13 Best Restaurants in Around Bangkok, Thailand

Handsome locally fired floor tiles are among the original features of the century-old teak home this atmospheric old restaurant occupies. Step onto the riverside terrace and you could be in Venice—the waterway throbs with life, with tiny tugs pulling impossibly large barges loaded with rice and a small jetty where guests get picked up for a dinner cruise.

This large restaurant with white tablecloth seating inside and a pleasant garden seating outside is just the sort of local restaurant that you shouldn't miss. The menu is Thai-Chinese and you can feast on regional specialties and good seafood.

This terrace restaurant, covered in classic Thai wood furniture, is nestled in a little garden overlooking the wooden bridge and the lake. You can order local fish dishes, Thai and Burmese specialties, as well as salads, sandwiches, and Western-style breakfasts.

Founded by two award-winning Bangkok chefs, this relatively new addition to the local culinary scene focuses on traditional Thai recipes made with the best ingredients available locally. The air-conditioned dining room is famous even among visiting Bangkokians for phat ka-phrao (meat stir-fried with fresh chilies and holy basil), available in pork, chicken, beef, and seafood versions. Thai omelets and southern Thai-style kaeng leuang (thick spicy soup made with fish) are also highly recommended. Curry and rice plates cost a reasonable B89 to B179.

For cheap eats, the market opens early in the evening, with dozens of vendors selling Thai soups, rice dishes, satays, and other delights. The blended frozen fruit drinks are particularly good. All sorts of electronics, clothing, and other goods are also for sale.  On Saturday evenings, the street heading west from here to the river is pedestrian-only, and even more vendors line the road.

It's worth the effort to get to this excellent restaurant in the countryside, located just over the river Khwae Yai on the way to Sai Yok National Park, with views of local rice fields. Classic offerings like tom yum (hot, sour soup) and expertly rendered hor mok (steamed Thai fish custard) have authentic and uncompromising Thai flavors.

With a great view of the River Kwai Bridge from its terraces and lots of lush greenery, this floating restaurant has a sophisticated yet comfortable feel. It caters mostly to Thais, so the food can be quite spicy—if you can't handle it, ask the waiter to tone the heat down (say "mai phet").

This old-school seafood joint occupies a rambling open-air structure with a bamboo-thatched roof, sitting on a pier with views of the river mouth and the Gulf. Crab curry with huge chunks of fresh crabmeat, yam pla meuk (spicy squid salad), and local razor clams stir-fried in chilies and basil are highly recommended.

This is a great option for tasty vegetarian and vegan specialties from the northeast of Thailand, including curries that pack a fiery kick. The eponymous owner also offers cooking classes and it's clear from the punchy dishes that she has plenty of wisdom to pass on. Desserts of mango or jackfruit with sticky rice provide a toothsome finale to any meal. 

An appealing mélange of local flora and traditional Thai decor greets patrons as they enter this charming bar and restaurant on the bank of the Pa Sak River. The visual delights continue in the low-ceilinged dining areas, which are packed with collectibles, from old bottles to timepieces, and half the restaurant sits on a pontoon floating on the water. Try the grilled river prawns: an Ayutthaya signature.

In a wooden house by the river, this family-run restaurant attached to Rabieng Guesthouse serves many classic Thai dishes and a few Western ones for very reasonable prices. It opens at 10 am but is one of just a few places in the area that stays open after sunset (until midnight daily).

Follow the crowds to this open-air floating restaurant in the shadow of the railway bridge, where the offering includes aromatic Thai favorites and seafood freshly caught in the Kwai Yai and Kwai Noi rivers. The chefs tone down the food considerably for foreigners, so if you want yours spicy, you’ll have to say so.

You'll find all the Thai classics at this typically lively night market, but what makes Sangkhlaburi's nightly open-air food fest different is the range of stalls selling interesting Karen, Mon, and Burmese dishes. Stroll around and see which direction your taste buds take you.