Sukhumvit
Street food, cafes, bars, you name it
Street food, cafes, bars, you name it
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Bangkok is hot. Inescapably, incessantly, interminably hot. Even if you take refuge inside one of Bangkok’s air-conditioned malls, you’re going to have to face the heat sometime. What’s the best and most delicious way to counteract days with a low of 40 degrees Celsius? Ice cream. Lots of ice cream. Or gelato for the Italians, and frozen yoghurt for the... Read our full review of Ice cream, gelato and frozen yoghurt in Sukhumvit.
If you're into to vegetarian/vegan and/or organic/healthy movements, here are two cafes that dish out some great food for the health-conscious. With locations close to one another on Sukhumvit Soi 39, you can easily check both of them out at the same... Read our full review of Health food cafes on Sukhumvit Soi 39.
Do you enjoy really good coffee? A robust cup of northern Thai Arabica is readily available all over Bangkok, but sometimes a taste of Guatemala, Kenya or Brazil is in order. Located off Sukhumvit Road, Kuppa is a high-end coffee shop and restaurant that offers an array of house-roasted gourmet beans from several continents. Throw in some savouries and baked goods served in a comfy lounge and... Read our full review of Kuppa .
If you include all the stands slinging coffee streetside, there have to be a million coffee shops in Bangkok. Most sell a standard mix of decent Thai coffee, overly sweet lattes, milky chah yen (Thai iced-tea), a few juices and smoothies, perhaps some baked goods that look better than they taste, and, if the place is elaborate, sandwiches and rice plates. Conveniently located M Coffee does all of... Read our full review of M Coffee.
Widely lauded as one of Bangkok’s best midrange Thai restaurants, Supanniga Eating Room does what it calls “Eastern versus Isaan cuisine” in the trendy Thong Lor area. With culinary roots both in East Thailand’s Trat province and Khon Kaen of Northeast Thailand (aka Isaan), the hotspot delivers a mix of flavours that you won’t typically find under one roof. But is it as... Read our full review of Supanniga Eating Room.
Soul Food Mahanakorn is what you want your neighbourhood Thai place to be like. The dining room is minimalist without being spare, comfortable without being complicated. The food, too, follows this successful formula: seasonal, ingredient-inspired, perfectly-executed Thai. The bar makes fantastic custom cocktails, all of them double pours of quality liquor. It’s a winning combination of... Read our full review of Soul Food Mahanakorn.
This open air dining hall serves up traditional Lao and Isaan food (think som tam, laap and grilled meats) in a rustic atmosphere. If Thais were cowboys, there would be a hitching post out front. Vientiane Kitchen serves spicy food, no doubt, but they are more than happy to tone down the heat if you ask. The staff is friendly and eager to help and the menu is in English, so if all else... Read our full review of Vientiane Kitchen.
Set in a barely noticeable pavilion behind some bushes on Sukhumvit Soi 36, Krua Rom Mai is the sort of Thai restaurant that you expect to find along a rural highway far beyond Bangkok. If you don’t require trendy decor or a traditional dance performance to go with your meal, this slow-paced eatery dishes out big portions of tasty Thai food at backpacker-friendly... Read our full review of Krua Rom Mai.
You’ll find Southern, Central and Northeastern Thai food on practically every Bangkok street, but Northern Thai kitchens aren’t so easy to come by. Down a quiet soi off Sukhumvit, Gedhawa’s traditional Lanna decor in a homely air-con dining room sets the stage for good Northern Thai dishes at prices that are lower than we’d... Read our full review of Gedhawa.
Fear not if Southern Thailand isn’t on your travel agenda. The fiery and pungent flavours of the south are on full display at Phuket Town Restaurant in Bangkok’s trendy Thong Lor area. The little kopi-shop style cafe has always caught our eye from outside, but we were taken aback by how terrific the food turned out to... Read our full review of Phuket Town Restaurant.
Deeply concentrating, a unicyclist fits into his helmet as a crowd gathers round. A bell rings, and a flame dances atop a massive catapult. A whole fried chicken flies through the air as diners gasp in suspense. It’s just another dinner shift at Ka-tron Restaurant in Bangkok‘s southern reaches, which proves that if you’ve got a great gimmick, no one will complain about mediocre... Read our full review of Ka-Tron Restaurant (Flying Unicycle Chicken).
Opened in 2012, May Veggie Home quickly joined Bangkok’s top-notch vegetarian restaurant club thanks to creative dishes drawing on Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Western cuisines. Now at a central location near Asok BTS station, May’s soothing setting, house-made mock meats and vegan desserts keep on... Read our full review of May Veggie Home.
Probably the most famous stall in Sukhumvit Soi 38's nightly street food market, Pad Thai Fire Look dishes out delectable pad Thai and other quick-fried noodle dishes that attract a wide mix of locals, expats and travellers. The name only makes sense once you’ve seen the chef in... Read our full review of Pad Thai Fire Look.
