Victory Monument

Eat and meet

Victory Monument

Baan Paa Jazz

Highly recommended

103 Soi Watanayotin (Rachawiti 7), Rangnam Rd
T: (02) 245 1006

If you're in the Rangnam area this back to basics restaurant should be at the very top of your must-try list. Covered with a corrugated tin roof, the walls plastered with newspapers articles, prizes awarded to children, and pictures of the King, the woman behind this restaurant stands behind two ... read more
Streetfood: Soi Rangnam

Take a slow, munching stroll

Soi Rangnam

This short road feeds office workers their morning sweets and coffee, serves up dish after bowl after skewer of lunchtime fare and continues to sizzle as the sun goes down. Starting from the western end of the road (closest to the BTS station) and working your way all the way to Ratchaprarop Rd, ... read more
Taksura

Let loose the Thai way

Soi Worant (334/1 Phyathai Rd, beside the canal bridge)
T: (02) 215 8879

Taksura is the definition of a baan-baan hangout, which means it's a laidback, casual bar-club for sitting around a table with friends and eating/drinking your worries away. Rather than drawing a distinct group of people, anyone from Thai college students to older businessmen can be found here, and ... read more
Som Tam on Soi Ari

Some of the best papaya salad around

Soi Ari, Bangkok
T: (087) 685 2213

Some of the best food in Bangkok is often found at tiny, nameless shops. Case in point: a modest family-run noodle shop down the alley between Ari Soi 1 and Ari Soi 2 churns out cheap yet unforgettable som tam (unripe papaya salad). The man behind the magic can be found almost everyday ... read more
Hat Man Soup Shop

Heaven on a plastic chair

Soi Wattanayothin, Rangnam Rd, Victory Monument, Bangkok

Tucked down a side street off Rangnam Road near Victory Monument you’ll find some of the city’s best noodle soup served up daily by a man with a hat. The shop doesn’t actually have a name but we settled on calling it Hat Man after enjoying his outstanding kway tiow nahm several times per ... read more
Sky Train Jazz Bar

If you're a little bit hipster

Soi Rangnam (near Victory Monument), Bangkok
T: (089) 895 4299

Sky Train Jazz is our favourite bar in the vibrant, young and non-touristy Victory Monument area. Despite the name, it's not a live music venue (nearby Saxophone is the place to go for that), and more often than not the music being played over the bar's sound-system isn't even jazz. This is a ... read more
Shambala

Excellent Isaan fare

71/1 Phaholyothin Soi 7 (Soi Ari), Phaholyothin Rd
T: (02) 357 1597

Inexplicably named Shambala is an excellent Isaan restaurant, with a minimalist designer interior (except for the Chinese shrine) and a host of ladyboys to bring you your plate of grilled chicken. As confusing as the décor/ladyboy/cuisine combination is, it all works. The food really ... read more
Salt Bar and Restaurant

Wear your fancy shoes

Soi Ari 4, Phaholyothin Soi 7, Phaholyothin Rd
T: (02) 619 6886

Salt drags the young and fabulous and moneyed in every night to drink stylish cocktails and Japanese beer inside its minimalist glass cube of a dining room. The cube is perched in front of a traditional old Thai house on a grassy lawn, flanked by an outdoor patio popular during the cool season. ... read more
Fondue House

Fondue then bypass

Soi Chamnan Aksorn, off Phaholyothin 9, Phaholyothin Rd
T: (02) 279 4731

Nothing says tropical living like a bowlful of bubbling cheese, n'est-ce pas? Fondue House has been serving up three types of fondue for over twenty years. Located in a residential neighbourhood a bit north of Ari, this restaurant sprawls across an air-con dining room, to a lawn terrace, right ... read more
Pad Thai Ari

One of the best pad thai joints in Bangkok

Between Phaholyothin Soi 6 and Soi 8, Phaholyothin Rd
T: (02) 270 1654

Considered by some to be the best Pad Thai in Bangkok, Pad Thai Ari offers several choices of this popular dish. The original shop closed due to a land redevelopment, but the owners just shifted to the other side of the street and kept on frying up these famous noodles. Choose the standard ... read more
Som Tum Bangkok

Be sure to try the Isaan sausages

9 Soi Ari 3, Phaholyothin Soi 7 (Soi Ari), Phaholyothin Rd
T: (02) 619 8659

A hundred metres off of Soi Ari (formally known as Phaholyothin Soi 7), down Soi Ari 3, is the long time favourite Som Tum Bangkok. It reliably serves up Isaan standards in a leafy green setting. Sitting outside on the patio at night is enchanting — until some extra-hot green papaya salad melts ... read more
Streetfood: Boat Noodles in Victory Monument

Slurp it good

Northeast corner of Victory Monument traffic circle

Lining the banks of a small canal, this cluster of boat noodle shops is a great place to try this central Thai specialty. Boat noodles were original actually served from boats that puttered up and down the canals. Today, as the canals have become drainage-only, the restaurants have moved to the ... read more
Saxophone Pub and Restaurant

Great tunes & crazy cocktails

3/8 Phayathai Road, Victory Monument
T: (02) 246 5472

With a weekly schedule of rotating jazz, funk, big band, reggae and blues, this rarest-of-venues features two to three sets a night. The bar décor appears to be a chain restaurant gone wrong, but it's actually quite charming inside. Also, they have ice in their urinals, something that never ... read more
Kuang Sea Foods

