Bangkok is easily one of the most bustling cities in Asia, with a loud and chaotic mix of food, culture, nightlife, and luxury. The food is especially exciting, with a huge diversity of street food, Michelin-rated dining, and markets. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite places I’ve eaten over 3 trips to Bangkok.
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Best Area to Stay for Food
I would highly recommend staying near a BTS train station so you can avoid Bangkok’s notoriously bad traffic. We decided to stay at The Salil on Sukhumvit so we could be near countless famous eateries and hidden gems while having the convenience of being less than a 5 minute walk to the train (and to the mango sticky rice stand pictured above!). You’ll find that many of the places in this list are in the central Phrom Phong/Thong Lo/Ekkamai areas of Bangkok, as these areas are all just 1 train stop from each other on the BTS.
Restaurants with Locations Across Bangkok
Thongsmith
Renowned spot for high quality, customizable boat noodles with everything from wagyu beef to pork and more.
What to eat: D6 beef boat noodles with ox tongue, sliced beef, braised shank and tendon; D9 beef boat noodles with wagyu ribeye; golden yolk coconut ice cream with 6 pc. lady finger banana fritters (skip the coconut ice cream in a coconut as it’s just for show and doesn’t include the option to add a small portion of their yummy banana fritters)
Hereduan Street Food
Instead of waiting in line at the popular Here Hai down the street, you can go to Hereduan in Ekkamai serving crab fried rice brimming with smoky wok hei flavor and creamy crab omelettes, plus other street food fare (they have another location around Siam, both of which have comfortable modern interiors). They also have a special collaboration with Mae Varee so you can get their mango sticky rice, including as a delicious ice cream sundae with pandan mousse.
Hoy Tod Chaw Lay
Order the oyster omelette with crispy pancake for the perfect combo of fresh oysters cooked into a chewy rice batter and egg omelette on top of an extra crispy, lacy pancake. The Thong Lo location (which is also down the street from Mae Varee for mango sticky rice after) also serves a yummy pad thai wrapped in an egg crepe with your choice of seafood or chicken cooked into the same crispy pancake. The squid was a bit chewy, so you may want to opt for something that doesn’t include it. Be sure to add the fish sauce and other condiments on the side.
Mid-range Restaurants in Bangkok
Ms. Maria & Mr. Singh
Chef Gaggan Anand’s charming Indian-Mexican fusion restaurant is in the same building as his fine dining chef’s table. Here you’re getting a much more casual experience, but with the same creativity plus fun and quirky details Gaggan has become famous for.
What to eat, must-orders: grilled scotch prime short ribs that come with tortillas to build-your-own Indian-spiced tender beef short rib tacos, papdi chaat with Gaggan’s famed yogurt explosion, grilled octopus aguachile, pistachio rose churros
What else to eat: pao de queso, keema quesadilla, tres leches
What to skip: sampanadas (too similar to regular samosas to justify the price tag), all of the curries (if you really want to try one and have space, go for , but the fish curry & mutton pepper fry weren’t memorable considering the price and portion size)
SAAM
This innovative wine bar features Thai flavors infused into delicious bar bites, pastas, and western items to pair with a variety of wines that you can pick from a wall of wines displayed in the center of the restaurant.
What to eat, must-orders: son-in-law chicken wings stuffed with scallop mousse, larb duck croquette, Thai bolognese with thick hand cut noodles, rigatoni tom kha (like a coconut milk carbonara with oyster mushroom “bacon”)
Sri Trat
Michelin-recommended Eastern Thai dishes from the coastal Trat region of Thailand in a beautiful dining room in Phrom Phong.
What to eat: grilled squid with glass noodles and trat shrimp paste, crab omelette, betel leaf with shrimp, pork neck with green curry, ripe durian with coconut dumplings in warm coconut soup
What to skip: mango sticky rice (worst and most expensive we had in Bangkok), fried rice with seafood sauce (lacked any wok hei and a bit bland without the seafood sauce, much preferred our crab fried rice from Here Duan with the same seafood sauce if you want this flavor profile)
Supanniga Eating Room
We only got to try 2 dishes from this acclaimed Isan Thai restaurant in Thong Lo, but we thoroughly enjoyed the unique Ma Hor, minced pork with garlic and peanuts on a slice of tangerine, and their pad thai with a succulent river prawn brimming with flavor in the prawn head.
Fine Dining Restaurants in Bangkok
Gaggan
While I still need to get to Chef Gaggan Anand’s newest iteration of his namesake restaurant known for pushing the boundaries of fine dining, I had an absolutely wonderful experience at the original when I went before they closed in 2019. And considering Gaggan was just named Asia’s best restaurant, it’s safe to say that you should still have this 14 seat chef’s table on your bucket list.
Samrub Samrub Thai
This Michelin-starred restaurant features a 12 course tasting menu that rotates every 2 months, where they focus on a different region of Thailand’s ingredients that are displayed at their 10 seat chef’s counter. I definitely recommend sitting at the counter for the best experience as we felt like we missed out on the action at their group dining tables. Thankfully the unique and incredibly filling tasting menu made up for that (definitely come hungry!).
Suhring
Sitting at No. 11 on Asia’s 50 Best is this high-end German restaurant by twin chefs Matthias and Thomas Sühring. It feels like you’re dining in a posh living room while you enjoy their refined menu that tastes like comfort food but with elevated and surprising techniques and combinations.
Paste
Previously no. 28 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Paste is helmed by former best female chef in Asia Chef Bee Satongon, serving up innovative Thai dishes. The giant crab omelette soufflé is a must, with so much sweet crab meat both inside & on top of a fluffy mound of eggs flavored with 31 ingredients, along with lobster curry noodles and other delicious Thai dishes.
Street Food in Bangkok
Boat Noodle Alley
While boat noodles were originally sold on boats along the river where you’ll find Boat Noodle Alley, it has since transitioned to a cluster of street side stalls and restaurants, famous for their noodles with a deliciously complex broth that’s rich, spicy, sweet & sour. We loved Ruathong for their variety of small noodle soups for only 12 baht (US$0.38) and larger bowls like their spicy tom yum style noodle for 50 baht (US$1.60) so you can sample different ones. But the boat noodle winner was local favorite Doy Kuay Teow Reua a short walk outside of the alley – that broth is so damn good! And the meats were more tender and flavorful and it came with crispy wonton skins to add texture, worth the extra 3 baht per bowl.
Raan Jay Fai
I have an entire post and video on our experience at Bangkok’s most famous street food eatery, so check those out here.
Local Sit-down Restaurants in Bangkok
Sit and Wonder
Classic Thai dishes in a modern second floor air conditioned dining room with cheap prices (hello 85 baht beef pad see ew). Across the street from The Salil if you decide to stay at this hotel.
What to eat: winged bean, shrimp and minced pork in spicy coconut sauce; beef pad see ew; cashew chicken; mango sticky rice
