat than merely sit alongside it. Past that, the music, the lighting and the general power of the room are all deliberately chosen so visitors really feel wrapped in a energetic, immersive setting that displays a real Thai late-night expertise.
Our aim is to create a spot the place every part is related: the meals, the drinks and the ambiance, so visitors can really feel the thoughtfulness, intention and character behind the Bangkok Supper Membership expertise.
How do you see Thai delicacies evolving internationally? Are there developments or instructions that excite you or stand out?
It’s thrilling to see how far more individuals around the globe have grown to learn about Thai meals. Visitors are extra curious and well-versed within the delicacies, which makes it much more rewarding to introduce them to dishes that transcend the acquainted. The extra individuals perceive Thai flavors, the extra open they’re to the concepts and creativity I deliver to the desk.
Globally, I see two developments rising. One is eating places specializing in informal Thai meals, highlighting approachable road or home-style dishes. The opposite is chef-driven ideas which can be extra artistic and experimental. These locations could not serve a basic pad Thai, however they seize the essence of Thai delicacies by delivering the normal flavors utilizing native elements and up to date strategies.
What excites me most is that Thai meals can evolve whereas staying true to its stability, freshness and vibrancy. It opens alternatives to share our tradition in new methods and join with a worldwide viewers by creativity and taste.
For rising cooks trying to introduce regional cuisines to new markets, what’s one enterprise perception you’d share earlier than they open their first restaurant?
For any chef bringing a regional delicacies into a brand new market, the most important piece of enterprise recommendation I’d supply is that this: perceive the market earlier than you step into it. In the event you’re fortunate sufficient to have an incredible enterprise accomplice, that perception and help are invaluable. In the event you don’t, you must change into that particular person for your self by finding out the panorama, observing how individuals are consuming, and actually understanding the gaps.
You’ll be able to’t simply be one other voice doing what everybody else is doing, since you’ll get diluted quick. What guided us was realizing precisely who we’re and the place we might supply one thing genuinely totally different. Search for the area the place your perspective provides one thing new, not the place you’re repeating what already exists.
Waiting for 2026 and past, how do you see the intersection of eating and cultural identification evolving, and the place does Bangkok Supper Membership slot in that future?
I feel that the traces between eating and nightlife have blurred in such a method that eating places aren’t the place you go earlier than you exit; they’re the night time out. Visitors are more and more looking for ideas which can be locations in themselves, providing an expertise that mixes meals, beverage and vibe. This pattern displays a broader cultural shift. Folks need experiences that really feel immersive, social and significant, multi functional area.
Bangkok Supper Membership suits naturally into this evolution of an all-encompassing expertise. Our aim has all the time been to create a vibrant setting the place Thai tradition and delicacies are on the heart, however in a method that feels accessible and thrilling for a worldwide viewers. We deliver collectively creative, elevated flavors with an environment impressed by Bangkok’s late-night tradition, leading to an expertise that’s social, immersive, and celebratory.
Trying forward, I wish to make the most of Bangkok Supper Membership to proceed to bridge cultures by nurturing an area the place eating is not only in regards to the meals on the plate, however about connection, group and the power of shared experiences.
