Best Places To Eat In Bangkok
Bangkok is a city with a lot of history, but I’ve discovered that it’s also growing more avant-garde than ever, particularly when it comes to cuisine. As a travel writer and author of guides, I’ve spent the last ten years living and working in Bangkok. During that time, I’ve frequented new places and witnessed the city’s restaurant scene expand thanks to newcomers with diverse interests and talents.
Although the capital of Thailand will consistently be recognised for its straightforward street food scene, I’ve recently seen a new generation of innovative eateries pushing the boundaries of flavour while still honouring Thai culture.
Canvas
My current preferred dining establishment in Bangkok is Canvas. I’ve eaten at excellent restaurants worldwide, but this experience was unlike anything I’ve ever had.
This restaurant’s 18-course meal exemplifies the phrase “food as art.” Each dish is placed, brushed, or dabbed like paint onto the plate. A medley of 33 different veggies comparable to a Pollock masterpiece is one of the most striking. Along with the dinner is a book of paintings that the chef himself painted throughout the pandemic.
Le Normandie by Alain Roux
Le Normandie has dominated traditional French cuisine in Asia since it opened its doors in 1958. I believe there is no better place to eat for a special occasion in Thailand than next to the restaurant’s glittering chandeliers and lavish floral arrangements, which offer unrivalled views of the Chao Phraya.
For its new French chef, Alain Roux, who is guiding the illustrious traditions of Le Normandie with exquisite dishes like wagyu beef with truffles and pan-seared Canadian lobster, the restaurant changed its name to Le Normandie in December 2021. Although eating dinner is a tradition, I prefer the three-course lunch menu because it is more affordable and offers views of the river’s longtail boats during the day.
Sorn
I think that Sorn, a fine-dining establishment serving southern Thai cuisine, is the most upscale restaurant in Bangkok. You must email the restaurant with your reservation request because only 20 dinner-only seats are available, and only 10% of bookings are kept for guests from outside the United States. If you’re flexible, be sure to say it because I was able to secure a table after a last-minute cancellation.
Sorn provides a menu of just five courses rather than upwards of a dozen. Everything is served in a family-sharing style, in contrast to what feels like most of the capital’s contemporary eateries these days. You’ll find recipes and preparation methods such as a yellow curry using gu fish and ingredients like sugar palm and coconut milk.
Paste
This is where I would go if I wanted to indulge in Michelin-starred Thai food in Bangkok. Paste’s cuisine, inspired by royal Thai cuisine, uses opulent local ingredients in unusual yet time-honoured specialities like watermelon, fish roe soup, and northern Shan curry with cow cheek.
The restaurant is situated in the most desirable area of Gaysorn Village, the poshest mall in Bangkok. The booths next to the floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the Ratchaprasong neighbourhood are my favourite seats in the entire establishment. The taxis and tuk-tuks frantically circling each other from this vantage point seem remarkably tranquil.
Sühring
One of the world’s most innovative (and Michelin-acclaimed) German restaurants is in Bangkok, which surprised me. Thomas and Matthias Sühring, the twin chefs and owners of Sühring are natives of East Berlin and experiment with various recipes they grew up eating.
The chefs improve traditional German fare like chicken salad, which is reimagined as a one-bite tartlet with butterhead lettuce jelly. Other foods, which I had never heard of before, had fascinating backstories to go along with them. For example, Leipziger Allerei, a simple dish of vegetables and fish, and roasted Hungarian duck, a traditional Christmas feast for the chefs when they were young.
GAA
Although the chef, Garima Arora, once received her training at the renowned Noma in Copenhagen, Gaa’s menu features a variety of imaginative Thai and Indian fine dining, with a constant emphasis on regional goods. With a modern twist, Indian street food is the inspiration for dishes like mango soup with vanilla and dried fruits and a crispy pomelo, chutney, and trout roe snack.
Although Arora is from India, the restaurant is a Bangkok original and, in my opinion, gives the country’s sizeable Thai-Indian minority—which has existed for generations—the much-needed prominence it needs.
