Sukhumvit

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.

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 .

Well, it’s time to make that fantasy come true at Hundred Children Tea House. Two stories of antiques have been combined with a ground floor cafe that serves coffee, tea, and light meals. It’s a nice respite from the busy Asoke area, and the bathrooms themselves are worth a visit: dragons spray water onto your hands. Coffee from 55 baht, pots of tea from 150 baht, croissants and Chinese... Read our full review of Hundred Children Tea House.

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.

Bo.lan is presently one of les enfant terribles of Thai food in Bangkok, in fine company with Nahm and Soul Food Mahanakorn, that have changed the way that (some) Thais think about their food. Alice Waters began to refine how Americans thought about seasonality and it’s affect on eating habits; Bo and Dylan are attempting a similar conversation with Thailand. It’s unclear if this is the... Read our full review of Bo.lan.

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.

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).

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.

The air con dining room is furnished with Thai antique furniture and royal newspaper clippings from the 1930s and the back patio is shaded by palms and banana trees; both options make for a relaxing meal. Baan Khanitha’s food focuses on traditions from the Thai court, and they are most successful with dishes such as gai takrai (chicken fried with lemongrass) and chuchi pla tub tim, a whole... Read our full review of Baan Khanitha Restaurant.

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.

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 .

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.

While there is a lot of passable ramen in Thailand, but few deliver the intensely flavoured broth and chewy noodles that Tan Tan does. Tan Tan also serves up Japanese curry on rice, omu rice (japonica rice rolled in a delicate omlette) and katsudon or ebidon, both bowls of rice topped with either a fried pork cutlet or tempura fried shrimp, respectively. Ramen 160 baht per bowl, other... Read our full review of Tan Tan Men.

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.

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.

The dining room is simple and modern, and seems appropriate to the aims of the kitchen: uncomplicated, delicious food. The weekly menu keeps things fresh and allows the chef to constantly provide seasonally-appropriate variations. Oysters are on the menu when available and are flown in weekly — they make quite the treat in tropical Bangkok. Oysters 110/150 baht each, mains from 380 -580... Read our full review of Fat Fish Bistro.

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.

Tilac German Restaurant serves up classic German fare like the previously mentioned blutwurst mit sauerkraut as well as schnitzel, currywurst, and plenty of fried things. Tilac serves a nice selection of German beers as well, including Flensburger, Paulaner, and Weihenstephan, amongst others. A good selection of Thai dishes and a confusing pizza menu are also on offer, but it’s best to... Read our full review of Tilac German Restaurant.

OK, well maybe it was expat and travelling North Americans who were hungry, but either way, Charlie’s Cantina served it up. The menu reads like an edited version (a good, concise edit) of many tex-mex eateries: tacos and tacitos, enchiladas, fajitas, chiles rellenos and chimichangas. While some of their dishes are a compromise of availability versus authenticity (cream cheese filled... Read our full review of Charlie Brown's Mexican Cantina.

Kitted out it a faux Route 66 décor, it’s hilariously tacky, but in a fun way. Their menu is half American highway rest stop food: hamburgers, hot dogs, full American breakfast, and half Thai classics, including fried rice, fried noodles, and curry. None of the food is mind blowing, but it is appropriate for a 3am munch. V8 diner has an insanely cheap happy hour with beer and house-pour... Read our full review of V8 Diner .

There can’t be many cities in the world that boast entire streets dedicated to entertainment, but Bangkok – being a notorious party town – has several, including backpacker haven Khao San Road, Soi Cowboy and Patpong, which are geared towards sex tourists, and Royal City Avenue, which is packed full of clubs. Single-street nights out are a great option for the lazy planner, or those who... Read our full review of Sukhumvit Soi 11.

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.

The industrial feel of the exposed brick-and-beams really works in this space, and blessedly the designers left enough room for a real dance floor. Out front is a deck for socializing and some fresh air (and a place to see and be seen). The crowd is solidly post-university, meaning that there is less pretention and preening than at some other Thong Lor spots (oh, there’s still plenty, don’t... Read our full review of Demo.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Aussie beers Pure Blonde and Victoria Bitter amongst others are on tap alongside regional brews Tiger, Heineken (yes, it’s brewed in Singapore, so it’s regional now) and SIngha. The Australian draws a crowd when the sport is hot, but otherwise it’s a chill place to grab some cold beer. The front deck is a nice place to sit when the weather is good, but there’s plenty of air-con seating inside... Read our full review of The Australian.