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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.
Jarrett Wrisley, a food critic turned restaurateur, and Paolo Vitaletti, a five-star chef whose dad toiled in a storied Roman meat market, run this small cozy space for which reservations are highly advisable. The Italian menu is mostly devoted to Rome specialties.
Bangkok has hundreds of Japanese restaurants, but only Isao has a line out the door almost every night, thanks to the most creative sushi rolls west of California. The owner studied under the chef at the revered Green Tea in Chicago, and the repeat clientele attests to the widespread enthusiasm for his culinary flights of fancy in sleek modern surrounds.
Atop the Mandarin Oriental, this legendary French restaurant excites with impressive views of the Chao Phraya and remarkable food. Chef Arnaud Dunand regularly imports high-quality ingredients from his home region of Savoy for dishes that taste classically of the old country yet with a haute personal touch—tasting menus are of good value compared to à la carte, with the five-course lunch priced at B2,450. The restaurant has been awarded two stars in Michelin Thailand.
This unassuming storefront beneath an overpass is the sort of establishment that brings international foodies flocking to Bangkok. The interior here is nothing special, with poor lighting and bluish walls, but you'll barely notice or care with the lively buzz of the local Thai clientele, expert preparations with balanced flavors, and reasonable prices compared to many other seafood joints.
Mezzaluna is a blockbuster restaurant for a couple of reasons: dramatic views of Bangkok from the soaring State Tower and a truly magical degustation menu from the French-trained chef Ryuki Kawasaki. The seven-course menu features organic ingredients and deeply personal touches, such as the mind-blowing signature dish—buttery-soft Wagyu beef paired with sake, both from the chef's home in Japan. Current tasting menus with New World wine pairings start at B6,500.
Inundated with colors, sounds, and smells, this is where Bangkok's top Thai chefs shop for quality produce, herbs, and cooking gear. The market's food court is a legendary spot where spicy Thai fare is scooped onto plastic plates; you pick up the cutlery from trays, and grab a seat at one of the tables in the center.
The Michelin-award-winning Paste, an upscale, intimate eatery run by the experienced Australian-Thai husband-and-wife team, Bee Satongun and Jason Bailey, elevates traditional Thai food and flavors to a whole new level with fresh produce and technical flair. It's on the top floor of the high-end Gaysorn Village shopping mall, and open for lunch and dinner, with à la carte and multiple tasting menus available.
This restaurant has little in the way of atmosphere, but seafood aficionados still brave the traffic up to Yannawa in order to splurge. Pen is expensive by Thai restaurant standards, but it's still a bargain compared to most hotel restaurants for charcoal-grilled seafood and a range of classic Thai fare.
A top contender as Bangkok's best pizzeria, the warmly industrial-looking Peppina is booked solid most nights (although there are other locations). The attention to detail includes wood firing, pizza dough that's left to rise overnight, and fresh buffalo mozzarella and other ingredients imported from Italy.
To enjoy chef Jay Fai’s Michelin-award-winning dishes at her small open-air eatery, plan in advance or be prepared for upwards of a three-hour wait. Reservations via email or phone are possible, although response may be slow; you can also try showing up when the restaurant opens at 10 am, and put your name on a waiting list.
Launched by food critic Jarrett Wrisley, this gem of a restaurant and bar is in a converted Chinese shophouse in trendy Thong Lor and is usually packed to the rafters. It's no surprise, as the place serves some of the city's best Thai food, with double-pour drinks that are every bit as good as the food.
Luxurious and utterly unique, this restaurant upends conventional wisdom about Thai cuisine and technique. Chef Henrik Yde-Andersen's tasting menus, priced starting at B1,850 for dinner, represent a veritable catalog of Thai flavors and dishes, though through the iterations of foams, emulsions, powders, and plenty of smoky liquid nitrogen.
This Michelin-starred restaurant from twin chefs Thomas and Matthew Sühring has evolved German cuisine past the stereotypes of schnitzel and sauerkraut. The brothers, who can be seen working together in a sleek open kitchen most nights, serve tasting menus inspired by their childhood in East Berlin—it's no wonder Sühring is one of Bangkok's trendiest restaurants. The setting is a 1970s Thai house with several dining rooms, each with its own ambience. Tasting menus (there is no à la carte) start at B3,000 without wine.
Thanaruek Laoraowirodge, a successful restaurateur in New York City and Bangkok, has earned high praise for this cozy shophouse venue that specializes in regional dishes based on the recipes of his grandmother. The au courant cocktails go well with the eclectic menu, and Supanniga now has several other locations: in Bang Rak, Sathorn, and Tha Thien.
Proudly displaying the freshest catches on ice out front, this enormous and popular seafood restaurant opens daily at 4 pm and serves until as late as 1:30 am. Make your way through the evening crowds and take a number to secure your table—either on the sidewalk or inside.
The emphasis at this traditional Thai restaurant in a century-old house is on fresh seasonal ingredients and hard-to-find regional delicacies, with a regular menu but also a smaller one of specials that is consistently changing. The Local's decor, outdoor terrace, wood floors, and antiques and old photos make for a pleasant setting.
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