The Best Local Restaurants in Bangkok?▼
Bangkok is one of the world's top tourist destination cities. MasterCard ranked Bangkok as the global top destination city by international visitor arrivals in its Global Destination Cities Index, with 15.98 million projected visitors in 2013. Bangkok has also been named "World's Best City" by Travel + Leisure magazine's survey of its readers for four consecutive years since 2010 (Wikipedia). One of the reasons why Bangkok is so popular is the food. Blending elements of several Southeast Asian traditions, Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. The spiciness of Thai cuisine is well known. As with other Asian cuisines, balance, detail and variety are of great significance to Thai chefs. Thai food is known for its balance of three to four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, and bitter.
Recommended Activities
Restaurant: Blue Elephant
Address: 233 South Sathorn Road, Kwaeng Yannawa, Khet Sathorn, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Phone: +66 (2) 673 9353
Dress Code: Smart casual
Nearest Station: BTS Surasak Station
Open Hours: 11:30 - 14:30, lunch and 18:30 - 22:30, dinner
Credit Card: Amex, Diner’s Club, Mastercard and Visa.
Price: $35 - $100
This green curry with rare black chicken in coconut milk and Thai sweet basil leaves and pea aubergines is one of the most popular dishes in Blue Elephant. The Chinese believe that the black chicken is very healthy especially for rejuvenating the body. This dish is accompanied by crispy roti bread and it can be substituted by free range of chicken.
The restaurant, which has long been a very popular spot with locals and foreigners who live in Bangkok, has a great ambiance from both inside and outside. The space in the room is very well furnished and the blue lightings from outside is just impressive.
Restaurant: East Meets West
Address: 1043/4 Silom 21-23 | Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Phone: 662 234 6299
Nearest Station: BTS Surasak Station
Open Hours: Monday - Sunday, 12:00AM - 11:00PM
Price: $10 - $40
Shrimp / Fish / Seafood in spicy soup with lemon grass and herbs.
We would not suggest to come here all the way, but if you happen to be around Surasak Station, this is certainly a better choice than to fight with the crowd in the center of the city. You may have to walk few minutes to get to East Meets West from the station, but what you get for return is exceptional.
When you come to East Meets West, you should definitely order their Tom yum kung soup. You will be amazed of how rich and smooth the combination of herbs and spices with coconut milk that makes you smile every sip. We would definitely go back again just for their Tom Yum Kung soup.
Restaurant: Thaying
Address: Silom Rd, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Phone: (66) 02-236-4361
Nearest Station: Surasak BTS Station
Open Hours: Open daily from 11:30 hrs and last order is at 22:00 hrs
Price: $15 - $70
Thanying was recommended in the New York Times and other leading foreign magazines as one of the Bangkok ’s best restaurants, attracting many visitors from abroad.
Among many tempting choices, if we were to choose the best dish that is convincing and understandable, it is Tom Yum Kung soup. One of the most popular soup in Thailand elegantly prepared by the chef had a very decent and honest taste which very much caught our attention. The sourness of the soup and the mildness of the coconut pleasantly blend with the fresh prawns which leaves everyone happy. If you are around Surasak Station, try the best Thai imperial cuisine in Thaying!
Restaurant: Somboon Seafood
Address: 169,169/7-12 Surawong Rd.,Suriyawong, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Phone: 02-233-3104
Nearest Station: Chong Nonsi BTS Station
Open Hours: 16:00 - 23:30
Price: $15 - $50
It is not difficult to find out why Somboon is always full of poeple. This restaurant is the kind of place where you will get addicted and makes you want to order everything from the menu (as we have ordered a variety of dishes including the tom yung potah soup and we did not find anything that made us frown). Though, among many tempting dishes on the menu, the Curry Crab (340 THB for small, 450 THB for medium) is just exceptionally good and that is mainly what the locals and the tourists come here for. The best part? Everything on the menu is affordably priced for such outstanding quality. You must not leave Somboon without trying the Curry Crab!
