Region: Bangkok And Surrounds> Province: Bangkok> Location: Bangkok » Sukhumvit Soi 1 to Asok

Sukhumvit Soi 1 to Asok

Sukhumvit Road from Soi 1 to Asok (BTS Phloenchit to Asok) is both a busy commercial district and one of the most popular tourist destinations Bangkok. Consequently, there are nearly countless cafes, restaurants, and bars (there are three Starbucks within one block of Nana alone!), which cater to tourists and expatriates from all parts of the world. The area is also home to some of the best clubs and nightlife in the city.

Thai & other Asian
Several different options in this neighbourhood include Suda, an open-air restaurant of the style typically popular with Thai's, but which is very popular with foreigners because of its inexpensive, authentic Thai food and cheap, cold beers; Rosabieng, with 353 dishes to select from in a stylish colonial-style mansion dining room; and Cabbages & Condoms, somewhat of a theme restaurant, founded by the man who introduced safe sex to Thailand and continues to serve Thai fare for a tourist palate (excellent for newbies to Thai cuisine.)

If you're craving Japanese head over to Tsu/Nami at the bottom of the JW Marriot Hotel. The former serves both traditional and inventive sushi and sashimi, the latter is Benihana-style Japanese teppanyaki. Both are five star qualities at five star prices.

Cabbages and Condom's: 10 Sukhumvit Soi 12, Bangkok. (02) 229 4610. Open daily 11:00-22:00.
Rosabieng Restaurant: 3 Sukumvit Soi 11 (Soi Chaiyot), Bangkok. (02) 253-5868. Open daily 11:00-23:00.
Suda: Sukhumvit Soi 14, Bangkok. Open Mon-Sat 10:00-22:00, Sun 16:00-22:00.
Tsu/Nami: 4 Sukhumvit Soi 2, Bangkok. T: (02) 656 7700. Open daily 18:00 – 22:30

Middle Eastern & Indian
The multicultural nature of this neighbourhood means there is a wealth of authentic, ethnically diverse restaurants to choose from. Of particular note are the Arabic and middle-eastern restaurants primarily located between sois three and five. Sharazad, Al-Hussain, and Nasser Elmassry are all excellent. Some of the restaurants are also very popular for smoking sheesha -- flavoured tobacco smoked out of a communal water pipe. Moody's Place on Soi 7 and Beirut Restaurant across the street at Phloenchit Tower are two of the best Lebanese restaurants in the area, if not the city.

A couple of Indian restaurants on Sukhumvit 11 are quite popular. Moghul Room Indian Restaurant, just across from Cheap Charlies, does all the Indian standards, including an array of vegetarian options. Try to be seated upstairs where the atmosphere is more intimate. Prices are reasonable and the portions are a decent size. Mrs Balbir's Northern Indian Food is a long-time expat favourite, serving good vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian food in a pleasant little two-storey restaurant. Servings are smaller and prices higher than Moghul.

Al-Hussain: 75/7 Sukhumvit Soi 3/1, Bangkok. T: (02) 252 0240
Beirut Restaurant: Ploenchit Plaza, Basement Floor, Sukhumvit Soi 2, Bangkok. T: (02) 656 7337. Daily 10:00-22:00
Moghul Room Indian Restaurant: 1/16 Soi Chaiyot Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok. T: (02) 253 4465
Moody's Place Lebanese Restaurant: 4/2 Sukhumvit Soi 5, Bangkok. T: (02) 655 7910
Mrs Balbir's Northern Indian Food: Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok.
Nasir Elmassry: 4/6 Sukhumvit Soi 3/1, Bangkok. T: (02) 253 5582
Shahrazad Restaurant: 6/8 Sukhumvit 3/1, Bangkok. T: (02) 251 3666

Western
Several good Italian eateries are found along lower Sukhumvit, including the home-style La Buca on soi 1, where you may be serenaded by Mr. Oreste the proprietor; Pizzeria Limoncello on Soi 11, which makes delicious pizzas in a wood-fired oven; and La Gritta on soi 19, which has a 350 Baht all you can eat lunch buffet. Rossini's, in the Sheraton Grande is finer dining, for those looking both good value and an upscale atmosphere. For authentic German food try Tilac, which screens German football matches and Formula One racing on soi 1, or the Old German Beerhouse on soi 11. Both restaurants serve a number of German beers as well good German foods.

Several Mexican restaurants to choose from include 24-hour tacos and burritos, along with Corona beer, at Sunrise Tacos, ideal for budget travellers and those craving late night munchies, and Charlie Browns, which relocated to Soi 11 in 2006 and serves margaritas and decent Tex-Mex that is tasty, if a bit greasy.

Rounding out your eclectic dining options are Bed Supperclub, which has a rotating menu of inventive, multi-course meals for the uber-trendy, who dine upon white beds while models dance and DJ's spin for their amusement; The New York Steakhouse, within the JW Marriot, is arguably the best steakhouse in town with beef from Japan, the US, and Australia. Delectable tapas and decent sangria are available at Tapas Cafe on Sukhumvit soi 11; and Crepes and Co, a long-time Bangkok favourite, serves innovative crepes and Moroccan dishes, particularly popular for brunch.

