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The dining scene in Bangkok, like most international capital cities, is rather dynamic and constantly featuring new places and new trends.
There are several different types of restaurants in Bangkok that are worth exploring if you’re a visitor and it depends on your sense of adventure as to where you end up dining.
First, you can visit the four and five star hotels that are seemingly everywhere in Bangkok, especially the central business district. These are the safest havens in a city where you may not have a clue about where to find good food. Here you will find a wide variety of cuisines from American steakhouses to Japanese sushi and sashimi eateries and everything in between. The prices are higher than most stand-alone restaurants but the service is generally quite good.
Next, you can try some of the hundreds of independent restaurants that are everywhere in the city. You’ll find that those catering to a western clientele are primarily in the central business district (that is, the area bounded by Silom and Sukhumvit Roads and the Siam Square-Pratunam area) although there are, of course, some exceptions. These restaurants serve up an even wider variety of cuisines with more Asian and even some African countries represented. The quality of the food and the service you encounter are totally hit or miss from place to place. Some are excellent and some are terrible. The prices differ greatly and it is very difficult to tell the good places from the bad. All of th eplaces that are in our listings are generally quite good, however, so that will give you a basic guide.
Next on the list are the small corner Thai, Chinese or Indian places that you’ll find dotted around the smaller streets and occasionally the main thoroughfares. These places are very inexpensive, are almost exclusively non-air-conditioned and the service can sometimes be slower than the proverbial boat to China. Plus, you’ll rarely find anyone who can speak good English (or any other foreign language) but they will usually be able to communicate with you on a basic level, at least enough to oreder food and pay the bill. However, you can get some of the best and most authentic food here because they don’t usually “westernize” the food in these places to suit the tastes of tourists the way many other places will. That’s great if you want the real thing. Sometimes, though, you’ll discover that you’re better off with some of the dishes being westernized. In either case, it’s worth checking out some of these places if you care to be a little adventurous. Our listing section of restaurants is by no means a complete listing but we’ve attempted to include as many of the places we know that serve good food at reasonable prices. And to get discounts at Bangkok restaurants (and many other businesses), see the banner ad on our homepage for the Thai Premier Club card..
If you’re a fan of authentic Chinese food check out the offerings at the Banyan Tree Hotel as they bring in chefs from the Sherwood Hotel in Taipei and present their versions of Chinese dim sum and many other dishes at the hotel’s Bai Yun restaurant from the 15th to the 28th. The restaurant, by the way, is located on the 58th floor and offers spectacular views of the city.
The three restaurants in the Montien Hotel are featuring special dishes all month with he Monti restaurant presenting a tilapia dish, the Jade Garden restaurant ofering a showcase of shrimp dishes and the Ruenton Coffee Shop serving spicy minced chicken with kale leaves, a variation of a well-known Thai dish.
Not far away at the Crowne Plaza Hotel’s Orchid Lounge, imported U.S. beef is on the menu all month with dishes such as California surf and turf and Madagascar pepper steak among others.
Tako, as you probably know, is Japanese for octopus, and Kisso restaurant in the Grand Pacific Hotel will be featuring different octImpQueensJuly.jpgopus dishes all month including deep-fried octopus with tempura sauce, grilled octopus with sesame sauce and octopus and radish with vinegared dressing among others. And try their Sunday “Jungle Brunch” in the Captain’s Table restaurant for something a little different that’s great for the kids.
For more Japanese food head over to the Evergreen Laurel Hotel’s Cafe Laurel all month. Their regular buffet lunch is priced at 380 baht ++ from Monday to Saturday but if four people show up they only pay for three. The Japanese selections are tasty and numerous with teriyaki, sushi, sashimi and more. And at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Canton Palace, they’re heaving, believe it or not, “Frog Frenzy” all month with a large selection of dishes that represent some of the best Chinese varieties of this delicious meat.
July must be the month for steak and Japanese food because the Tawana Ramada Hotel is also offering both as specials all month with a special addition to their Bon Vivant restaurant dinner buffet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays that covers many varieties of Japanese cuisine. And their TaEvergreenJuly.jpgwana restaurant has an additional menu of steak specialties available at both lunch and dinner.
For even more steak, this time as part of a celebration of American food and wine, the Dusit Thani Hotel’s Hamilton’s Grill restaurant is serving U.S. certified Angus beef and E&J Gallo wine from the 4th to the 13th. The specials will be served at lunch and dinner Mon-Fri and dinner only on Sat-Sun.
Spring rolls are the specialty of the month at Uncle Ho Vietnamese restaurant in the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel as you can order different fresh or fried spring rolls for either 100 or 120 baht++. Fried spring rolls Hanoi style with shrimp, grilled beef rolls and cold rolls with spicy chicken are some of the delicious varieties available.
Japanese noodles are on special in the Classic Place Hotel’s Koto Japanese restaurant all month with dishes like Zaru Soba (cold noodles) and hiyashi Chuka available at lunch and dinner.
If you’re an asparagus lover you’ll want to try some dishes at the Gold Teak Thai restaurant in the Sol Twin Towers Hotel any time this month. Their chefs have created dishes like tiger prawns and scallops with asparagus and cream of asparagus soup with smoked chicken. Also, in the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Fu Marn Lau, a roasted foods promotion will feature delicacies such as roasted pork ribs with black beans along with many others.