FlyerTalk Forums - BKK Eateries

Here’s a haphazard list of restaurants in BKK that my friends and I have tried, recommended for a variety of reasons and tastes. For reference, $1 USD ~41 Thai Baht. In no particular order:

Try Ban Lao and/or Vientiane Kitchen on Sukhumvit Soi 36. Ban Lao is around the corner from VK. Vientiane Kitchen: good, but Isaan food, even spicier. Nice at night when you can't see the construction site in the place of the former Korean BBQ 80 baht all you can eat restaurant. Also, the place on the sec-ond or first floor (3 up from the basement) in Ploenchit center is good. They have another place up Sukhumvit, forget what cross streets, you go down stairs, sometimes has a loud band playing out front.

Mango Tree in Patpong is also good, very expensive (farang type prices). Touristy, but decent.

Ad Makers on Soi Luan Suan. Live band, Dewars, Jack Daniels & Singha. Long wooden tables, forcing you to make friends with your neighbors. Mostly middle class Thai, but a few farang.Cheap: food for three couples, a pitcher of Heineken and a couple of bottles of water & Singha came to about B1200.
There is a cavernous place on the corner across from the Siam Square Novotel (forget the name).

More quiet is Lemongrass on Sukhumvit 24, Ruan Derm on Sukhumvit 22 or Oam Thong on Suk-humvit 33. Middle of the road pricing (B1000-1500 for a couple with drinks), decent food.

Top end would be Lanna in the Face Bar complex on Sukhumvit 36, Blue Elephant on Sathorn, same side as the odd # sois, just towards Saphan Thaksin from the Surasak BTS or Mahanaga on Sukhumvit 31. Sexy, romantic, trendy and pricey. Expect B3-5K for dinner for two with wine and other drinks. Great food, great atmosphere.

You might try Suan Lung (Night Bazaar): decent food, great prices and live entertainment. On Soi Lang Suan, the first is Nguan Lees on the corner near Lumpini Park (standing at the park on the right). A mix of Thai and Chinese, not many farangs there, but pretty basic. Another is on the left about 1/2 way up the soi, again not fancy but excellent food (all Thai), good seafood, etc.

Baan Thai, 100 meters down on soi 5 from Suk, above the supermarket, across the street from Amari.

There’s Krua Nai Baan. Pretty good -- excellent shrimp cakes.

Off the beaten track, but excellent Thai restaurants, with high quality food and nice atmosphere:

Supatra Riverhouse (at Chao Phraya River, opposite Grand Palace on a Terrace; very romantic)

Tanying on Soi Pramuan off Silom; high class Thai Restaurant; classic interior

Bussaracum on Pan Road off Silom; Royal Thai Cuising; classic interior

There's a superb restaurant along the outer ringroad, just about 1 km. if you come from Bangna. Can’t remember the name. Huge, with open seating, tuk-tuk from parking lot to tables.

Baan Khanita, in a well known area, Soi 23. Just stroll from Soi 21 through Soi Cowboy, if you don't get distracted along the way, turn right into Soi 23 and it's there. Outside seating, aircon in-side. Baan Khanita has also 2 branches on Soi Ruam Rudi; one has the same food as on Soi 23 and they have a lot of paintings hanging inside, so that's why it is called Baan Khanita Gallery (I be-lieve). The other is called Curries & More and features Thai and international cuisine. The menu is actually a collection of Thai, pasta, curries, western desserts and other.

There’s a place called Seafoodmarket, on Suk soi 24. beside the English sign "If it swims, we have it" they also have inside a sign in Thai " rao yok thalee hai ma thee nee". Yes it is pricey, but quality of food is excellent and service as well (as we had crab we got 3 times towel, two bowls of water to clean our hand and our plates were changed 4-5 times). Touristy, but also a lot of wealthy Thais.

You can buy whatever you want, fresh fish, lobsters, oysters, veggies, hand it over to a "stewardess" that will take it to the cooks who do it to your liking. Even one potato they will do mashed, baked, boiled, creamed or as fries. In addition, Thai dishes are also available from the menu.

A large air conditioned place, can seat probably 1000 people, not a canteen. A very nice place, lots of flowers/plants between the tables, but not cheap. A rich fresh seafood dinner for 2 with only wa-ter and coke to drink can easily go 1500-2000B.

We had: poo phad phong karee pla kao sam rot hoy lai, nam prik, phao phad phak ruam daeng-mangkorn. The check was 2700 Baht.

http://www.seafood.co.th

There’s a similar one on Petchaburi down from Panthip, for half the price and the food was great.

And there are Seafood places in Chinatown and elsewhere that are equally as good for 25% of the price. I just know how to get to them (but not the street names as Yaowarat always confuses me). You'll just have to go with me sometime!

Raan Derm Baan in Sukhumvit 22 - just past Washington Square on the same side. Great food, big menu and reasonable prices.

Not so good for food but sounds-like-it'll-impress-your-date-for-traditional-style-and-ambience is Baan Lao on Soi 36. Your farang bird she won't notice the difference in food, she'll be so impressed at those little wooden huts. Probably not a good place to take a Thai date.

Lemongrass, on Soi 24. I only went there once, about 8 years ago, but it was pretty good at the time, both for food and style.

Forget Suda on Soi 14. Used to be OK, until all the backpacker guides started to recommend it. Now it's full of first-time farangs and, even if you order the food in your best Thai, it'll come back as bland as hell. (and even my deadly charm can't raise a smile from the seen-it-all Chinese wait-resses).

For a Chao Phraya riverboat experience, try Yok Yor(?), opposite Shangri-La hotel. Much better than the hotel rip-offs and you won't see many other farangs on the boat. Charge of around 70B(?) per person for the trip plus cost of food, which is good and reasonably priced. I've still got the phone number for them so you can give the taxi driver the phone to find them when you get close - 02 439 3855.