Destination
Things to see and do in Bangkok : Where to eat ?
10 addresses
Banana Leaf
Silom Rd Silom Complex, Bangkok • 02 231-3124Description:
The setting, in the basement of a shopping complex, does not do this restaurant justice. The Thai food and especially the vegetarian dishes are a real bargain for this central part of town. There's a large menu with lots of seafood and a basic but comfortable dining room, with seating on long benches extending from the wall.
Bei Otto
1 Sukhumvit, Soi 20 BangkokDescription:
This is Bangkok's best German restaurant, opened in 1980 by Otto Duffner and nowadays an institution. Large platesful of traditional German fare are served up in a spacious main dining room, where pictures of Otto with celebrity guests decorate the walls. The new dining area is a little more intimate and cozy but perhaps best of all is the attached bakery, where you can buy delicious bread, cakes and rolls.
Bourbon Street Restaurant
29/4-6 Sukhumvit Soi 22 Washington Square, Bangkok • 02 259-0328 9Description:
The Cajun food here would sell in New Orleans, it's that good. Seafood gumbo, jambalaya and blackened fish are all outstanding; they also make a mean chicken fried steak and pecan pie. Mains are served with side orders of fried okra, potatoes au gratin, green beans, and of course cornbread. Attached to a bar and boutique hotel, the Bourbon Street Restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006. Breakfasts of biscuits and gravy will have you wondering if you've landed in the American southeast, and the Tuesday night Mexican buffet is a popular draw.
Bourbon Street Restaurant detail
Kaloang Seafood
2 Sri Ayutthaya Rd Bangkok • 02 282-2119Description:
A favorite with many Thais, this is a plain-looking restaurant with an open-air wooden balcony stretching to the Chao Phraya River. The tables might be simple and the chairs plastic, but the food is good and views of passing boats fitting for the cuisine. Grilled fish and prawns are specialties and there's a platter if you can't decide. Bangkok is generally cooler along the river at night, and there is a covered section for when it rains.
Le Banyan
59 Sukhumvit, Soi 8 Bangkok • 02 253-5556Description:
The steak tartare and rabbit dishes are staples here and always good, among a menu of French cuisine with Thai influences, such as ginger and lemongrass. Much of the menu changes every four months the latest dishes are posted on their website. The setting is peaceful, in an old house with a large, tree-filled yard on a quiet, dead-end soi street.
Le Normandie
48 Oriental Ave The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok • 02 659-9000Description:
This classy French restaurant on the top floor of The Oriental Hotel is a Bangkok institution. With views of the Chao Phraya River you can savor excellently prepared French cuisine and pay handsomely for it. But you won't complain because it's worth every baht. Many of the ingredients are imported from France and there's an extensive wine list. Visiting French chefs often take up short-term residence here, presenting their specialties, but the menu always includes the restaurant's classic dishes. It might seem odd to come to Bangkok for a memorable French dinner, but it can be done here. Men must wear a jacket and tie.
Lemongrass
5/1 Sukhumvit, Soi 24 Bangkok • 02 258-8637Description:
A lovely restaurant that's a favorite among Thais, especially for entertaining foreign guests. The dining room is tastefully done, with antiques and paintings from the local region. Traditional Thai food is prepared with skill ask if you like it spicy and the staff are charming.
Prachak
1415 Charoen Krung Bangkok • 02 234-3755Description:
A little cubbyhole of a restaurant off noisy Charoen Krung, often referred to as New Road, that's a favorite among locals. The setting is simple and cramped, with big heavy tables and wooden chairs, but it's the red pork and roast duck often sold out before closing time plus the bargain prices that keep the crowds coming back for more.
Rang Mahal
19 Sukhumvit Soi 18 Rembrandt Hotel, Bangkok • 02 261-7100Description:
Bangkok has an overabundance of good Indian restaurants connoisseurs of this cuisine are spoiled here. Rang Mahal is arguably the best though, and in a wonderful setting with views of the city. There is a large main dining room, filled with Indian music, or you can request one of the smaller, more private rooms. They serve standard Indian mainstays, including a decent selection of vegetarian. You can find cheaper places, but for the whole package of great food, atmosphere and setting you can't beat this one.
