Thailand´s capital Bangkok is obviously one of the world’s best place to eat Thai food. There are so many restaurants and street vendors selling Thai food that it can sometimes be difficult to spot the outstanding ones. Also, some restaurants cater to tourists, and the food may not be top quality since visitors are usually easier to satisfy than the locals.
We want places that serve authentic and delicious Thai food, where the Thais themselves love to eat.
We have been in Bangkok several times, often staying for long periods of a few months at a time, and have tried many Thai restaurants both indoors and on the streets. We are often asked, “Where do they serve the best Thai food in Bangkok?”
While that is an impossible question to answer, here, we will give you our favorite places to eat authentic Thai food. These are places that not many tourists visit, mostly Thais and ex-pats living in Bangkok.
If you are interested in more cool things to see and do in Bangkok, be sure also to check out our 3-Day Bangkok itinerary, as well as our guide to the 6 amazing Bangkok markets you should not miss.
If you are looking for a hotel in Bangkok, then read our guide to Bangkok’s best areas and hotels.
Our 10 Favorite Places To Eat Thai Food In Bangkok
This Bangkok restaurant guide reveals what we think are the best places to eat Thai food in Bangkok with each restaurant’s signature dish. We hope you find this food guide helpful in finding where to eat in Bangkok. Enjoy your time in Bangkok!
This Bangkok Thai food restaurant guide gives you a list of the 10 best Bangkok restaurants. Here are our favorite Bangkok restaurants and street food stalls to eat authentic Thai food:
1. The Sixth – 6th
The Sixth is a cool and hip little place with excellent authentic Thai food! With only five tables, run and owned by a young couple, the place has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
We particularly love their red curry with prawns, chicken cashew nuts, and Tom Yam Koong. So tasty!
Do try their awesomely yummy chocolate lava cake with mango or Mango sticky rice for dessert. The menu is in English, and the couple speaks excellent English.
They serve great Thai Ice Tea (our favorite!), Ice Lemon Tea, and other drinks like different coffee, White Tea, Matcha Tea, and different kinds of homemade sodas.
- Address: 6 Soi Tha Tien, Maharaj Road. Khet Phra Nakhon area, near Wat Pho (reclining Buddha)
- How to get there: Take the sky train to Saphan Taksin BTS Station, and take the river ferry to pier no. 8 Tha Thien, and walk from there (only a few minutes walk). Or take the metro (MRT) to Sam Yot MRT Station (a 15-min walk to the Sixth).
- Opening hours: 10:30 am – 16:30/ 4:30 pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
- The Sixth´s Webpage
- Reviews of The Sixth on TripAdvisor
2. Bangkok’s Delicious Street Food
All over Bangkok, you will find cheap and delicious Thai food on the street! Some places are pop-up food stalls that move around on trolleys, while others are more or less permanent, serving fresh and tasty Thai food at small tables on the street pavement.
Street food in Bangkok is tasty, quickly delivered, and super cheap. You can usually have a feast for under 150 Baht! Bangkok is the street food capital of the world, and there is plenty of fantastic options to sample the street food. Here are our favorite areas in Bangkok with delicious street food.
3. Krua Apsorn – Bangkok´s Best Crab Omelet
The legendary Krua Apsorn serves delicious and authentic Thai dishes just as they are supposed to be. The owner used to work for the royal Thai family and has brought some of the recipes with her when opening her own restaurant.
You will find six Krua Apsorn restaurants in Bangkok, where two of them (Samsand and Dinsor) are in central Bangkok:
- Samsand: 503 Thanon Samsen, Dusit, Dusit District, Bangkok
- Dinsor: 169 Dinso Rd, Wat Bowon Niwet, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok (close to the Democracy Monument and Khao San Road)
We visited the Krua Apsorn in Dinsor, and all the photos below are from that restaurant.
Their menu is with pictures so it is easy to order what you want and some of the waitresses speak a little English. Not many tourists know about this place, so the staff is not used to talking to foreigners. Therefore the service might feel a bit slow. Krua Apsorn is also mentioned in the Michelin Guide for 2018.
Their signature and the most famous dish is the Kai Food Boo, an omelet with crab meat. And I totally get why as it is delicious and has the perfect combination of juicy, fluffy texture with lots of flavors. Very tasty!
