Bangkok: Moderately Priced Restaurants With A Good Feel
 

Always looking for some nice places to eat that don't cost an arm and a leg. Here are two that I liked on the last trip. You might want to recommend others.

Both of these had good service, good food, moderate prices and had an "old thai house" feel to them. Not fancy, but solid places I'd go back to again.

Gallery on Soi 11 near the pickled Liver pub

Ban Khun Mae around Siam Square, Soi 8

I've been to Baan Khun Mae before back in '03. Its an ok place. I remember a Thai guy there wearing a Osama Bin Laden t-shirt eating with his family. I was thinking "wtf??" Kinda made me nervous.

I did think of a nice restaurant, btw. I usually go to food stalls or eateries like the MBK one on the 5th floor(there another smaller one on another floor on the opposite side of the mall).

Bua- in the Sofitel Centara across from JJ market. Very good food in a nice atmosphere

Tha Siam- Little restaurant on the ground floor of MBK that serves mostly noodle soups(Its great, but you have to add two scoops of every condiment that they give you to enjoy it properly). The desserts are good too. Real vintage Thai-style.

Moderately priced AND UNIQUE restaurants in Bangkok:

Have you tried the "Secret Garden" restaurant on Sathorn road? Mild, not spicy, Thai-ish food which I quite like for a very good price. Setting is in the compound of an old, 100+ years old house and the garden is a good place to dine al-fresco during the cooler months.

http://bkmagazine.com/review/sweet-secret

Another one is "Chef Thanom" and this one is quite unique. Ex Italian chef from a famous Italian restaurant in Bangkok who decided to cook Thai - Italian fusion dishes at a very reasonable prices. Some of the dishes are very spicy, or hot, so be careful! The location is very strange too, in the middle of the custom department compound.

http://bkmagazine.com/review/steady-fare

Review with pictures but in Thai:

http://topicstock.pantip.com/food/to.../D5734334.html

How about Harmonique? Good food, atmospheric, though the service is chronically sloooow. A bit more upscale is an old fav of mine, Lemongrass.

mango,

did you know that most, if not all, of the Thai "noodle soup" dishes are of Chinese origin.

Does the place have to be in a reconstructed Thai house?

Pen has great food and reasonable prices, but is not beautiful, decoratively speaking.

I second the recommendation for Harmonique. We really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

I think Baan Khun Mae is gone - that section of Siam Square is under redevelopment.

Hanuman-

I'm sure you'll also agree that spaghetti pasta comes from the Chinese too, correct? Be sure to save your "facts" for those who really don't know any better, lol. Nothing personal..

It's obvious you don't know much about Thai food or the origin of food in Thailand. The noodle dishes are call "Kway teow" which is Chinese and the origin of the dishes are from the Chinese immigrant to Thailand.

Here's a good website where you can learn a little about it so you will not look foolish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_noodles

"I think Baan Khun Mae is gone - that section of Siam Square is under redevelopment.'

wow - that must have been quick, I ate there on 5 feb.

Despite its weird name, Cabbages and Condoms (soi 12?) has all the requirements that the OP lists, to my mind at least.

yes don, but the food sucks at C&C....worth a try once however...

i've never a chinese noodle that i did not like...

Have to disagree rhkkmk, food at Cabbges etc. on both occasions we've been was not bad at all; whilst not utterly fantastic, certainly not in the 'sucks' category imo, & atmospheric in the 'garden' area.

i will agree that the garden is nice.... i just simply found the food uninspiring, boring and tasteless...

I've got to go to this C&C place now to resolve this stand -off! I''l waltz in a say: Inspire me, don't bore me and set my taste buds to tingling with delight! Oh, and seat me in the garden right away!

I, too, agree with the Harmonique recommendation. And I'll add Ban Chiang as well. It's near Silom & Surasek. Here's what we said about it in our trip report...

Ban Chaing is in a comfortable old Thai house, an inviting throwback in the middle of the concrete jungle. The atmosphere is wonderful, and the service is fairly decent as well. And by 7:30 pm, the place was pretty well full. We enjoyed a spicy green papaya salad and shrimp pancake for
starters, then feasted on a delicious red curry chicken and beef with basil and vegetables, plus steamed rice for two and a couple of beers. The total was only 880 baht (about $25), which is a terrific bargain. We would definitely go again.

mr_go, going from soi 8 or 11, would Ban Chiang easy to reach around 1830?

Re C&C/rhkkmk: It can be perfectly reasonable for people to hold honest, differing opinions about a place. In this instance, however, I am right and Bob is wrong.

The Gallery Cafe is very good. It's around the corner from the Royal Orchid Sheraton walking away from River City.