Run by a family with roots in Chumphon province, Kua Kling Pak Sod serves authentic Southern Thai cuisine that does not hold back on the chillies. The classy yet homely original outlet in Thong Lor has been joined by two more locations in the Sukhumvit area, attracting hi-so Thais along with travellers brave enough to sample real-deal curries and more.... Read our full review of Kua Kling Pak Sot.
They work to educate the public about the benefits of population control and to fund community development projects. The Sukhumvit 12 location is a popular option for travellers and expatriates. In addition to an air con bar and dining room, there is a shady patio watched over by towering palms that makes a great place to have a meal — it feels very far removed from central Bangkok.... Read our full review of Cabbages and Condoms.
While KFC outlets, chicken rice shops and grilled chicken-on-a-stick vendors are all ubiquitous in Bangkok, finding free-range, antibiotic-free chicken that you know is hygienically prepared is not an easy task. In the Gateway Ekamai shopping centre off Sukhumvit Road, Chicken T delivers exactly that — and it tastes darn good... Read our full review of Chicken T.
Update: Sadly, the shophouses that most of the food vendors on Sukhumvit Soi 38 rented for four decades are set to be demolished in January 2016 to make way for a condominium. Most, if not all, of the vendors will be forced to close. We will update this post if a number of them relocate to the same... Read our full review of Street food: Sukhumvit Soi 38 .
Long-running Suda Restaurant sits just off Sukhumvit Road and has been filling the bellies of locals and tourists for decades with cheapish and cheerful Thai-Chinese food. While the crowd skews towards tourists in the evening, the lunch-time crowd is more the mixed office crowd, showing that this isn’t a totally toned-down for tourists deal. If you like your Thai food with a punch though, do... Read our full review of Suda Restaurant .
This centre follows the standard formula: tables are communal, order your food from the vendor that sells it, order your drinks from the roving drinks server. It’s a great inexpensive and authentic option in this neighbourhood. Try the sea food hot pot from a stand towards the back (sign in English) or a fantastic bamee noodle soup with pork wantons. You’ll dream about these wantons... Read our full review of Streetfood: Sukhumvit Soi 1.
From China to Malaysia and just about everywhere in between, the breakfast-y snack sala bao is endlessly popular. The steamed bun craze is as strong in Bangkok as anywhere else in Asia, and you don’t have to go to Chinatown to find a good one. Sala Bao Ko Ouan on Asoke-Montri Road churns out house-made buns that are hard to... Read our full review of Sala Bao Ko Ouan.
In Bangkok, a city filled with Japanese expats and close enough to the fish markets of Tokyo to make importing fresh tuna an absurd possibility, sushi restaurants abound. But choosing which sushi restaurant to frequent should never be done haphazardly; you must take as much care in selecting your sushi restaurant as a sushi chef when filleting halibut or rolling maki. Many of the city's best... Read our full review of Great sushi in Sukhumvit.
In the centre of Bangkok’s busiest shopping and business district, Sukhumvit, a plethora of kimchi awaits. Sukhumvit Plaza, one of Bangkok’s oddest architectural eyesores between Soi 10 and Soi 12, is also home to two floors of Korean restaurants, markets and specialty item stores. Informally known as Little Seoul or Korea Town (but without the karaoke bars you might expect), Sukhumvit Plaza... Read our full review of Korean food at Sukhumvit Plaza.
While in Thailand Indian food has always been a bit of a spend compared to other options, it took Indus to make Bangkok sit up and take notice of how amazing this cuisine can be when prepared by the right hands. Indus is definitely more expensive than other Indian options, but the quality of ingredients and the innovative techniques used justify a bit of an investment. The tasting menu is... Read our full review of Indus.
It also crushes eggplant for baba ghanoush, and makes a mean hummus drizzled with olive oil and sumac powder, served with a stack of crispy naan still soft on the inside. The dining room looks like someone’s Egyptian grandmother decorated it using only thrift-shop finds and the staff is efficient to the point of being unfriendly, but this place is definitely worth a meal, even of only to... Read our full review of Shahrazad Restaurant.
Khana Khazana claims to be “Thailand’s first-ever 100% vegetarian fine-dining Indian restaurant”. Whether this is true or not (the fine dining part isn’t), the long-running establishment doesn’t fail to satisfy when it comes to vegetarian breads, curries, thali and tandoori from several different parts of... Read our full review of Khana Khazana.
We spotlighted a few of Bangkok’s best pizza joints some time ago, but that was before Pala Pizza Romana hit the scene in 2012. This casual, easy-to-reach restaurant brims with red, white and green goodness and has since become our go-to spot when an Italian craving needs... Read our full review of Pala Pizza Romana.