Address: 69 Soi 3,Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Road,Silom,Bang Rak, Bangkok, Thailand
Phone: +66 2 233 2410
Nearest Station: Chong Nonsi BTS Station
Open Hours: Monday - Sunday, 11:00AM - 11:00PM
Price: $10 - $40
Restaurant: Ruen Urai
Address: Surawong Rd, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Phone: +66 2 266 8268
Nearest Station: BTS Sala Daeng Station
Open Hours: Monday - Sunday, 12:00AM - 11:00PM
Price: $10 - $50
Restaurant: Banana House
Must Have: Tom Yum Kung Soup
Address: 68/1 2F Silom Rd. Bangkok 10500
Phone: 0-2234-9967/0-2233-8969
Nearest Station: BTS Sala Daeng Station
Open Hours: 11:00～14:00, 17:00～22:00
Price Range: $10- $30
Banana House is a kind of place where it makes you want to order everything on the menu. They have a considerable selection of dishes prepared and most of them are quite delicious. Though among many tempting choices on the menu, the tom yum kung soup with the tasty fresh shrimps is exceptionally good, if we were to recommend the one from the menu. The sourness of the soup in Banana House, unlike the thicker and mild ones in Blue Elephant or Nara Eight restaurants, might make you see the soup from a totally different aspect going forward whether you like it or not. That is how different the soup is especially for the Tom Yum Kung soup lovers who have had those popular ones in the past. You can also go and check if making the soup sour could make it taste better. The restaurant may be packed with the locals in lunch time but you can usually get seats in few minutes.
Restaurant: Hock Shark Fins Restaurant
Must Have: Special Set Menu (includes delicious shark fin soup)
Address: 167/2 Surawong road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Phone: 0-2634-4203, 0-2233-5939
Nearest Station: BTS Sala Daeng Station
Open Hours: 10:00～22:00
Price Range: $25 - $40
When you have a chance to visit Sala Daeng, go visit Hock Shark Fins Restaurant to have their exceptional Shark fins brown soup which comes with the Special Set Menu at 800 THB. Having a single sip of its pork bone based soup somehow leaves everyone with a blank look of amazement for its uniqueness. To describe what it is, it is pleasantly mild, not too weak flavored, but has a profound taste coming from the mixture of all kinds of delicious ingredients melted inside after a long time boiling and boiling which makes the soup moderately brownish. We are supremely impressed by the deepness of its flavor which you cannot perhaps find the same at anywhere in Bangkok. It is indeed one of a kind and the soup is just exceptional. The restaurant also has a variety of exquisite menu that are mostly Thai and Chinese fusion which seems quite innovative for the diners. So note down Hock Shark Fins Restaurant. You might see us tomorrow at the table too!
Restaurant: Nara Thai
Cuisine
Address: 7th Floor, Central World Plaza, Ratchadamri Rd., Pathum Wan Sub-District, Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, Thailand
Phone: 026131658
Nearest Station: BTS Chit Lom
Open Hours: Monday - Sunday, 10:00 to 22:00
Price: $15 - $70
Nara Thai Cuisine, known for its excellent Tom Yum Kung soup, is perhaps one of the hottest local restaurants around Chit Lom. We still cannot figure out what makes Nara's soup, one of the most famous soup in Thailand, so different from others if they are all using similar ingridients (must be the secret spice). It has a perfect blend of the rich taste of the coconut and the freshness of the prawn which leaves everyone around you in this restaurant happy. It is undisputedly a mind-blowing dish that you cannot miss out on when you are in Nara. The polite staffs and the high-grade sense of the ambiance inside is also a plus.
Restaurant: Mango Tree
Bistro
Address: 7th Floor, Central World Plaza, Ratchadamri Rd., Pathum Wan Sub-District, Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, Thailand
Phone: +66 2 252 0972
Nearest Station: BTS Chit Lom
Open Hours: Monday - Sunday, 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Price: $10 - $50
Mango Tree Bistro also has a great tom yum kung soup that has outstanding local taste. Our recommendations that goes pretty well with tom yum kung soup here were soft shell crab salad if you like crabs or larb poo nim thod from Ihsahn. They have varieties of menus that are mostly great. If you are concerned of making mistakes in choosing dishes, you may want to try the Mango Tree as the restaurant's brand for its firm taste has been widely accepted with many branches around the globe. When you are in Chit Lom, make sure to have a meal here.
