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Thais are passionate about food, and love discovering out-of-the-way shops that prepare unexpectedly tasty dishes. Nowhere is this truer—or more feasible—than in Bangkok. The city's residents always seem to be eating, so the tastes and smells of Thailand's cuisine surround you day and night. That said, Bangkok's restaurant scene is also a minefield, largely because the relationship between price and quality at times seems almost inverse. For every hole-in-the-wall gem serving the best sticky rice, larb (meat salad), and som tam (the hot-and-sour green-papaya salad that is the ultimate Thai staple) you've ever had, there's an overpriced hotel restaurant serving touristy, toned-down fare. In general, the best Thai food is found at the most bare-bones, even run-down restaurants, not at famous, upscale places.
If you want a break from Thai food, many other world cuisines are represented. Best among them is Chinese, although there's decent Japanese and Korean food as well. The city's ubiquitous noodle shops have their roots in China, as do roast-meat purveyors, whose historical inspiration was Cantonese. Western fare tends to suffer from the distance, although in the past few years many upscale and trendy western eateries have opened, some of them quite excellent.
As with anything in Bangkok, travel time is a major consideration when choosing a restaurant. If you're short on time or patience, choose a place that's an easy walk from a Skytrain or subway station. The easiest way to reach a riverside eatery is often on a Chao Phraya River express boat.
It's easy to laze all afternoon at The Commons, a lofty community mall known for its gourmet food stands, restaurants, and comfortable open-air seating as well as air-conditioned indoor tables. You'll see groups dining on smorgasbords at single tables with cuisines ranging from Thai to Peruvian, as well as dishes like fried chicken and waffles, artisanal sandwiches, and more—but plenty of people simply grab an iced coffee and hang out with their laptops.
Many authentic Korean restaurants do business in Sukhumvit Plaza, but even with three stories of tables, there's often a wait day or night at Doo Rae. Go for the do-it-yourself barbecue grilling, with bulgogi (thin slices of beef in a tasty marinade) and fresh veggies, as well as sake or soju, a rice-based drink similar to vodka but with a lower alcohol content.
This restaurant has long been a favorite among government ministers and corporate executives, both for its outstanding Cantonese cuisine and its private areas, perfect for business lunches or romantic dinners. The main dining room is elegant, with crimson carpeting, carved screens, lacquer furniture, and porcelain objets d'art.
This Aussie establishment is both a high-end eatery and an art space where temporary exhibits from local artists provide quite a funky atmosphere. The international fusion menu is also reflected by a staff well mixed between foreigners and Thais, including innovative American chef Tim Butler and mixologist Pop Direkrittikul, who creates Thai-inspired cocktails using ingredients like toasted rice, shallots, and chili paste.
Mumbai native Garima Arora's high-level journey through the flavors, textures, and ingredients of Indian cuisine has earned this restaurant two Michelin stars. It's housed in a 60-year-old traditional Thai residence that has been attractively transformed with an interior rendered in a single shade of taupe, so that the wood joinery and curved ceilings stand out. The separate Gaa Lounge in the same building is easier to reserve and makes a great spot for sundowners and a quick bite from the à la carte menu.
A good sign of quality, this restaurant is packed with Thais sharing tables filled with northeastern favorites like grilled chicken, spicy papaya salad, and minced duck salad. The open-air dining area can be hot, it's often crowded and noisy, and the staff don’t speak much English, so you’ll need to pick and point from the menu—but that's part of the fun.
This small house near the river is filled with Thai antiques and antique chests scattered with bric-a-brac, which all give the ambience of dining at a relative's house. The staff is very good at helping indecisive diners choose from the brief menu, and although the restaurant has become more touristy over the years, it also retains a loyal and regular local clientele.
Cha Cha, who cooked for Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, died in 1996, but his recipes live on and are prepared with equal ability by his son Kovit. Typical Indian-themed decor and a long-standing menu of traditional dishes as well as intriguing daily specials make this restaurant an oldie but a goodie, with two other locations in Bangkok also available.
This simple family restaurant serves plenty of Thai-Muslim dishes, but it’s most famous for the khao mok gai (chicken biryani), a spicy rice dish that’s served here with pickled eggplant and a side dish of sweet yogurt sauce. The restaurant is a 15-minute walk from the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station. If arriving by taxi, tell the driver to come in via Soi 40.
In business since 1956, this expensive but worthwhile Chinatown classic takes you straight to Hong Kong with its excellent Cantonese roast meats, dim sum, clay pots, and service that is authentically brusque. Hua Seng Hong has other locations across Bangkok, including at CentralWorld mall in the city center, but this is the original and most beloved for its bustling atmosphere—from inside to outside on Chinatown’s main vein, Yaowarat Road.
Set in a rambling 1920s Thai-European villa with colorful decor by Dutch interior designer Hans B. Christensen, Issaya both surprises and charms with its delightfully laid-back atmosphere. The dining room is cozy with big couches and lots of antique touches, coupled with fun platings and garnishes and impeccable service. Lamb shank in Massaman curry is a highlight of the carefully curated menu. Both à la carte and prix fixe are available. A tropical garden outdoors is peppered with colorful bean bags during dry season.
A romantic, candlelit outdoor patio and a sleekly contemporary indoor dining space set a stylish tone that's echoed in the equally refined Italian cuisine served at Jojo. Traditional antipasto, pastas, and so on are gussied up with modern flourishes and high-quality products imported from Europe and beyond, perfectly befitting the luxe surroundings of the prestigious St. Regis hotel where the restaurant is located.