Amazing seafood

107/13 Rangnam Rd, Phaya Thai
T: (02) 642 5591

The dining room at Kuang Sea Foods has the same charm that the stacks of aquariums out front have: wall to ceiling windows, tile, and lots of fluorescent light. At least it's not flooded with water. But from this humble and uninspired design springs forth some amazing seafood for an incredible ... read more
Cocowalk

Go Indie funk

87/70 Phaya Thai Rd

Cocowalk is a covered conglomeration of small bars and restaurants popular with Thai college students and hipsters. The music is often good, with rotating acts appearing at Volks Bar and The Tube most evening. There is food to be had almost everywhere, but it's best to stop for a meal at the small ... read more
Royal City Avenue (RCA)

Love it or hate it

Rama IX Rd

Love it or hate it, and if you talk to enough people who live in Bangkok they'll fall into one of those two camps, RCA is an (evolving) institution in Bangkok. An entertainment district that hosts more than 50 bars, restaurants, clubs, and cafes, RCA is jam packed every weekend. It's not the most ... read more
Mello Yello

Swank jazz club

29/70-72 RCA Zone S, Rama IX Rd, across from Cosmic Cafe
T: (02) 641 4283

Mello Yello is a swank jazz club in the popular Royal City Avenue area of Bangkok, a bar and club district. The smooth dark interior is inviting, and the acts booked are excellent with some internationally famous musicians coming in to play high-hat and bebop. Of course, it all depends on the ... read more
Pumpkin Lady Restaurant

Top notch

Rachatewi Soi 6

While something of an adventure to find, this family-run spot features top-notch central Thai food at great prices. The head chef has been cooking for twenty-five years, and she never fails to deliver perfect tom yum, jungle curry (less creamy and spicier than coconut milk curries, and utterly ... read more
Street food: Soi Ari

Let the grazing begin

Soi Ari (aka Phahonyothin Soi 7)

Just off Ari BTS station, Soi Ari is an excellent place to give Thai street food a shot. Here you'll find a more relaxed setting than Chinatown or Silom. Although tasty eats are found throughout the street, a stretch between sois 1 and 2 sees a tightly packed group of vendors hawking fresh ... read more
Baiyoke Sky Tower Rooftop Bar

Terrific views

222 Soi Ratchaprarop 3, Ratchaprarop Rd
T: (02) 656 3000

If all of the other bars in the sky bar club are shooting for chic and cool, the Baiyoke apparently didn’t get the memo. The Rooftop Bar on the 83rd floor looks like it was put together by a sixth grade class, but it's charming in its own way (the same way that dumb kittens are charming). ... read more
Banana Family Park Vegetarian Food Court

Cheap good vege fare

Baan Ari 17, Ari Soi 1, Phaholyothin Rd
T: (02) 279 7838;(085) 440 9953

Banana Family Park sounds like an amusement park, but actually is a dharma study centre. While children would be furious with the deception, this strange little complex houses a great vegetarian food court that is well worth a visit. Inexpensive, fresh vegetarian food, including tofu of all ... read more
iberry

Too cute for human eyes

La Villa, Phaholyothin Rd, Samsen Nai,
T: (02) 613 0544

While almost too cute for human eyes, iberry does a great job of providing sugar for the people. Coffee, tea, smoothies, shakes, and ice cream are available, to be served next to fudge cake, brownies, cookies, and fruit pastries. The ice cream comes in an amazing number of flavours by the ... read more
Greyhound Café

Relaxed chain cafe

La Villa, Phaholyothin Rd, Samsen Nai, Bangkok
T: (02) 613 0547

The Ari branch of this Bangkok chain has a relaxed feel to it, with a large outdoor seating area with fans and misters to keep the heat at bay. The menu has both European bistro-style dishes, like lasagna, tomato and mozzarella salad, or steamed mussels, as well as fried rice, green papaya salad, ... read more
Dalad Vietnamese Restaurant

Ignore the decor, enjoy the food

36/9 Soi Ari (Phaholyothin Soi 7), Phaholyothin Rd
T: (02) 271 2109

While the interior of this restaurant looks like Laura Ashley exploded in rural France, the food is quite good. The classic Vietnamese food is well prepared, and the menu features a few Thai dishes as well. If you can ignore the floral prints and dried flowers, the shrimp toast, pho, pak mor and ... read more
Brown Berry Cafe and Bar

Adorable

117/4-5 Soi Phahon Yothin 7 (Soi Ari), Phahon Yothin Rd
T: (02) 278 4544

This adorable café on newly trendy Soi Ari has an inviting covered patio with fans from which to watch the afternoon pass by. Free Wifi, good coffee, and happy hour specials on Singha offer something for everyone. Inside seating is limited, but very air conditioned if you need to come in out ... read more
Victory Point Outdoor Market

Great for noodles

Northeast and Southeast Corners of Victory Monument

Victory Point Outdoor Market is located southeast and northeast of the outside ring of the Victory Monument traffic circle. It's a hodgepodge of clothes, bags, cute things of every shape and size, and snacks — the northeast section is primarily clothes, while the southeast section has more food ... read more
Rock Pub

Real rock

93/26-28 Phayathai Rd
T: (02) 251 9980

This strange looking bar, part Disneyland castle, part underground sex chamber, has been rocking out for more than 20 years now. The service is indifferent, but the drinks are cheap and the music is and earsplitting, which is exactly how a bar dedicated to metal should be run. And make no mistake: ... read more