With the name of an Indian god, it’s a relaxed Italian bistro that only serves vegetarian fare. The food is great, and no one misses the meat, with excellent eggless pasta hand rolled in the kitchen, excellent pizza, and gnocci that are some of the best to be had in Bangkok. It’s well located, a short walk down Sukhunvit Soi 22, down a subsoi on your right. Pizzas 195-220 baht, pasta... Read our full review of Govinda.
By Bangkok standards, the pizza and pasta served at Bella Napoli will surely please. Set in a fittingly dim dining room, it's a great choice for a non-pretentious Italian dining experience. It's also a great choice for gorging on crispy dough and real... Read our full review of Bella Napoli.
Intimate and rarefied without being exclusive, it’s richly decorated bar and lounge set the mood for an evening of good liquor and smooth beats laid down by excellent DJs. Music varies by night, but is solidly lounge house with some hip-hop and old-school funk thrown in. Q Bar serves food as well, but honestly the menu is a bit of an afterthought to the club vibe. The crowd has safely... Read our full review of Q Bar.
“Is it open?” If I had a baht for every time I heard someone ask that when we pulled up in a taxi to Bangkok’s Bar 23, I’d have enough to kit the bar out with enough toilet paper to last the entire... Read our full review of Bar 23.
Bangkok’s bountiful Thai food keeps us happy 99% of the time, but every so often, a craving for a good old-fashioned burger hits us. Like most international foods, Bangkok has no shortage of burgers that run from Big Macs up to gourmet patties with imported beef. Seeking something in-between, we gave Firehouse Pub & Restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 11 a... Read our full review of Firehouse Pub & Restaurant.
Bangkok, furniture and tat stores seem to go hand in hand with cool drinking venues. The city is full of them, and Shades of Retro is one of the... Read our full review of Shades of Retro.
Over 35 brews are available (with their appropriate accompanying glass ware!), but Chang, Leo, and Heineken have been banned from the building. It’s pricey, but the beer is fantastic. All beers are bottled, and include Palm, Kwak, Maredsous, and Chimay, amongst the more familiar Hoegaarten and Leffe crowd. The food, frankly, is terrible for the price. Go for a beer and eat somewhere else.... Read our full review of House of Beers.
For the record, before I moved to Asia I hated karaoke. Hated with a capital H. I grew up on the prairies where karaoke was someone named Lurleen screaming a country song about divorcing a dog into a microphone while everyone drank themselves to heaven. There’s something supremely unsettling about having a bunch of drunk old men listen to you mangle a Karen Carpenter... Read our full review of Rabbits 3 Karaoke.
VW bars are converted Volkswagen buses with staff operating the cocktail shakers from inside. Decorated with neon fairy lights, disco balls and impressive sound systems blaring out the latest pop hits, they’re a noticeable addition to Bangkok party street Sukhumvit Soi... Read our full review of VW bus bars.
Sukhumvit Soi 11 is bursting with newish high-end bars and restaurants, including Marshmallow, which opened its doors in early 2012. If you have something a little more respectable than flip-flops and harem pants to wear, you might want to venture into Bangkok’s hi-so (that’s high society for the uninitiated)... Read our full review of Marshmallow.
You’ll never be short of somewhere to drink on Sukhumvit Soi 11 and there seems to be a continual increase in the number of new bars and clubs opening their doors. Competition is stiff, but Levels is proving to be one of the most successful launches. Hop in the lift to the sixth floor at Aloft Hotel, and you’ll find a deceptively big club of three distinct sections, each with its own... Read our full review of Levels.
There’s nothing nicer than sinking your feet into deep sand, feeling the breeze ruffle your hair and sipping on a fruity cocktail. Well, that’s the thinking behind Spot On, a newcomer on the buzzing Thong Lo nightlife scene,... Read our full review of Spot On.
Rooftop bars are Bangkok’s specialty. But unless you’ve got an awful lot of cash to flash, most people are limited to sipping on one expensive cocktail, taking the obligatory tourist snaps and then heading back down in the lift. Above Eleven is a little... Read our full review of Above Eleven.
If you think about it, Bangkok and New Orleans have quite a few things in common. Both are hot, flat cities prone to serious flooding. Both are set along major rivers that feed into major gulfs, each of which teem with shrimp. Both are cultural centres and premier nightlife destinations. And, most importantly, both are among the world’s best food cities. Southeast Asia’s only Cajun-Creole... Read our full review of Bourbon Street Bangkok.
Typically, the purpose of a rooftop bar is to experience the cool breeze of the heady heights of the 66th (or another ridiculously high) floor and enjoy incredible cityscapes. Bangkok’s Nest, the rooftop lounge at Le Fenix Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 11, doesn’t really offer much fresh breeze, nor views. Okay, so there is definitely a cool breeze, but it more likely comes from the dozens and... Read our full review of Nest.
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