Live Like A Local: A food lover’s guide to Bangkok

You’d be forgiven for choosing to spend all your dining hours at Soho House Bangkok – opening soon – but venture out and you’ll soon discover that the Thai capital is one of the best places in the world to stretch your tastebuds.

From artisanal coffee through to superlative street food, Soho House Bangkok’s Executive Chef Kesinee Damrongsakul has the local lowdown on what to try while you’re in town.  

1. Where to get breakfast and brunch

Roast
Offering casual dining, comfort food and a wide variety of dishes, the artisanal coffee alone makes Roast worth a visit (or three). 
 
Sanan seafood
Head here for the best dried rice porridge with seafood, plus a wide variety of local food choices. 

Conkey’s Bakery
All the goods at Conkey’s are baked fresh every morning. The cafe features a cosy courtyard, which is so relaxing you’ll want to chill there all day. It also offers a takeaway option. 

2. Where to get lunch

Soei
Consistent and excellent; whenever I want a solid local choice for lunch, I book a spot at Soei.

Thong Smith
Offering the best beef boat noodle soup in Bangkok, Thong Smith is ideal for a quick lunch. You can choose your preferred type of beef, which is a bonus.

Zao
A great option for north-eastern-style food, Zao reminds me of my hometown. The restaurant also specialises in sourcing seasonal ingredients such as pla yon (local Isaan freshwater fish).

Wattana Phanit
Open for more than 40 years, I love this eatery’s braised beef noodle soup with a super-intense flavour. Opt for different types of noodle with your soup or simply order a steamed rice.

3. Where to get dinner  

Sorn
One of my favourite fine-dining restaurants in Bangkok, Sorn serves Southern Thai food. The chefs work with local producers to source exotic and seasonal ingredients exclusively for the restaurant. 

Charmgang
Authentic Thai food in a casual setting. Charmgang is the master of curry soup, as well as other rare-to-find dishes from vintage Thai cookbooks.  

Cetara
Cetara specialises in Italian seafood dishes such as Sea Salad (calamari and octopus salad with Calabrian oregano), Spaghetti Con La Colatura Di Alici and Calamarata Con Ragu Di Polipetti.

4. Where to get street food

Always head for the Yaowarat or Chinatown areas, which are heaven for food lovers. Expect savoury and sweet options, but also many of the tropical fruits you can find in the local area. What’s also great is that lots of the shops stay open until late, so you can come whenever you’re hungry. Highlights include Rice Noodle Roll, Fish Maw Soup, Grilled Squid, Ginger Bua Loy, and Sweet Poached Egg.

5. Where to get late-night eats 

Saeng Chai Pochana
One of the most popular places for a late-night supper in Bangkok, Saeng Chai Pochana is located in Thonglor and is famous for Pad Dok Kajon (stir-fried cowslip creeper flowers – or Thai milkweed flowers – with egg and mung bean noodles), Tom Moo Kiem Chai (a minced pork soup flavoured with Chinese-style pickled mustard greens), and Pla Gao Tod Gratiem Prik Thai (deep fried grouper topped with garlic and black pepper).

Jeh O
This restaurant is well-known for its Mama Tom Yum or Tom Yum soup with instant noodles served with seafood, minced pork and crispy pork. The other seafood dishes are second to none. Open from late afternoon until midnight, it gets busy very quickly, so make sure you arrive early to grab a table.

Shakariki 432
This Japanese izakaya place is open until 3am. You can always stop by for delicious sticks of grilled pork and beef, Japanese hotpot and, of course, a beer.