Bangkok is a foodie-lover’s paradise. The food establishments here are top-notch, whether you’re looking for some fine dining, traditional food done right, or maybe just some sweets to comfort you at the end of a long, hard day… Regardless of what you’re after, you can be sure Bangkok has got it on offer! So, without further ado – here’s my Bangkok food recommendations – from Thai cuisine, to international food, to desserts, or perhaps a nice nightcap – my blog will cover them all!

Otherwise, if you’re less interested about the food (or you’ve had your fill after reading through this) and more interested on getting a lowdown of what to do in Bangkok… then click this link for a full travel guide on what to do in this country, sans the food

Ok, preamble over! Ready or not, let’s dive in!

Table of contents

• Thai cuisine
• International food
• Desserts
• Drinks

Thai cuisine

Ma Maison

• What to order: Nai Lert Park’s crispy vermicelli soup with shredded pork and shrimps (this was SO GOOD, and I normally don’t like vermicelli soup!); Thinly sliced grilled pork with hot and sour sauce, served with sticky rice and green papaya salad (OMG. This takes the crown. Would come back just for this dish); Sticky rice dumplings stuffed with shreds of caramelized coconut in fresh coconut milk (doesn’t look like much, but it was AMAZE-BALLS)
• Price range: $$

Ma Maison came super highly recommended and is ALWAYS full, so I knew it would be good. But I hadn’t anticipated how good 😱 you know that feeling when you know you’re full but the food’s so good, you just can’t stop?!? Consider that a given when you eat here… Plus, the ambiance and its location is just beautiful <3

□    □    □

Thip Samai

• What to order: Pad thai (DUH!! get the one with shrimp oil and omelette cover), orange juice (although it’s really really sweet…)
• Price range: $

Considered to be the BEST pad thai in Bangkok… I would have to agree! It’s super super super yummy!! Best of all? It’s dirt cheap. Downside? There’s typically a 30-45mins queue. Bummer, but good things come to those who wait right? Or better yet, join the take-away queue, which usually takes ~5-10 mins max!

After chowing down on delicious pad thai, would suggest you check out the food stalls outside as well. They sell amazing street food desserts (coconut cream cake, and the pancake thingamajig filled with coconut, egg and dried plum) *drool*

□    □    □

Smooth Curry

• What to order: Alaskan King Crab curry (this is TO DIE FOR!!!), Pad Thai (the shrimps are succulent and huge!)
• Price range: $$

I love the Alaskan King Crab curry here. ‘Nuff said. Don’t order this unless you can eat rice – because rice and curry is a heavenly combination. I don’t know what magic these Thai people put into their curry, but it is amazing!!!

□    □    □

Prachak

• What to order: Roasted duck, crispy pork
• Price range: $

In pursuit of Bangkok’s tastiest & eating like the locals – we checked out Prachak (for their famed roasted duck, but I actually loved the crispy pork more!). This place is always crowded with locals (which is always a good sign), and has 2 floors (the second floor typically has more space). Not only that, but it’s super super cheap too, your baht will go a long way here – so please eat to your heart’s content!

□    □    □

Nara

• What to order: Braised pork belly with salted fish
• Price range: $$

Accidentally discovered this restaurant as I was strolling around the mall. Interiors looked great, they touted a 5 star TripAdvisor sign, and I was hooked! Lucky too – because the food was fantastic (but Ma Maison is still the best! – just wanted to make sure my allegiance is still clear)

□    □    □

Phae Krung Kao

• What to order: Pork knuckle, green curry fish ball, grilled prawns
• Price range: $$
• Distance from the city: Allot 1.5hrs to get there

I know… this is technically NOT in Bangkok, but you can reach it via a Bangkok day trip? Hehehe It just seems like such a shame if I don’t place it here, because the food here? It cannot be missed. Surprisingly, despite the fact that Ayutthaya is world-renowned for its grilled prawns, I ended up loving the pork knuckles and green curry fish ball even more! The pork knuckles is HUGE – it was bigger than my hand, and was super crispy (think Filipino cripy pata but 3x crispier!!). Don’t come here if you’re on a diet…

□    □    □

Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market

• Operating hours: Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, 9:30 – 16:30
• How to get there: BTS to Bang Wa exit, then take a taxi (~80 Baht)
• Distance from the city: Allot ~45mins to get there
• Price range: $