Bed Supper Club: 26 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok. T: (02) 651 3537. Open nightly: 20:00-01:00
Charley Brown's: 1/13 Sukumvit Soi 11, Bangkok. T: (02) 651 2215. Open Tue-Sun: 17:30-23:00
Crepes & Co: 18 Sukhumvit Soi 12, Bangkok. T: (02) 251 2895. Open daily 9:00-24:00
La Buca: 220/4 Sukhumvit Soi 1, Bangkok. T: (089) 216 6514. Open Mon - Sat 11:30 – 14:00 & 18:00 – 22:30
New York Steakhouse: 4 Sukhumvit Soi 2, Bangkok. T: (02) 656 7700. open daily 18:00 – 23:00
Old German Beerhouse: 11 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Grand President Tower III, Bangkok. T: (02) 651-3838. Open daily 8:00-01:00
Pizzeria Limoncello: No. 17 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok. T: (02) 651 0707. Open daily 12:00-14:00 & 18:00-23:30
Rossini's: 250 Sukhumvit Rd, Bangkok. T: (02) 649 8888. Open daily 12:00 – 14:30/18:30 – 22:30
Sunrise Tacos: Sukumvit Soi 12, Bangkok. T: (02) 229-4852. Open daily 24-hours
Tapas Cafe: 1/25 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok. T: (02) 651 2947. Open daily 12:00-23:00
Tilac German Restaurant: 38 Sukhumvit Soi 1, Bangkok. T: (02) 255 6881. Open daily 08:00 – 24:00

Pubs & nightlife
For pub fare there are several options to choose from, although none is particularly outstanding. Bully's, alongside the JW Marriot, has several pool tables, but features photocopied Guinness posters. 2007 newcomer Hanrahans Irish Pub on Soi 4 has a more authentic appearance, but the hands-down most popular pub is Gulliver's Tavern on Soi 5, a Hard-Rock style mega-pub, with multiple pool tables, a foosball table, big screen TVs, and a guitar shaped bar.

The primary nightlife area in this neighbourhood is along Sukhumvit Soi 11. After dining at one of the many restaurants along the street, join expats and tourists at Cheap Charlies, a makeshift, outdoor bar wedged on the corner of a Soi 11 sub-soi and serves some of the cheapest beers in Bangkok. Despite basic facilities (the toilet sign reads Pissing only, no shitting), it's not a bad place for a couple of quick drinks. Afterward, make your way down the soi to the space-age designed Bed Supperclub. Split into two zones, both of which spin different music, Bed has different themes each night and is deservedly busy seven days a week. Later on, make your way to Q-Bar, another of Bangkok's long reigning club's, which like Bed, hosts internationally acclaimed musicians and is popular every night of the week. Both clubs are great for dancing and are surprisingly unpretentious and genuinely fun.

If pool is more your game, check out The Ball in Hand, which has locations at Times Square (near BTS Asok) and Sukhumvit soi 4. Both locations have impeccable tables and cues; the soi 4 location hosting the occasional international 8 and 9 ball tournament.

For live jazz music, The Living Room, in the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, is one of the premier jazz clubs in the city, featuring internationally acclaimed musicians.

Although the Bangkok nightlife is not as wild and crazy since the new social order campaign cracked down on the all-night party scene, there are always a few venues for late night parties to let loose throughout the night. Sin, above the Ball in Hand on Soi Nana, is an outdoor, rooftop bar that is occasionally open for an extra hour or two. Black and White, located down the small soi across from English Solutions School on Soi 1, is normally open until 3 or 4 in the morning, but draws only a moderate crowd. One of the hottest late night party spot in the city is currently (as of April 2007) Spice Club, located in the basement of the Ambassador Hotel. This large, literally underground, club has live bands nightly and serves from midnight until 6am. All after-hours clubs charge premium prices for drinks and often have a cover charge. If you're desperate for a party, but don't want to pay those prices, sit down at a sidewalk bar on Sukhumvit or get your fortune read by one of the many Mor Doo seated alongside the makeshift bars and restaurants.

Finally, if you haven't already heard, Nana Plaza on Sukhumvit soi 4 is one of the city's infamous red-light districts. There are three floors of debauchery, with the action getting raunchier the higher up you go. Some of the clubs feature tricks, shower scenes, or mechanical bulls; many are rip-offs. Slightly tamer, but morally equivalent, are the pool/beer bars of Soi 1 plaza, located on Sukhumvit at the top of the soi.

Black and White: Sukhumvit Soi 1, Bangkok. Open nightly 23:00-03:00
Bully's Pub: 8 Sukhumvit Road (between soi 2 and 4), Bangkok. T: (02) 656 4609. Open daily 11:00 – 01:00
Cheap Charlies: Soi Chai Yot, Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok.
Gulliver's Travellers Tavern: 6 Sukhumvit Soi 5, Bangkok. T: (02) 655-5340.
Hanrahans Irish Pub: 12/1 Sukhumvit Soi 4, Bangkok. (02) 255 0644. Open daily 10:00 – 01:00
Q Bar Bangkok: 34 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok. (02) 252 3274. Open daily 20:00 – 02:00
Sin: Sukhumvit Soi 4, Bangkok. Open daily 17:30 - 04:00
Spice Club: 171 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok T: (02) 254 0444. Open daily 24:00-06:00
The Ball in Hand: 18 Sukhmvit Soi 4, Bangkok. Open daily 11:00-01:00
The Living Room: 250 Sukhumvit Rd, Bangkok. T: (02) 649 8888.