Restaurant: Laem Cha-Roen Seafood
Must Have: Seafood Tom Yum Soup (Tom Yum Potah)
Address: 3th Fl., B305-306 Central World Plaza, Rajdamri Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok
Phone: 02-646-1040
Nearest Station: BTS Chit Lom
Open Hours: 10：30－22：00
Price Range: $20 - $30
When you feel like having delicious seafood in Bangkok, go to Laem Charoen Seafood. It is one of locals' favorite restaurants where they have variety of dishes that are outstanding. Among many tempting choices on the menu, we recommend you "steamed fish with curry paste" to start with, the "dried tom yum kung", and "steamed egged squid with chili, garlic and lime sauce". For the main dish, try their Tom Yum Potah (Hot and Sour seafood soup). The soup that gives you a pleasantly sour lemon flavor that contains exceptional fresh shrimps inside accompanied with chewy squids, mushrooms, white fish, and onions. A few pieces of red chili boiled in the soup with the delicious ingredients from the rich sea bring out the flavor that adds a punch to its soup. Once you taste it and you would realize not only the high quality of the bowl that is making people grin, but also the rich environment for the seafood in Thailand that is making the exceptional mixture of the tasty soup in less price come true. When you ever had a chance to visit Chit Lom, you should definitely visit this restaurant even when you had to wait for few minutes for the table.
Restaurant: Basil
Address: 250 Sukhumvit Road Bangkok Thailand
Phone: 66 (0) 2649 8366
Dress Code: Smart casual
Nearest Station: Asok BTS Station
Open Hours: 11:30 - 14:30, lunch and 18:30 - 22:30, dinner, and Sunday Jazzy Brunch: 12.00-15.00 hours
Price: $20 - $100
Basil is a very high standard restaurant that has dress code located at 1F of Sheraton hotel. Inside is very spacious and it has a great lighting effect which might make you want to have a glass of wine before the main comes. The recommendation in this restaurant is gae phad krapraow (a stir fried Australian lamb with chilli, garlic and hot basil) for the main menu and perhaps goong sarong (a deep fried marinated tiger prawn wrapped in egg noodle net) for your appetizer. Prices are slightly steeper than the usual restaurants from 550 THB for gae phad krapraow to 380 THB for a goong sarong, but what you get in return is exceptional without doubt.
Restaurant: The
Local
Address: 32-32/1 Sukumvit 23, Klong Toey Nue, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand 10110
Phone: +66 2 644 0664
Nearest Station: Asok BTS Station
Open Hours: Daily 11:00 am – 2:30 pm, 5:30 – 11:00 pm
Price: $20 - $60
A newly established restaurant in Sukhumvit area. You will love the perfect external appearence of the building at the entrance that welcomes you for the excellent Thai cuisine. The recommendation in this restaurant is the yellow curry with crab. If you are lucky, you can have seats outside where you can see some fish swimming under the glassed floor at the table.
Restaurant: Wanakarm
Must Have: Tom Ka Gai （Chicken and Coconut Milk Curry）
Address: 98 Soi Prssarnmitr (23) Sukhumvit Rd.,Bangkok 10110
Phone: 0-2258-4241
Nearest Station: BTS Asok Station
Open Hours:: Mon-Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 17:00-23:00
Price Range: $20 - $50
A restaurant with a beautiful garden and a fountain outside is located 5 minutes from the Asoke Station. Having food in a perfect ambience sounds great, but what you get for the dishes in Wanakarm is truly exceptional. In this restaurant, the Tom Ka Gai, "chicken or gourami fish soup with coconut milk" with rice is highly recommended. It is an amazing dish also known as chicken and coconut milk curry which totally breaks our stereotype for the curry and at the same time elevates our standard for its dish. The creamy white coconut based curry (slightly tom yum flavored) with the tender fresh chickens inside accompanied with white Thai rice has a profound flavor that makes people get addicted with every sip. We totally understand how you feel if you were to go for the second bowl too, and that's how delicious it is. You may also order as the side dishes, the fried shrimp puff, the eggplant with dried shrimp salad, and fried crispy mourning vegetable served with mango, lemon and vinegar sauce topped with fried chicken, prawn and squid. They are also excellent dishes to have without doubt.
