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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lotus ponds reflect the city's beautiful evening lights at this romantic restaurant. The upmarket Thai food is good, with elegant touches that cater to locals as well as foreigners. A classic Thai dance performance takes place nightly at 7:30 and 8:30, complementing well-known Thai dishes served à la carte or an eight-course tasting menu.
At this modern Michelin-starred Thai restaurant, helmed by chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, you're likely to try something new in the 4-course and 6-course tasting menus (no à la carte)—maybe a crunchy ant larvae topping or a charcoal-grilled pork jowl curry. Sleek minimalist surroundings put the focus on the food and drink, and since the chef is also a sommelier, you can expect wine pairings that perfectly complement each course.
Started by master chef David Thompson, who won accolades for his Thai eatery in London, the distinguished Nahm changed hands to chef Pim Techamuanvivit in 2018. Her cuisine marries the traditionalist concept of Nahm—where Thompson turned heads with recipes from ancient cookbooks—with the labor-intensive approach of Techamuanvivit's first restaurant, San Francisco's Kin Khao, for an upscale yet authentic Thai experience.
Come to Sala Rim Naam—part of the Mandarin Oriental hotel but across the river—to soak up the atmosphere, which includes a classical Thai dancing show nightly at 7:45 pm in an indoor pavilion, or to enjoy the romantic mood of alfresco tables overlooking the river. The renditions of Thai food are rather Westernized, but the set dinners, buffet lunches, and à la carte menus offer plenty of choices. There is a complimentary shuttle boat across the Chao Phraya River from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Located on the Chao Phraya River across from the Grand Palace, this charming restaurant is in the former home of Khunying Supatra, founder of Bangkok's express boat business. A free ferry from Maharaj Pier shuttles diners back and forth to enjoy impressive views and Thai cuisine, with multicourse prixe-fixe meals and à la carte options.
You'll feel on top of the world at this classy 61st-floor space, one of the loftiest open-air restaurants in town. The international menu focuses on grilled seafood prepared with flair, and the service is friendly, but as with most of Bangkok's rooftop restaurants, you're paying for the sky-high setting, not the food—you might just prefer to come for a sunset drink to enjoy the stupendous views.
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