Roti-Mataba
136 Pra Artit Rd Bangkok • 02 282-2119Description:
Like Soi Polo Fried Chicken, this little restaurant is the kind of place that makes Bangkok's food famous. It's cramped, noisy and often hot in the open-to-the-street downstairs, where they also cook, but the food and atmosphere in the century-old building keep people coming back. They cook the roti (flat bread) filled with your choice of chicken, beef, fish or vegetables at the front entrance. Or try the dessert roti with sweetened condensed milk. They also serve other Thai dishes and there's small, air-conditioned room upstairs, too.
Best of the City
Bourbon Street Restaurant
29/4-6 Sukhumvit Soi 22 Washington Square, Bangkok • 02 259-0328 9Description:
The Cajun food here would sell in New Orleans, it's that good. Seafood gumbo, jambalaya and blackened fish are all outstanding; they also make a mean chicken fried steak and pecan pie. Mains are served with side orders of fried okra, potatoes au gratin, green beans, and of course cornbread. Attached to a bar and boutique hotel, the Bourbon Street Restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006. Breakfasts of biscuits and gravy will have you wondering if you've landed in the American southeast, and the Tuesday night Mexican buffet is a popular draw.
Bourbon Street Restaurant detail
Le Normandie
48 Oriental Ave The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok • 02 659-9000Description:
This classy French restaurant on the top floor of The Oriental Hotel is a Bangkok institution. With views of the Chao Phraya River you can savor excellently prepared French cuisine and pay handsomely for it. But you won't complain because it's worth every baht. Many of the ingredients are imported from France and there's an extensive wine list. Visiting French chefs often take up short-term residence here, presenting their specialties, but the menu always includes the restaurant's classic dishes. It might seem odd to come to Bangkok for a memorable French dinner, but it can be done here. Men must wear a jacket and tie.
Lemongrass
5/1 Sukhumvit, Soi 24 Bangkok • 02 258-8637Description:
A lovely restaurant that's a favorite among Thais, especially for entertaining foreign guests. The dining room is tastefully done, with antiques and paintings from the local region. Traditional Thai food is prepared with skill ask if you like it spicy and the staff are charming.
Rang Mahal
19 Sukhumvit Soi 18 Rembrandt Hotel, Bangkok • 02 261-7100Description:
Bangkok has an overabundance of good Indian restaurants connoisseurs of this cuisine are spoiled here. Rang Mahal is arguably the best though, and in a wonderful setting with views of the city. There is a large main dining room, filled with Indian music, or you can request one of the smaller, more private rooms. They serve standard Indian mainstays, including a decent selection of vegetarian. You can find cheaper places, but for the whole package of great food, atmosphere and setting you can't beat this one.
Sala Rim Naam
48 Oriental Ave The Oriental Hotel, Thonburi • 02 437-6211Description:
Part of The Oriental Hotel and best at night, when they stage traditional Thai dance in the fancy dining room. Ask for the time of the show so you're there to see it. To get here, use the boat service run by the hotel that takes you right across the Chao Phraya River. The food is excellent and meticulously prepared some of the dishes were in the past reserved only for royalty and the set menu is a great introduction to Thai food. Many consider this to be one of Bangkok's best restaurants.
Shangrila
154/4-7 Silom Rd Bangkok • 02 234-9147Description:
Bangkok has an oversupply of good Chinese restaurants, but this one stands out as one of the best, with good food, good service and a comfortable though not posh setting. The Peking duck and pork dishes are recommended, and the lunchtime dim sum menu is also good. This place is a small, two-storey restaurant, not to be confused with the hotel of the same name down the street.
Supatra River House
266 Soi Wat Rakhang Bangkok • 02 411-0305Description:
The set menus for between B800 and B1200 are a great introduction to Thai cuisine for the uninitiated, or you can order from the menu with help from the staff. The food is very good, but this restaurant, in an old house across from the Grand Palace on the Chao Phraya River, is as much about the experience as the dinner. It includes a small museum of items the owner, who founded Bangkok's river express boat service, has collected over the years. Friday and Saturday night there's dinner theatre.
V-9 Wine Bar and Restaurant
188 Silom Rd, Bangrak Sofitel Silom Bangkok, Bangkok • 02 238-2992Description:
The Australian lamb here is fabulous but the best meal is probably their entrée tree of six tasting dishes. Soothe your sweet tooth by following up with the dessert tree. Also a wine bar, there's an extensive selection of wines from France, Italy, Australia, California and South Africa and fantastic views to be had of the city out of the floor-to-ceiling windows from the restaurant's 37th floor location.