We also had the green curry with chicken and fish cakes; it was all excellent.
- Address: Krua Apsorn has two restaurants in Bangkok. We visited the one at 169 Dinso Rd (near the Democracy Monument and Khao San Road). The original branch of Krua Apsorn is located in Bangkok’s Dusit district at 503 Samsen Road (near Samsen Soi 9).
- Opening hours: Krua Apsorn in Dinso Road: 10:30 am – 20:30/ 8:30 pm. Krua Apsorn in Samsen Road: 10.30 am – 20.00/ 8 pm. Both are closed on Sundays.
- Krua Apsorn’s Official Webpage
- Reviews of Krua Aprsorn on TripAdvisor
4. Thip Samai – Bangkok’s Best Pad Thai
The small restaurant Thip Samai apparently has the best Pad Thai in Bangkok! Not bad considering that they sell Pad Thai EVERYWHERE in this city. So we had high expectations about this Pad Thai, and it did not disappoint!
So is it the best in Bangkok? Impossible to say, but we have eaten a lot of Pad Thais over the years, and this one is seriously delicious!
We usually have one “Superb Pad Thai with small prawns wrapped with egg” (90 Baht = US$ 2,70) and one “Pad Thai Song-Kreung with fresh deep-sea prawns, crabmeat, sliced squid, and sliced mango with noodle” (300 Baht = US$ 9).
Thip Samai also has the most amazing orange juice I have ever tasted! It was so fresh and full of flavor! I could just feel its healthfulness as I was drinking it, filling me up with vitamin C.
So when visiting Thip Samai, make sure to order the orange juice and not just another Singha (which you can buy everywhere in Thailand).
Thip Samai also has the most amazing orange juice I have ever tasted! It was so fresh and full of flavor! I could just feel its healthfulness as I was drinking it, filling me up with vitamin C.
So when visiting Thip Samai, make sure to order the orange juice and not just another Singha (which you can buy everywhere in Thailand).
5. Ros Dee Deed by Nop (former Rod Dee Det)
For over five decades, Rod Dee Det, a Bangkok institution, served its classic noodle dishes from its humble restaurant at Siam Square. It was a great place to have authentic, tasty Thai beef noodle soup just steps away from the shopping malls, and we’d always stop by whenever we were in this part of town. After a small change of location in 2017, they sadly closed down their Siam Square shop permanently in 2021.
However, Rod Dee Det isn’t gone, with a new generation taking over and a name change to Ros Dee Deep by Nop, the classic noodle shop is now in the Sam Yang area. Here Nop is continuing his father’s restaurant legacy.
We haven’t been to the new location ourselves yet (but we will very soon), but the word is that this new shop has retained its focus on high-quality beef noodles and is well worth a visit, even if the location is not the most convenient.
You can now choose among more types of beef, including wagyu beef and ribeye options. and the ribeye noodles are said to be fantastic. We will update this article once we’ve had a chance to try them ourselves!
- Adress: 1125 – 1127 Soi Chula 9, Rama IV Road
- How To Get There: Take the MRT to the Samyan Station, then walk west along Rama IV (about 8-10 minutes)
- Opening hours: 10:00 am – 10 pm every day
- Website: Ros Dee Deed
6. Somtum Der – Bangkok’s Best Som Tam (Papaya Salad)
Somtum Der is a small cozy restaurant serving delicious northeast Isaan Thai food. The restaurant has a great and cozy outside area where you can sit and eat and drink their tasty martinis of vodka and lemongrass or Rosella. Somtum Der has even got a mention in the Michelin Guide.
Their specialty is the Som Tam/ Som Tum (Papaya Salad), of which they have ten versions on the menu.
The easiest for beginners is the Tum Thai, the base papaya salad made with papaya, limes, tomato, chilies, peanuts, and palm sugar. The Tum Thai Kai Kem with salted boiled egg and the Tum Kor Moo Yang with savory grilled pork neck is also delicious!
However, all of the Som Tams are quite spicy, even the one-chili versions are hot, but you can ask for a non-spicy version (as I do). I am not that good at eating spicy food, but I try. Espen has no problem eating spicy food, but he sweats a lot! Whatever Som Tam you try, order the black or regular sticky rice and dip it into the leftover sauce. Yummy!
