Eating in Bangkok

Introduction

Where to eat is just as exciting as what to eat.  Bangkokoffers an incredible selection of eating places in all price ranges.  From kerbside food stall selling simple but good food, to smart, expensive restaurants, where is something to please everone.

In addition to Thai food, other cuisines, East and West, are readily available.  Independent restaurants offer between them virtually every culinary style you can think of, while top hotels pride themselves on the high standards of their speciality restaurants where superb menus are matched by impeccable service.

Food Streets

Bang Lamphu (บางลำพู) : Shoestring travellers flock to Bang Lamphu, especially the area around Khaosan Road.  Most eating places in this area cater for budget-conscious diners.  Many guesthouses on Khaosan Road have open-air cafes serving standard Thai and Chinese dishes.  Other decent possibilities include Indian, Jewish, and Muslim restaurants.

Yaowarat (เยาวราช) : Bangkok’s Chinatownhouses some of the best and most expensive Chinese restaurants in the city, along with many of the best and cheapest food stalls, especially at night.  Large restaurants line the bustlingYaowarat Road, but venturing into sois, or lanes, will lead you to less impressive yet equally enjoyable establishments.  The restaurants mostly specialize in southern Chinese cooking, with noodles, seafood and, at lunchtime, dim sum dumplings dominating the menus.

Phahurat (พาหุรัด) : Taking a short walk from Yaowarat’s Chinatown to Phahurat’s little India is like taking a transcendental journey between two different worlds.  Inhabited by Thai people of Indian origin, the confined alleyways around the Phahurat area accommodate a number of authentic Indian restaurants, particularly those offering North Indian cuisine.  Alternatively, other subcontinental foods such as Punjabi and Pakistani are also plentifully available.

Silom Road (ถนนสีลม) : Several food streets are linked to this road in Bangkok’s busiest area.  Seafood stalls sprout along the section near Sala Daeng Intersection after sunset until late at night.  The nearbyConvent Road offers everything from Indonesian to an Irish tavern.  Opposite, a crush of Japanese restaurants makes Soi Thaniya into a lively walkway for Japanese visitors and sushi lovers of all nationalities.

Thai food is available in palace style and street style, side by side.  The best section of the former can be found in Soi Phiphat .  Find the Thai version of fast food at most shopping complexes and Soi Lalai Sap’s Lunch Market. 

Siam Square (สยามสแควร์) : This shopping area is crammed with medium to high-priced eateries as well as American fast-food outlets.  Whether you crave Thai, European, Chinese or Japanese foods, there is a place for you somewhere in this fashionable area.  Traditional Thai restaurants are flanked by gaudy fast-food franchises and Japanese suki parlours.  Soi 1 has conventional Chinese restaurants.

Soi Lang Suan (ซอยหลังสวน) : Like Sukhumvit Road, Soi Lang Suan offers a diverse mix of Thai, Asian, and European influences.  Fashionable restaurants present interesting eating possibilities at medium to high prices.  Also home to some of the most popular jazz pubs in the city, the street’s flashy atmosphere attracts the money crowd in droves after sundown. 

Sukhumvit Road (สุขุมวิท) : There is no shortage of eating places on Sukhumvit.  Some people say that from any spot along the road you are within 100 metres of at least one restaurant.  And the food could not be more cosmopolitan.

At its western end, around Soi Nana, an enclave of Pakistani and Middle Eastern restaurants fills the sois with the aroma of spices, earning this area the name “Little Arabia”.  Further up the road Indian cuisine takes over, with restaurants offering both northern and southern Indian specialities.

European and American cooking  balance the equation, with Italian, French, British, German, and Mexican restaurants lining the road and presenting a variety of options in terms of menus, atmosphere, and prices.  Sukhumvit 55, also known as Soi Thong Lo, and its labyrinthine branches are also full of restaurants of every kind.

Then there is Thai food.  Both authentic and nouvelle dishes can be found at small, sparingly decorated restaurants or lavishly ornate ones, along the pavements, and in the markets.