American
Bourbon Street Restaurant
29/4-6 Sukhumvit Soi 22 Washington Square, Bangkok • 02 259-0328 9Description:
The Cajun food here would sell in New Orleans, it's that good. Seafood gumbo, jambalaya and blackened fish are all outstanding; they also make a mean chicken fried steak and pecan pie. Mains are served with side orders of fried okra, potatoes au gratin, green beans, and of course cornbread. Attached to a bar and boutique hotel, the Bourbon Street Restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006. Breakfasts of biscuits and gravy will have you wondering if you've landed in the American southeast, and the Tuesday night Mexican buffet is a popular draw.
Chinese
Prachak
1415 Charoen Krung Bangkok • 02 234-3755Description:
A little cubbyhole of a restaurant off noisy Charoen Krung, often referred to as New Road, that's a favorite among locals. The setting is simple and cramped, with big heavy tables and wooden chairs, but it's the red pork and roast duck often sold out before closing time plus the bargain prices that keep the crowds coming back for more.
Sukhumvit Soi 36
Sukhumvit Soi 36 next to the Thonglor Skytrain Station, BangkokDescription:
Street food on Sukhumvit at the intersection with Soi 36, next to the Thonglor Skytrain Station, has for many years earned its reputation for great street dining. The district stretches along Soi 36 for some 50 meters and is home to a wide variety of Thai open-air restaurants. Evenings it expands further, with more restaurants opening on the sides of the street. The cuisine is basic Thai and some Chinese on folding tables and chairs, and you're far enough away from Sukhumvit to be able to hear each other speak.
Yaoworat Road at night
Yaoworat Rd Chinatown, BangkokDescription:
Bustling Yaoworat Road in the center of Chinatown becomes a culinary hotspot at night, with restaurants spilling off the footpaths onto the street itself. Most are open only at night and serve great food most places specialize in seafood and the activity equals the quality of the food. Don't expect high-end dining though: the folding tables tend to slant, stools suffice for seats, crowds surround and street noise thunders. But it's a fun place, and the food is world class.
European
Bei Otto
1 Sukhumvit, Soi 20 BangkokDescription:
This is Bangkok's best German restaurant, opened in 1980 by Otto Duffner and nowadays an institution. Large platesful of traditional German fare are served up in a spacious main dining room, where pictures of Otto with celebrity guests decorate the walls. The new dining area is a little more intimate and cozy but perhaps best of all is the attached bakery, where you can buy delicious bread, cakes and rolls.
Le Banyan
59 Sukhumvit, Soi 8 Bangkok • 02 253-5556Description:
The steak tartare and rabbit dishes are staples here and always good, among a menu of French cuisine with Thai influences, such as ginger and lemongrass. Much of the menu changes every four months the latest dishes are posted on their website. The setting is peaceful, in an old house with a large, tree-filled yard on a quiet, dead-end soi street.
Le Normandie
48 Oriental Ave The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok • 02 659-9000Description:
This classy French restaurant on the top floor of The Oriental Hotel is a Bangkok institution. With views of the Chao Phraya River you can savor excellently prepared French cuisine and pay handsomely for it. But you won't complain because it's worth every baht. Many of the ingredients are imported from France and there's an extensive wine list. Visiting French chefs often take up short-term residence here, presenting their specialties, but the menu always includes the restaurant's classic dishes. It might seem odd to come to Bangkok for a memorable French dinner, but it can be done here. Men must wear a jacket and tie.
Zanotti
21/2 Soi Saladaeng Saladaeng Colonnade Condominium, Bangkok • 02 626-0002Description:
The osso bucco is outstanding here, in what is for many Bangkok's best Italian restaurant. There's an emphasis on northern Italian cuisine but they also cook up other favorites plus a healthy number of pasta dishes and pizzas. The setting is classy, with tables cozily placed and attentive but unobtrusive staff. Dinner can be on the expensive side, but the lunch specials are a real bargain. The wine list, served by the glass, carafe or bottle, is extensive too.
Thai
Banana Leaf
Silom Rd Silom Complex, Bangkok • 02 231-3124Description:
The setting, in the basement of a shopping complex, does not do this restaurant justice. The Thai food and especially the vegetarian dishes are a real bargain for this central part of town. There's a large menu with lots of seafood and a basic but comfortable dining room, with seating on long benches extending from the wall.