The real star on the Somtum Der`s menu is the Moo Ping Kati Sod, thin-sliced pork (or beef) skewers marinated in coconut milk and then grilled until the marinade caramelizes. Served with nests of coconut-scented rice noodles. So tasty! Also, the house’s special grilled marinated Pork is delicious!
Somtum Der also has desserts on the menu, like the Thai-styled Ice Kajang, a dish that looks intimidating and impressive but is mostly air. Harder to get past is its flavor. Let’s just say that if you’re a real fan of white bread and pink bubble gum, this is probably the desert for you!
Somtum Der is an affordable, friendly place with delicious and authentic North Isaan Thai food. The atmosphere is great! They also have a restaurant in New York, Ho Chi Minh, and Tokyo with the same name.
- Address: 5/5 Sala Daeng Road, Silom. They also have a newly opened restaurant in Thonglor: 351/2 Sukhumvit 55 (take the Skytrain to Thong Lo station).
- How to get there: Take the sky train to Silom station, and walk from there (very short).
- Opening hours: Both restaurants: 11:00 am – 14:30/ 2:30 pm & 16:30/4:30 pm – 22:30/ 10:30 pm (last order at 22:00/ 10 pm) every day
- Somtum Der’s Official Web page
- Reviews of Somtum Der on TripAdvisor
7. Baan Somtum
Somtum means green papaya salad, and is one of the Thai dishes that are most famous and popular in Thailand. As the name implies, the Baan Somtum Thai restaurant’s signature dish is the Somtum – Thai Papaya Salad. And it is absolutely delicious!
Baan Somtum is also mentioned in the Michelin Guide.
Of course, we did try their famous Somtum/ papaya salad, with green papayas, tomatoes, lime, garlic, chilis, dried shrimps, fried peanuts. It is usually a side dish eaten with, for instance, chicken or soup. The dish originally comes from the Northern part of Thailand, the Isaan.
Baan Somtum is a cozy restaurant with a cozy atmosphere and interior design. It is not a street-food kind of restaurant, and you sit at proper tables and chairs, and the restaurant is nicely cooled by air conditioning.
Their menu is quite extensive, and they do have other things on their menu in addition to somtum, like different sorts of fish, meat, soups, and stir-fried Thai dishes. They also have many (I counted over 30…) different types of somtum/ papaya salad, and you can choose between various meat, vegetables, and seafood. Be aware that papaya salads are quite spicy. But you might ask the waitress if you want a milder one.
We also tried Baan Somtum’s Pomelo salad, as I love the pomelo fruit. It was perfect too!
Baan Somtum has ten restaurants all across Bangkok. We visited their original restaurant at Sathorn (Pramuan Rd). Check their webpage for the other locations.
- Address Baan Somtum in Sathorn: 9/1, Soi Pramuan Rd, Sri Wiang Road, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok
- How to get there: Take the sky train to BTS Surasak Station, and walk from there (a 10-min walk).
- Opening hours Baan Somtum in Sathorn: 11:00 am – 21:00/ 9 pm (last order 20:30/ 8:30 pm)
- Baan Somtum’s Official Web page
- Reviews of Somtum Der on TripAdvisor
8. Wattana Panich In Ekkamai – Bangkok’s Best Beef Noodle Soup
Wattana Panich has been serving delicious beef noodles for over sixty years and is like an institution in Bangkok. You can smell the big pot of juicy beef simmering in a gigantic pot as you walk on the Ekkamai Soi 18 street.
The broth simmers for hours and thickens with flavors of spices like cinnamon, star anise, and goji berries, herbs, beef, and vegetables. Actually, the rumors have it that their broth boils non-stop 24/7, and it is tasty and thick.
Wattana has nothing fancy about it. It is housed in a typical old-school Chinese shophouse, charming and worn-down.
Eating at the wobbly and unstable metal tables and small chairs is a part of the eating experience at Wattana. This is probably exactly how the locals ate their beef noodle soup here sixty years ago too.
Wattana Panich has even been mentioned by Michelin several times.