Restaurant: Smooth Curry
Address: 61 Thanon Witthayu (Wireless Rd.) Road | Lumphini, Pathumwan, Bangkok
Phone: +66 2650 8800
Nearest Station: BTS Phloen Chit Station
Open Hours: Lunch 11:30 am - 02:30 pm (Monday - Friday), Dinner 06:00 pm - 11:00 pm (Daily)
Price: 15 USD - 50 USD
The green curry with chicken in this restaurant is outstanding! You might think it is just a famous bowl of soup, but not many places can actually offer such rich and smooth taste as the way Smooth Curry Restaurant does. The room has very relaxed and comfortable seats available with very friendly staffs. Worth a try if you like the curry especially green!
Restaurant: Rain Tree Cafe
Address: 61 Witthayu Road (Wireless Rd.) | Plaza Athenee Bangkok, A Royal Meridien Hotel, Bangkok
Phone: +66 2650 8800
Nearest Station: BTS Phloen Chit Station
Open Hours: Breakfast 06:00 am - 10:30 am, Lunch 12:00 pm - 02:30 pm, Dinner 06:00 pm - 10:30 pm, Brunch 12:00 pm - 04:00 pm
Price: 15 USD - 70 USD
Enjoy the magnificent view of the water fountain right next to your table. The Tom Yum Kung here is our recommendation but it could be very spicy if you don't make it less spicy when you order. Make it medium spicy if you are not confident of Thai spice but once you taste it, it will make you addicted! It is always nice to have a favorite place that you can be confident of the taste.
Restaurant: Tummy Yummy
Address: 42/1 Soi Tonson Ploenchit Road, Lumpini Pathumwan, BANGKOK 10330
Phone: +66(0)2254 1061
Nearest Station: BTS Ploen chit
Open Hours: Monday-Saturday, Lunch 11am-2:30pm/ Dinner 5:30pm-10pm
Price: $10 - $40
There is nothing particularly special about Gai Yang which is a very popular dish in Thailand, but the Gai Yang in Tummy Yummy makes the home made sauce that makes its taste very different. A good portion of spice makes the fried chicken pleasantly nice. You may also have cozy seats outside where you can enjoy garden view.
Restaurant: The Seared Fish Outdoor Stall
Must Have: Grilled River Fish with tangy lime
Address: Soi Rang Nam
Phone: 084-917-7539
Nearest Station: BTS Victory Monument Station
Open Hours: 5 pm – 2 am
Price Range $10 - $30
Here is the restaurant called Seared Fish Outdoor Stall where you can have the authentic Isaan cuisine in Bangkok. You must get ready for the spicy food though, as Isaan dishes are mostly quite hot (and we mean it!). Fortunately, the main dish we are about to introduce here called Blackened and grilled river fish served with a tangy lime is not that spicy which you can enjoy its amazing white firm flesh that comes with the tasty sauce. Once you open the fish with your chopsticks from its crispy outer layer, you will find its beautiful steamy flesh crammed full inside. The fish is big enough to share with 2 persons and the taste is not flat at all which is really surprising as many big fish usually don’t have much flavor. The fish is simply delicious and we understand why there are so many people lining up to take their river fish home. For the side dishes, you may order spicy minced pork salad with lime juice, shallots and fresh herbs, spicy pork soup with lemon grass galangal, and the marinated and grilled sliced pork with lime juice, basil and fresh herbs. Papaya salad (som tom) with peanuts and small shrimps is also good to have although it is extremely spicy which might make your hair stand on end. If you are okay with plastic seats on the street and don’t care much about having food on a stall outside, you should definitely try the exceptional Isaan food in Seared Fish Outdoor Stall while you are in Bangkok.
