Michelin-Starred Chef Manuel Alonso Joins LUZ Bangkok for Rooftop Takeover

A chef whose family restaurant in Spain has defined Mediterranean cooking for decades will join forces with one of Bangkok’s leading tapas kitchens for a one-night-only collaboration this month.

INNSiDE by Meliá Bangkok Sukhumvit’s LUZ Bangkok Tapas Bar will welcome Chef Manuel Alonso on April 25 for “Taste of Tapas: Touch the Sky”, a four-hour rooftop takeover held in partnership with the Spanish-Thai Chamber of Commerce, along with LUZ’s Head Chef Juan Ignacio “Nacho” García Racionero.

Chef Alonso has spent more than four decades at the helm of Casa Manolo, the family-run restaurant founded by his grandparents in Valencia. Under his direction, the restaurant has earned a Michelin star and multiple Sol Repsol distinctions, building a reputation for cuisine steeped in the region’s coastal traditions.

Drawing on ingredients from both land and sea, he combines locally sourced produce with techniques refined over years in some of Spain’s most influential kitchens. At LUZ, he will work with Chef Nacho to craft a tapas menu designed for sharing.

Dishes will include a seafood paella from Chef Manuel Alonso, paying homage to his Valencian roots where the dish originates, alongside ajo blanco, a chilled almond and garlic soup served with smoked sardine.

The event is priced at THB 1,290++ per person and will be held from 5pm to 9pm. Guests will enjoy a selection of Spanish tapas accompanied by one drink, with DJ entertainment throughout the evening. A welcome sangria will be offered on arrival for Spanish-Thai Chamber of Commerce members, with the event designed as a relaxed, open-air setting for dining and networking.

Set across the uppermost levels of INNSiDE by Meliá Bangkok Sukhumvit, LUZ Bangkok Tapas Bar spans the 33rd and 34th floors, where an indoor-outdoor layout opens onto uninterrupted skyline views. In a spectacle unlike any other in Bangkok, diners on the 33rd floor can look up into the base of the pool above.

“Chef Alonso’s cooking comes from decades of consistency and a very clear point of view,” said INNSiDE by Meliá Bangkok Sukhumvit’s general manager Tarek Beheiry. “Spanish food is meant to be shared, and this social way of dining sits at the heart of how both chefs approach food; made even more special by our spectacular vistas of Bangkok’s skyline.”

Seats are limited for the April 25 event and bookings are required in advance. Guests can reserve via +66 2 340 5498 or email luz@innsidebangkok.com.

Three-Michelin-Starred Chef Ángel León’s Plankton Rice Makes Waves in Bangkok Famed dish by Spain’s ‘Chef of the Sea’ heralds the future of sustainable seafood

LUZ Bangkok Tapas Bar will serve one of the most innovative dishes in contemporary gastronomy, crafted by a leading figure in sustainable seafood who champions alternative food sources that reduce reliance on conventional seafood and do not deplete fragile ecosystems.

“Plankton Rice”, a signature creation of world acclaimed Spanish chef Ángel León, renowned as ‘El Chef del Mar’, which translates to ‘The Chef of the Sea’, will be on offer exclusively at LUZ, crowning the 33^rd and 34^th floors of INNSiDE by Melia Bangkok Sukhumvit, for a limited one-month run from Dec. 30, 2025 – Jan. 31, 2026.

Chef León’s pioneering work at his restaurant Aponiente in Cádiz, Spain, has been awarded three Michelin Stars and a Michelin Green Star for its commitment to sustainability by discovering new sea ingredients, cultivating marine plants and using previously overlooked marine products.

He has drawn acclaim for turning ocean research into high cuisine, particularly through his innovative use of pure marine phytoplankton, a highly nutritional and sustainable ingredient packed with the likes of protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as the development of cultivating a “sea rice” from eelgrass in the ocean’s waters.

In a bold reimagining of what ocean ingredients can be, “Plankton Rice” is a rice dish infused with pure marine phytoplankton, the microscopic algae that form the base of the ocean’s food chain, making the dish vivid emerald in colour with an aroma reminiscent of the open sea. After many years of research, Chef León was the first chef in the world to obtain authorisation to use 100% natural, food-grade phytoplankton in cuisine.

Prepared in accordance with Chef León’s techniques and using the same premium-grade phytoplankton used at Aponiente, Plankton Rice will be offered in limited quantities daily at LUZ, known for authentic Spanish tapas and sweeping views of the Bangkok skyline.

“Chef León’s culinary work is incredibly inspiring and we feel privileged to share with diners, right here in Bangkok, a phenomenal glimpse into a future in which part of our food system could shift from land to sea,” said INNSiDE by Melia Bangkok Sukhumvit’s general manager Tarek Beheiry. “Plankton Rice showcases how innovation and creativity intersect with gastronomy and sustainability to imagine new possibilities for how we feed the world.”

The 208-room urban lifestyle hotel, which has been recognised by the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2025 as among the Thai capital’s top four hotels, will offer Plankton Rice following ‘Stars of the Sea: A World-Class Culinary Journey’ on the evening of Dec. 29 at LUZ. The event features both Chef León and Juan Ignacio García Racionero, a.k.a “Chef Nacho”, LUZ’s chef de cuisine. Organised by Melia Hotels International, the tasting journey will be underpinned by Chef León’s signature marine philosophy and Chef Nacho’s “Spanish tapas with soul”. The event is open to the public but with limited seats available confirmed by registration only.

Chef León’s groundbreaking research has also focused on harvesting small edible seeds, that behave much like rice or quinoa yet are cultivated entirely underwater, from eelgrass, a bountiful marine plant growing naturally in coastal waters. The grain absorbs the flavour of the sea and, like pure marine phytoplankton, offers potential as a new model of sustainable food production. Eelgrass salt-water meadows require no freshwater irrigation, pesticides, or arable land; resources heavily consumed by conventional rice and cereal crops. Eelgrass also sequesters large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

LUZ is open daily from 4pm until midnight. For further information and to make a reservation, visit https://linktr.ee/luzbangkok_tapasbar, https://www.tablecheck.com/en/innside-by-melia-bkk-luz-bangkok-tapas-bar/reserve/ or call +66 2 340 5499.

Plankton Rice will be THB 890++ (USD 27.60++).

For more information or to make a booking at INNSiDE by Melia Bangkok Sukhumvit, visit melia.com, email reservation.innside.sukhumvit@melia.com or call +66 2 340 5499.