The noodles are perfectly cooked, and together with the tender and marinated beef slices, it is the ultimate beef noodle soup experience if you ask me. The meat is so tender that it falls from the bone. Just how we like it!
Wattana Panich also has other things on their menu, but if you want to try out their signature dish (which I recommend), it is no. 6 on the menu – Kuay Teow Neua Or Thai Beef Noodles – “Large/ Small/ fine noodles served with sliced beef, stewed beef, and beef balls.” You can choose this dry or in a soup. We went for the soup version, and it was heavenly delicious.
Other things on their menu include:
- Kuay Trow Pae/ goat stew
- Gao-Lao (sliced beef, stewed beef, and beef balls soup served with rice)
- Lad-Na (noodles with gravy, Chinese broccoli, and a selection of beef, port, chicken, or shrimp)
- Pad-Si-Iew (friend noodles with Chinese broccoli, egg, and a selection of beef, pork, chicken, or shrimp)
- Fried rice (with beef, pork, chicken, or shrimp)
- Kao-Na-Gai (chicken and mushroom dish with rice)
- Pad-Woon-Sen (glass noodles fried with a selection of beef, pork, chicken, or shrimp)
- Sykiyaki Pot (hot pot with beef and vegetables)
- Kah-Moo (Chinese pork stew with rice)
Goat meat is a bit unusual in Bangkok and can be hard to find, especially at typical Thai restaurants. So if you are a goat meat lover, you should definitely try the goat stew or Kuay Trow Pae at Wattana Panich.
To top it off, you can go for one of their two dessert options – Jelly with rambutan or coconut milk pudding with fruit salad.
Why not try one of their special juices, like longan juice, roselle juice, or chrysanthemum tea. We had the roselle juice, and it was great. They also have different types of soda, tea, and water.
- Address: 336-338 Ekkamai Soi 18, Sukhumvit Road Klongtoey Nuea, Bangkok
- How to get there: Take the Skytrain to Ekkamai BTS Station, and walk from there (a 20 min walk). Or take a taxi or Grab.
- Opening hours: 10:00 – 20:30 every day
- Reviews of Wattana Panich on TripAdvisor
9. Blue Elephant
Blue Elephant is an upscale Thai restaurant housed in a beautiful old Thai Chinese building constructed in 1903. This is one seriously charming Thai restaurant; the decor, the atmosphere, the cutlery, the service, and of course the delicious authentic Thai food.
There are actually nine Blue Elephant restaurants across Europe, the Middle East, and Bangkok. The owner and Master Chef Nooror Somany-Steppe is world-famous for her Royal Thai cooking.
Be aware that men have to wear pants for dinner in the evening, but shorts at lunch is ok (if you show up in shorts in the evening, you can borrow pants at the restaurant).
The prices are a bit higher here than at the more common Thai cafes/ restaurants in Bangkok, but you come here for the total package and experience. This is the place for special occasions. However, it is a bit touristy so it can be crowded, especially when big tour groups visit the restaurant. And yes, Blue Elephant even has a gift shop.
Blue Elephant also has a famous Thai cooking school where you will learn to make some of Thailand’s most iconic dishes at a dazzling, century-old mansion. The cooking class starts with a visit to a local market where you pick up all the ingredients you need for your Thai cooking. This is a 4-hour Thai cooking course, from 8:45 AM until 13:00/ 1:00 PM. And best of all, you get the secret Blue Elephant recipes so that you can cook delicious and authentic Thai food when you get back home. Perfect!
ou will also find a small shop at the Blue Elephant restaurant, where they sell ingredients and do-it-yourself packages so that you can make their delicious Thai dishes at home. These packages are sold all over the world, even back home in Norway. We have made their Red curry, Green Curry, and Pad Thai at home, and it is almost as good as in the restaurant!
Blue Elephant also has restaurants in Phuket in Southern Thailand, Malta, and Copenhagen in Denmark.
- Address: 233 South Sathorn Road
- How to get there: Take the BTS Skytrain to Surasak BTS Station and walk from there (a few minutes walk)
- Opening hours: 11:30 – 21:00 every day
- Blue Elephant´s Web page
- Reviews of Blue Elephant Bangkok on TripAdvisor
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