Restaurant: Pee Orr
Must Have: Tom Yum Nam Khon
Address：68/51 Phetchaburi ,Khwaeng Thung Phaya Thai, Khet Ratchathewi, Krungthep Mahanakorn 10400 Bangkok Thailand
Phone： +66（2）673 9353
Nearest Station： BTS Ratchathewi Station
Open Hours：10AM - 9PM
Price Range： $5 - $25
Pee Orr is nothing fancy, a local house which may be quite difficult to find unless you have your friends in Bangkok to guide your way. The place is out of nowhere but the food is just excellent which is the only reason why we are taking you there. When you successfully reach the place and get the seats in Pee Orr, order their signature dish called Tom yum Nam Kohn which is a bowl of fresh seafood accompanied with thin chewy noodles inside with moderately spicy red tom yum soup. The fresh shrimp and squids inside are marvelous. The whole mixture of the bowl and the quality of the ingredients are just exceptional with its unbelievable cost performance. You would hardly pay more than $10 in this restaurant while the food is totally mind blowing. It is absolutely worth coming all the way only to have their Tom yum nam khon. For the other dishes that are worth to have are spicy garlic salad mixed with fresh squid, and the rice porridge mixed with white fish and shrimps. It is so amazing to see such a small local restaurant that serves such higher standard dishes, but that is why it is so valuable and fun to discover the hidden gems in Bangkok. Pee Orr is usually full of locals, but don't be afraid, the nice friendly staff will welcome you with the Thai smile.
Restaurant: Khao Mangai Sompong
Must Have: Khao Mangai （Chicken Rice）
Address: Khwaeng Khlong Toei, Khet Khlong Toei, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110
Phone: +66 87 567 0990
Nearest Station: 10：00 -17:00
Open Hours: MRT Khlong Toei Station
Price Range: $5 - $15
One of the best places to have Khao Mangai, also known as chicken rice, is Khao Mangai Sompong located at MRT Khlong Toei Station. Their chicken rice is limited to certain amount a day or would be sold out if you come too late, so for those who successfully had Khao Mangai in Sompong are quite fortunate we would say. So what makes people so addicted to this chicken rice? The freshness of the chicken? The perfect chewy texture of the meat after they boil it? Or perhaps the tasty chicken flavored rice which you can enjoy with the meat by putting the delicious sauce that is pleasantly spicy? Probably all of the above mentioned are making the locals pretty crazy about their Khao Mangai. We had their chicken as well the other day and also supremely impressed. It is simple, yet very sophisticated dish with the high quality meat, the rice, and the sauce which indeed make the perfect harmony in the mouth. We would absolutely go back again to Khao Mangai Sompong in the future for a meal or two.
Restaurant: Patara
Address: 375 Soi Thonglor 19 Sukhumvit 55,Klongtonnua Vadhana, Bangkok 10110
Phone: 0-2185 2960-1
Nearest Station: BTS Thong Lor
Open Hours: 11:30-14:30 hrs., 18:00-23:00 hrs.
Price: $20 - $80
Patara is, without a doubt, one of the best restaurants in Bangkok we would proudly introduce. You will be shocked how delicious the food is in this restaurant just like how we felt for the first time we visited here. PLEASE order Massaman Curry if you come all the way from the station by taking a taxi. Believe us, it is worth taking long way! For the side menu, our recommendation is honey marinated grilled kurobuta pork collar served with chilli dip and sticky rice. We put this restaurant without hesitation as our "must go" list in Thong Lor area for a reasonable and fine local food. Enjoy!
Restaurant: Queen of Curry
Address: Silom Rd, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Phone: 02 234 4321
Nearest Station: Saphan Taksin BTS Station
Open Hours: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm Daily
Price: $10 - $40
The curry in this restaurant is a bit different. They put few pineapples inside as subtle flavor which makes the curry pleasantly sweet and mild. The best part is they offer you the curry in coconut shell as a decoration which makes it look quite exotic. Try the speical yellow curry in Queen of Curry if you ever had a chance to come here!
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