Also good is Tongue Thai. It's on an alley (Soi) off of the way to the Oriental Hotel from Charon Kreung (New Road). It's right behind OP shopping center.

degas,

From Sukhumvit soi 8 or 11 to Ban Chiang at Surasak road(Ban Chiang restaurant) will take around 1/2 hour +/- 20 minutes on a weekday at around 1830 by cab or around 10 - 15 minutes by BTS(Nana station to Surasak station).

Do you only want recommendations for restaurant that is in an old Thai house? Only Thai food?

Hanuman- I've got shocking news for you--There was noodle soup in Thailand before the Chinese "graced" the country with their presence. Better stop now for you wouldn't want to appear any more clueless (and ethnocentric) than you already are.

"Do you only want recommendations for restaurant that is in an old Thai house? Only Thai food?'

Hanuman, no, I'm game for other venues and other types of food. I am partial to garden settings and places with a view, but don't have to have it if the food is good.

Mango,

Why do you think the noodle dishes in Thailand are call "Kway Teoy" which is from the Chinese Teochew dialect?? Also did you know that the Thai people migrated from Southern China to where present day Thailand is.

Lastly - why do you think I'm clueless about my own country???

Rizz....sorry but you are wrong on this one....but then maybe good thai food in Bell A Rica is C&C

Hanuman-

I find you pretty clueless in general. You clearly lack a sufficient understanding on what the dynamics of migration really are. Save your breath for elementary matters, you won't lose face that way.

Mango,

You seem to have "issues" with everything Chinese and I just wanted to point out that Thailand, as well as a lot of countries in Asia, have been influenced or have adopted certain Chinese culture or food in this case. To call noodle dishes or "Kway Teow" as it is call in Thailand as being non-Chinese or of no Chinese influence is really uninformed information.

I don't really care about loosing face but I do care about the accuracy of the information people post regarding my country. I find that you don't offer any knowledgeable answer about anything but rather offer insults when question about what you post.

Fellas, let's stop this little food fight and get back on topic. There is room for both of you to contribute.

degas,

Sorry about that. Will ask around for a unique garden type restaurant with moderate prices.

Degas,

Here are some suggestion for a garden type restaurant or one with a good view while being moderately priced which I think you might like.

Fuzio - a nice outdoor rooftop garden restaurant especially in the cooler season. http://www.dininginthailand.com/fuzio.bkk.asp

Falabella is another nice Italian place although the main restaurant is indoor but the bar and live music stage are located outdoor or in the open air section facing the open grounds of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Very lively at night especially for the weekend so a reservation highly recommended.
http://www.bangkok.com/tatler/restau...allabella.html

I've also mentioned the "Secret Garden" in a previous post which has a nice garden dining area with good Thai/Chinese/Western food and the prices are very reasonable.

Enjoy!

having dinner at Indus right now and they have a beautiful garden dining area. They have a web site search and look.

Thanks Hanuman - adding to my list.

Another vote here for Harmonique

Mango mania again how sad

Okay, recap below:

Harmonique
Indus
Cabbage & Condoms
Fuzio
Falabella
Secret Garden
Gallery on Soi 11
Ban Khun Mae
Ban Chiang
Tongue Thai
Gallery Cafe
Chef Thanom

Anybody else got some good picks?

Hi Degas - I don't get to eat at most of the restaurants mentioned here but several that I like are Seefah, Somboon Seafood and Bua.

Forgot about Bua and it used to be very, very popular in the eighties. Open air themed restaurant serving mostly Thai/Chinese food and now they have several branches some in a/c malls. Not sure if it's what you want but here's one of their advertisement: http://www.bangkoksite.com/Restaurant/BuaRes.htm

Indus last night was very good and if you want Indian food then this is one of the best and a great alternative to the Rang Mahal in the Rembrandt hotel. Nicely decorated both inside and outside in the garden and the prices are reasonable.
http://indusbangkok.com/

Thanks BKK95

Okay, updated recap below:

Ban Chiang
Ban Khun Mae
Bua
Cabbage & Condoms
Chef Thanom
Falabella
Fuzio
Gallery on Soi 11
Gallery Cafe
Harmonique
Indus
Secret Garden
Seefah
Somboon Seafood
Tongue Thai

How do some of these places compare to Zannibar, Kinaree, Face, le delat indochine, Baan Khanitha (Soi 23), Kamthieng House, much less expensive?

Foodland Supermarket, on Sukhumvit Road, Soi 5, in store lunch counter. The world famous Took lae Dee restaurant. Both Asian and Western foods at good prices! Sit at the grill end and get a free cooking lesson. Better food than you might think! Daily food specials. Paying more for your meals doesn't mean it will be any better! You can grab a steak off the meat counter and they will cook it for you at the grill!

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguid..._dee_bangkok-i

http://www.foodland.co.th/restaurant.htm

Happy eating.

DownunderJack- You again? Go back to your cave please.

Hanuman- For future reference please post highly accurate facts of how things are/were(and not just your notions) and I will spare you my verbal wrath.