My friends, if you have only one floating market to go to – go to this one! To be fair, this isn’t the traditional floating market per se, where you are steered on boats or where lovely wares are displayed on boats. Instead, what you get is an entire market of mouthwatering local delicacies at dirt-cheap prices – even by local standards!!! My friends and I ate like kings and queens by the canalside, and watched boats lazily pass us by as we munched our way to foodie heaven. The only downside to going to this market is… everything seems so expensive once you’re back in the city

□    □    □

International

Coro Field

• What to order: Onsen carbonara, soft serve ice cream
• Price range: $$

Was searching for a good pick-me-up meal, and I found it here at Coro Field Esplanade. I’ve never tasted carbonara this good? The soft serve ice cream was yummy too – weird flavors both, but the purple one was better (would definitely order again next time!)

Upon doing some research, Coro Field is actually an agro-tourism destination of sorts, where they allow people to eat, play and plant together. And the reason why I found the food so yummy might be because all their ingredients are organic and fresh from the farm!

□    □    □

Greenmade Cafe

• What to order: Everything! I try different items whenever I come here, and I’ve never been disappointed yet
• Price range: $$

Another organic, healthy gem! This was my go-to restaurant whenever I was in AIA, because the food’s delicious, their detox juices were incredibly yummy, and the music was extremely soothing

□    □    □

Charcoal

• What to order: Indian food (I know, super not helpful… unfortunately, my Indian friends were the ones who ordered so I have no idea what was what. But they were all delicious!)
• Price range: $$

Bursting with flavor, Charcoal is super recommended by all the Indians I’ve met in Bangkok so it’s got that local stamp of approval. Unsure whether you’ll like it or not? You’ll never know if you don’t try! (Between us, I typically dislike Indian food, but I actually really really liked Charcoal!)

□    □    □

Lady L

• What to order: Nai lert lark pizza (smoked salmon, capers, mustard, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese)
• Price range: $$

What a combination! Who knew throwing all these together would taste so good?!? There’s a whole list of other menu items you can try, but as for me, this was the clear winner!

□    □    □

Freebird

• What to order: 48-hr short ribs, with miso eggplant, confit onions, potato mille feuille
• Price range: $$$

Melt-in-your-mouth short ribs, I think that would be a more accurate description. Also an accurate description? This modern Australian restaurant will leave you wanting for more (not just because it’s so good, but also because the portions are so small!!!)

□    □    □

La Table de Dee

• What to order: there’s a set tasting menu that changes every few days
• Price range: $$$

La Table de Dee is a gem, where you can enjoy beautifully and deliciously prepared French food in an intimate setting (albeit the ambiance definitely needs some work). The restaurant is pretty small and can get fully booked at least a week in advance, so I suggest you reserve as soon as possible. Supposedly, the menu changes weekly and the prices are kept relatively low because the chef uses only locally sourced ingredients. As for me – my favorites while I was there were the following:

1. Lobster & Ginger: ginger lobster broth, fried ravioli prawns and cooked lobster, with picked onions and sour cream (my fave!)
2. Yellow curry risotto: creamy yellow curry risotto and scallop fish mousse, with pan roasted scallop and curry sauce (very good, but very bitin!)
3. Australian lamb and Thai dills: pan roasted marinated lamb rack; onion potato cream, sautéed mushroom and dill lamb jus (the lamb was cooked so tenderly 😍)

□    □    □

Water Library

• What to order: Australian lamb rack (this was fabulous BUT super pricey… so not 100% convinced I should recommend this)
• Price range: $$$

Looking for a fancy place to hang and tease your taste buds? Water Library is the place to go – just ready your wallets… the food here doesn’t come cheap!

□    □    □

Savelburg Thailand 

• What to order: Veal tenderloin topped with foie gras, paired with white asparagus, polenta and celeriac
• Price range: $$$

Feeling like a million bucks? Head on over to Savelburg Thailand (a one-star Michelin restaurant in the heart of Bangkok), and experience the creations of its head chef (Henk Savelberg), supposedly the only head chef from the Netherlands awarded a Michelin star in five different restaurants. The beauty of these French cuisines is you can order one main course, but they still provide you with a couple of “free” appetizers (including this beautifully adorned Atlantis inspired seashell – the actual pearl was this gooey jelly-like substance that was cool to the taste, but for the life of me, I can’t decide what exactly I was eating…)