Kaloang Seafood
2 Sri Ayutthaya Rd Bangkok • 02 282-2119Description:
A favorite with many Thais, this is a plain-looking restaurant with an open-air wooden balcony stretching to the Chao Phraya River. The tables might be simple and the chairs plastic, but the food is good and views of passing boats fitting for the cuisine. Grilled fish and prawns are specialties and there's a platter if you can't decide. Bangkok is generally cooler along the river at night, and there is a covered section for when it rains.
Lemongrass
5/1 Sukhumvit, Soi 24 Bangkok • 02 258-8637Description:
A lovely restaurant that's a favorite among Thais, especially for entertaining foreign guests. The dining room is tastefully done, with antiques and paintings from the local region. Traditional Thai food is prepared with skill ask if you like it spicy and the staff are charming.
Roti-Mataba
136 Pra Artit Rd Bangkok • 02 282-2119Description:
Like Soi Polo Fried Chicken, this little restaurant is the kind of place that makes Bangkok's food famous. It's cramped, noisy and often hot in the open-to-the-street downstairs, where they also cook, but the food and atmosphere in the century-old building keep people coming back. They cook the roti (flat bread) filled with your choice of chicken, beef, fish or vegetables at the front entrance. Or try the dessert roti with sweetened condensed milk. They also serve other Thai dishes and there's small, air-conditioned room upstairs, too.
Sala Rim Naam
48 Oriental Ave The Oriental Hotel, Thonburi • 02 437-6211Description:
Part of The Oriental Hotel and best at night, when they stage traditional Thai dance in the fancy dining room. Ask for the time of the show so you're there to see it. To get here, use the boat service run by the hotel that takes you right across the Chao Phraya River. The food is excellent and meticulously prepared some of the dishes were in the past reserved only for royalty and the set menu is a great introduction to Thai food. Many consider this to be one of Bangkok's best restaurants.
Sara-Jane's
Narathiwat Rd, near Sathorn Rd Bangkok • 02 679-3338Description:
Thais call the northeastern area that borders Laos along the Mekong River Isan, and the region has a cuisine of its own. Nowadays popular the country over, the food is best at home in Isan and in Bangkok, where millions from the northeast have moved for work. Incredibly good food is served at roadside stalls, but Sara-Jane's does Isan food as well as anywhere, and the restaurant has the comfort of an air-conditioned dining room. The roast chicken and som tam (spicy papaya salad) are top choices, but the Isan sausage and lab, spicy minced chicken, pork or duck, will also please every time.
Soi Polo Fried Chicken
Soi Polo off Wireless Rd Bangkok • 02 251-2772Description:
Well into its fifth decade, this tried-and-tested restaurant has a loyal following, to the point of near addiction for some. The crispy fried chicken is their trademark and certainly should be tried, but the other dishes are very good too. It's a basic dining room with metal tables, but that's part of the experience. They've added an air-conditioned section to the older open-air room for those wanting to escape the heat, and they also deliver if you're staying in the area.
Sukhumvit Soi 36
Sukhumvit Soi 36 next to the Thonglor Skytrain Station, BangkokDescription:
Street food on Sukhumvit at the intersection with Soi 36, next to the Thonglor Skytrain Station, has for many years earned its reputation for great street dining. The district stretches along Soi 36 for some 50 meters and is home to a wide variety of Thai open-air restaurants. Evenings it expands further, with more restaurants opening on the sides of the street. The cuisine is basic Thai and some Chinese on folding tables and chairs, and you're far enough away from Sukhumvit to be able to hear each other speak.
Supatra River House
266 Soi Wat Rakhang Bangkok • 02 411-0305Description:
The set menus for between B800 and B1200 are a great introduction to Thai cuisine for the uninitiated, or you can order from the menu with help from the staff. The food is very good, but this restaurant, in an old house across from the Grand Palace on the Chao Phraya River, is as much about the experience as the dinner. It includes a small museum of items the owner, who founded Bangkok's river express boat service, has collected over the years. Friday and Saturday night there's dinner theatre.
Yaoworat Road at night
Yaoworat Rd Chinatown, BangkokDescription:
Bustling Yaoworat Road in the center of Chinatown becomes a culinary hotspot at night, with restaurants spilling off the footpaths onto the street itself. Most are open only at night and serve great food most places specialize in seafood and the activity equals the quality of the food. Don't expect high-end dining though: the folding tables tend to slant, stools suffice for seats, crowds surround and street noise thunders. But it's a fun place, and the food is world class.
To see, to do in Bangkok
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