I am visiting Bangkok and was wondering if anyone has been to a really nice cheapish restaurant (say a total bill of less than US$70-$80 for two people) downtown recently. Any kind of food is okay, not just Thai. I realize there are alot of cheap places such as stalls to eat at in Bangkok, but I'm talking about a restaurant, perhaps one good for people watching. Thanks in advance!

our favorite is biscotti in the four seasons....be careful with choice and don't have wine and your budget should work....res necessary

Glad to see you back Bob -

polly

btw that is an expensive restaurant price....$15-30 is more normal....$40 and above is fantastic lux eating...

Cheapish? US$70-80 for two? It will be hard to spend that much anywhere in Bangkok if you don't buy a bottle of wine (which is outrageously priced in Thailand).

Since there are so many options of really wonderful restaurants that are below that price range, give us some more hints about cuisine. Also, when you say downtown, do you mean the Sukhumvit area? Tell us where you are staying and we can be more helpful.

I think the best place would be Tawan Dang. But it is not downtown. The food is great, and there is a fantastic show every night. If you eat and have the beer they brew, you'll have a tough time spending $40 for two.

It is about a 60 Baht cab ride from Chong Nonsi BTS. There will be hundreds of people there, and you can probably count the tourists on one hand.

Hello Kathy,
Yes, near Sukhumvit is where we will be staying....close to a Sky Train station. It's actually Soi 26...
Scotty

On Sukhumvit Soi 5, near the Nana Skytrain go to the Foodland Supermarket. In that supermarket there is a lunch counter that is world famous for decent and inexpensive food! This place is open 24 hours a day! Paying more doesn't mean you get any better food!

There are lots of places on Sukhumvit Road if you really want to spend extra for your meals.

Some of the malls have fancy restaurants, but you would really have to go out of your way to spend a whole $70 or be very extravagant!

Be careful when you use credit cards in restaurants, it is not like back home! Sometimes extra charges are added to the bill that you do not discover until you arrive back home! (Another good reason to eat cheap and pay cash!)

I'm having a hard time thinking of a restaurant that is good for people watching. The food courts of the malls and likely the lunch counter cited by Sir Halberd would be good places for people watching. The food courts at the malls typically have very good food, nothing like the food courts in the US that is all fast food.

I can think of lots of lovely restaurants. For Thai food, I like LaNa Thai at Face, on Soi 38, just a short skytrain ride from where you will be staying. It's in a series of lovely old teak houses. See www.facebars.com and click on Bangkok.

A place that gets good reviews, though I haven't tried it yet is Basil in the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit hotel. It is also Thai cuisine.

An old favorite of mine is Lemongrass, also in an old teak house, located near the skytrain on Soi 24.

For Italian food, Bob's favorite, Biscotti, gets good reviews. I rarely eat European food in Bangkok, so I'm not much help there.

Ask if you need more suggestions.

I tend to avoid "people watching" restaurants and rarely eat european food so may not be much help either. I am a fan of Lemongrass which has been around for 20 plus years.