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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.
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.
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 four 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.
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