Nómada Hua Hin: Come for the Grill, Stay for the Dance

An ocean breeze, South American cooking and Latin dancing set the pace at Dusit Thani Hua Hin, where HappeningBKK joins the inaugural Nómada Fiesta for an evening that stretches well beyond dinner.

The aroma from the open-fire grill gives the first reason to leave the table. The Latin music provides another. By the time guests are learning their first dance steps, dinner at Nómada has found a rhythm of its own.

HappeningBKK attended the launch of Nómada Fiesta, a monthly dining event at the resort’s open-air Nómada Open Fire Grill & Beach Club. Right beside the beach, sea air mingles with the smell of grilling meat and seafood, while Latin rhythms carry through the restaurant. As dancers draw guests into the celebration, the evening becomes increasingly lively, with plenty of reasons to linger between plates.

The setting is part of the pleasure. A buffet can easily become a succession of trips between table and food stations, but here the cooking, drinks and dancing give the evening a sociable flow. There is time to savour the food, enjoy the breeze and perhaps pick up a few steps before returning for another helping.

Follow the aroma

The busy grill is the natural place to begin. Prawns, squid and chicken are particularly hard to pass by, and once they reach the plate, the appeal goes well beyond their enticing smell.

Peruvian chef André Nweh, Chef de Cuisine at Nómada Open Fire Grill & Beach Club, leads the kitchen. His career has taken him through Peru, Chile, Argentina, France, Greece and Thailand, bringing a range of influences to a cooking style rooted in his Peruvian background. At Nómada, open-fire cooking is central to that approach, with meat, seafood and local produce forming the core of the menu.

There is a local connection behind the South American flavours. The resort’s organic Tree of Life Farm, established during the pandemic, grows produce for its kitchens. Alongside ingredients sourced locally, it gives the cooking a link to the landscape beyond the beach.

For this Fiesta, the selection ranges from Argentinian chorizo and beef picanha to leg of lamb, barramundi and Peruvian-style chicken. It offers a broad introduction to the restaurant’s South American repertoire, with the grill as its centre of gravity.

The lamb and fish belong on the must-try list, but the chicken deserves particular attention. Grilled chicken sounds straightforward until the heat dries out the meat or leaves the exterior without much character. Here, the outside is crisp while the meat stays tender, juicy and full of flavour. It is the sort of apparently simple dish that reveals how carefully a kitchen handles the fire.

The sides deserve space on the plate, too. Spicy corn, smooth mashed pumpkin and skin-on baked potatoes are among the highlights. With so much meat and seafood competing for attention, it would be easy to overlook them; they are worth choosing in their own right.

The buffet also includes salads, a live pasta station and desserts. Yet the most compelling route through this meal is to give the grill time and attention, choosing a few things to try before heading back for favourites. The chicken would be high on that return list.

When dinner finds its feet

Latin music runs through the evening, but the dancers are what bring it into the room. Dancers and teachers from Hua Hin DanceSport Academy build the energy and invite guests to join in, turning a performance into something everyone can take part in.

Several guests take a brief dance lesson, picking up a few steps before moving along with the music. That shift is one of the evening’s most enjoyable moments: people who began as spectators become participants, and the restaurant feels increasingly sociable.

Free-flowing drinks at the launch help keep the mood festive, while the seaside setting, music and welcoming dance teachers give the gathering its character. There is enough going on to make staying at the table enjoyable, and enough encouragement to get up from it.

The food holds its own throughout. That is what makes the Fiesta work: the chicken, lamb, fish and sides give the evening substance, while the dancing lets it unfold beyond the usual dinner routine.

Fire over the water

The fire show adds another reason to plan an evening here. Staged in the middle of the large pond in front of the hotel, with sparks and light reflected on the water, it brings a different kind of theatre to the resort after dark.

The show now takes place every Saturday, accompanying an evening of à la carte dining at Nómada. It is a separate weekly attraction from Nómada Fiesta, which takes place only once a month. Guests coming on Saturdays can order from the restaurant’s à la carte menu and enjoy the spectacle; the Fiesta buffet belongs to the monthly event.

Nómada’s strongest appeal is the way its elements come together. The grill gives guests a reason to gather, the sea makes lingering easy, and the dancing gives the night somewhere to go. Come hungry, allow time, and leave a little room between dinner and departure for a few dance steps.

If you go:

Nómada Open Fire Grill & Beach Club, Dusit Thani Hua Hin, 1349 Petchkasem Road, Cha-am, Phetchaburi.

The hotel currently advertises Nómada Fiesta on the first Friday of the month, from 6–10pm. The remaining listed dates for 2026 are 6 November and 4 December. Prices are THB 1,950 net per adult, including one welcome drink, and THB 975 net for children aged 6–11. Ask the restaurant about optional drinks packages.

The fire show takes place every Saturday in the pond in front of the hotel, with à la carte dining at Nómada. It is separate from the monthly Fiesta buffet.

Reservations: +66 (0)32 520 009, ext. 2899. Confirm the entertainment programme and any drinks packages when booking.

Official information: https://www.dusit.com/dusitthani-huahin/specialoffers/nomada-fiesta/




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