An alley near the National Library leads to this off-the-beaten-track restaurant on a pier overlooking the Chao Phraya River. Kaloang Home Kitchen, which is attached to a guesthouse of the same name, might not look like much with its simple wooden chairs and tables, but it's a local favorite for waterfront breezes that keep things reasonsably cool, as well as generous grilled seafood platters and giant river prawns. The outdoor terrace affords a good view of Rama VIII Bridge to the south, especially at night when the bridge is illuminated.
In a century-old building across from Santichaiprakarn Park on the Chao Phraya, a short walk from Khao San Road, this little two-story restaurant serves Indian and Thai-Muslim cuisine. The specialty, as the name suggests, is sizzling mataba, unleavened flatbread filled with your choice of vegetables, chicken, beef, fish, or seafood. The oxtail soup is also highly recommended.
Across the street from Wat Bowonniwet, this humble eatery is famed for high-quality khao tom, rice soup served with a wide variety of Chinese-Thai dishes, including excellent phat phak bung (water spinach stir-fried with chili and garlic), jap chai (mixed-vegetable stew), and pet phalo (five-spice roast duck in gravy). This is a good late-evening eating choice, since it's open daily from 3:30 pm to 11 pm.
A clean and casual eatery where friends gather to enjoy great meals together, this long-running spot turns out excellent Thai-Chinese cuisine in a simple dining room. All the classics everyone should try at least once on a Bangkok trip are served here at reasonable prices, making it a favorite among the Thais and expats who live and work on laid-back Soi Lang Suan.
This small shophouse restaurant is a truly capable all-round Thai eatery, a rarity in a neighborhood where you’re generally better off eating at places that specialize in one or two dishes. Recommended plates include nuea pu phat phrik lueang (crabmeat stir-fried with yellow chilies) and kaeng khiaw-wan look chin pla krai (green curry with fish balls).
This light-and-airy space maintains the aura of its former life as a warehouse, but it's certainly more chic than shabby these days, with polished metal and blond wood adding a hip counterpoint to cement floors. Kuppa serves traditional Thai fare as well as many international dishes, and it has a dedicated following for its coffee, roasted on the premises.
Fresh pasta made with 100% Italian semolina and organic duck eggs is the signature at La Dotta, a Mediterranean-inspired dining room on Convent Road. Standouts include the wagyu bolognese with tagliatelle and bucatini all'amatriciana, topped with a sauce that is slow-cooked for 4 hours and served with dry-cured pork cheeks from Rome. Appetizers lean towards fresh seafood, including clams sautéed in white wine and garlic and grilled octopus with cannellini beans and chorizo stew. A short but well-curated list of Old World wines pairs well with the food.
At this modern Michelin-starred Thai restaurant helmed by chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, even a well-traveled gourmand is likely to try something new in the 4-course (B3,900) and 6-course (B4,500) tasting menus (no à la carte)—maybe a crunchy ant larvae topping or a charcoal-grilled pork jowl curry. Sleek minimalist surroundings put the focus on the food and drink, and since the chef is also a sommelier, you can expect wine pairings that perfectly complement each course.
You'll want to be spotted at this so-called "neoclassic Chinese” restaurant in the Conrad Bangkok hotel, where the contemporary-focused concept and design come from the creator of the equally snazzy Green T. House in Beijing. Prepared by a Hong Kong chef, the extensive menu focuses on classic Cantonese, and the dim sum is considered among the best in Bangkok. Reservations are recommended for dim sum lunches.
The only restaurant in Banglamphu focusing on northern Thai cuisine is tucked away in a quiet corner of Rambutri Road not far from Khao San. Khao soi, a northern Thai dish of egg noodles in a mild curry broth, is a house specialty. Madame Musur is good for a late night bite as it's open till midnight.
Beautifully restored antique rice barges depart from Anantara Riverside at 5 pm, with Thai canapes by well-known Chef Phong. It's free for Anantara Riverside Bangkok Hotel guests.
Serving exceptional traditional Thai food for more than 65 years, Sorndaeng features white tablecloths, lacy curtains, and black-trousered waiters. Fans say the restaurant makes the best thawt man plaa (fried spicy fish cakes) in the city. At lunch, the restaurant tends to fill up with local government office workers.
This branch of the Michelin-starred Sri Lankan restaurant, Ministry of Crab specializes in fresh meaty crab flown in daily from that country. Crabs are prepared with your choice of sauce—garlic chili, baked, black pepper, or curry—and range in size from 500-gram "small" crabs to 5-pound "crabzillas." Also on the menu are a variety of other crab dishes, including a creamy crab liver pâté, fresh king prawns, clams, and oysters.
Helmed by Chef Hernán Crispín Villalva (Mexico) and Chef Roshan Kumar (India), the kitchen here has created a unique and delicious mash-up of Indian and Mexican cuisines. Global superstar chef Gaggan Anand consulted on the menu, which includes such dishes as keema quesadilla, gol goppa puffed masa, and cold curry scallop ceviche.
This unassuming restaurant next to Wat Plaplachai has a steady clientele thanks to fast service and consistently excellent Chinese-Thai dishes prepared according to the owner’s secret family recipes. The lighting and decor are lacking, but that can be forgiven when you taste the traditional tom yum goong (spicy, hot, and sour shrimp soup), which some deem to be the city's best.
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