□    □    □

Desserts

Mai Varee

• What to order: Sticky mango rice
• Price range: $$

Originally, I was aiming for Boonsap Thai, which is just a few meters away from Prachak. Unfortunately, Boonsap Thai is closed on Sundays (who knew!?!?), so off I went in search of the best mango sticky rice in Bangkok. Happily, we landed at Mai Vee instead (which claims to be the #1 stall in the city). With mangoes bigger than your hand, sticky rice that maintained just the right consistency, and yummy coconut milk; there’s definitely no losing here

□    □    □

Chikalicious Dessert Bar

• What to order: Very berry strawberry dough’ssant (with vanilla custard and fresh cream filling)
• Price range: $$

I was initially lured in by the promise of an open kitchen, where I could see the artisans craft the cakes and sweets as they make them. To my disgruntlement, the making process isn’t as interesting as it seems (vs cooking shows), since here, you also see all the grunt work involved, which isn’t terribly exciting to watch. Nevertheless, after trying three of their celebrated desserts, I’ve decided their dough’ssant is the most unique and also quite tasty dessert of all they had on offer – they glaze the croissant and you get this sweet but slightly burnt flavor. So if you’ve got the chance, skedaddle your way here

□    □    □

Audrey

• What to order: Flower pot (flower designed cupcakes), milo roti
• Price range: $$

Audrey isn’t a dessert shop per se, and is actually a pretty well-known Thai restaurant that has multiple branches across the city. While their main dishes are good, but not really something you’d write home about; their desserts are BEAUTIFUL and DELECTABLE (but also very very sweet) – a deadly combo. My personal favorite? The flower pot – with its multiple flavors and its beautiful presentation. The milo roti was also a crowd-favorite, and extremely interesting – definitely not something I’ve encountered before

□    □    □

After You

• What to order: Signature Shibuya honey toast
• Price range: $$

Fun fact: After You is a dessert cafe that’s worth THB 1bn on the Thai Stock Exchange. Not bad for a sweets store… Anyway, this café is SUPER famous, and you’ll see them pretty much anywhere with long queues snaking out of the store most of the time. I didn’t really understand what the hype was all about as it was good, but not THAT good to warrant 30mins of queueing. Anyway, my personal recommendation would be the strawberry cream toast – I particularly liked how they make the toast crispy on the edges but meltingly smooth in the inside

□    □    □

Scoozi

• What to order: Tiramisu
• Price range: $$

I know this one looks a bit out of place, but I was craving for tiramisu one day… And I found the perfect one in Scoozi (again, not a dessert place, it’s a legitimate Italian restaurant), which I felt I had to share with the general public!

□    □    □

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart

• What to order: Original cheese tart
• Price range: $$

Okay, so Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart is available in loads of countries, not just Thailand. I’m putting this here though because in Bangkok, they have additional flavors – such as durian and sweet potato! I tried them all, but came to the realization that… nothing beats the original cheesy goodness

□    □    □

Drinks

Above Eleven

• What to order: Foei gras nigiri Nikkei, Anticucho Trio (essentially charcoal grilled skewers), Drinks of your choice (they’re all good!)
• Price range: $$$

So this place is apparently Peruvian Japanese… regardless of cuisine, the food here (and drinks) absolutely blew my mind! The sauce, the ingredients, everything is just perfection – coupled with a beautiful view (and breeze), lively music, and a nice cold drink in hand – nothing beats Above Eleven for a night out in Bangkok. Take note – this place is super popular though, so make sure to have a reservation ready, and to come early (there are events every day of the week – e.g., Wednesday salsa nights, that makes it one of the most happening places today)

□    □    □

Char

• What to order: Drinks of your choice
• Price range: $$

The Bangkok rooftop view from Char is stunning – and the best I’ve seen as I hopped from one rooftop bar to another. The food needs some work though, but you came here for the drinks and the views anyway – so who’s complaining?

This, by no means, encompasses everything Bangkok has to offer. And after two months there, I must admit, I’ve barely scratched the surface. So if you’ve got food recommendations you think I should try – please let me know!

For my other Bangkok blogs – check them out below:

Bangkok: a DIY logistics and travel guide for tourists

A step-by-step guide on how to explore the historic temples of Ayutthaya

For future food reference

• Raan Jay Fai