Accessible from Lad Phrao Road or Ram Intra, Town in Town is perhaps known as the home of countless TV/entertainment studios. However, this year has seen the neighborhood welcome a spate of new community malls, bars and restaurants. The Scene is the biggest community mall, here, home to chain restaurants, banks and coffee shops, while newcomer Tree Square (1133 Inthra Phon Rd.), located five minutes away, offers a more happening atmosphere. Here, you can find Mexican food at Sabroso (02-935-6800. Open Tue-Fri 3-10pm; Sat-Sun 11:30am-10pm), which is run by the previous owner of Tacos and Salsa (on Sukhumvit 18), Jorge Bernal, who whips up enchiladas (B150), tacos (pork, beef, chicken or fish, B120) and tostadas (toasted tortilla with chicken, B70). On top of Thai-style drinking spot Tamsabai (081-695-6590. Open daily 5pm-2am), there’s also the small Beer Cellar (02-934-6194. Open daily 5pm-2am), which offers only imported bottles, from Belgian brews like Kwak and Triple Karmeliet to craft beers like Rogue and BrewDog. The mall also has pet-friendly zones, plus you can bring your cat to the Kitty Cat Café (081-113-9398. Open Tue-Sun 11am-9:30pm) and enjoy a cup of coffee, too. But note that they're relocating soon in the same area.

While nearby CDC and Crystal Park are home to many fancy bars to drink away the night, live music lovers keep coming back to this long-standing venue. This very Thai bar—think Parking Toys in Kaset Nawamin or Prop Bar in Prachachuen—is the place to share a bottle of Jack Daniels or Red Label and down draft Singha while grooving to 90s alternative rock.

 

Just across from Tree Square is this café set in a glass house with a sizeable garden—the kind of place you can bring your laptop to work on weekends. Indoors is decked out like a living room with most tables having power outlets, while the outdoors is filled with garden benches. Coffee starts from B65 for a hot latte while the food features crepe cakes (B85) and egg and ham ciabatta (B60).

 

This complex is home to a number of top food spots. Start with Tinee Eatery (Town in Town Place, across Si Wara Soi 4., Praditmanutham Rd., 02-559-2475, 083-015-4555. Open daily 9am-6pm), a self-service café that serves Western comfort dishes for lunch as well as grab-and-go options such as liver pate and marinated goat feta. They stick to local produce, with beef, cheese and vegetables sourced from the Royal Projects and almost everything else homemade. Enjoy comforting mainstays like beef stew (B105) and pork balls (B105) or pop in early for breakfast dishes like Moroccan baked eggs with onion chutney and bacon (B180).

 

 

 

Next door is Pizza Aroy (Town in Town Soi 4/4, 081-752-6368. www.pizza-aroy.com. Open Tue-Sun 12-8pm), which sits somewhere between food truck and street stall as it’s basically just a pizza stove next to a small number of plastic seats. Choose from traditional toppings like nduja (thin crisp crust, garlic base, mozzarella and spicy nduja salami, B349) or Thai fusion options like Pizza Mai Sabai (mozzarella, spicy minced chicken, basil, bell peppers and oregano, B249).

 

Nearby is the music-inspired coffee shop Ukucafe (Town in Town Soi 4, 02-530-7432. Open daily 10am-8pm) which serves up coffee and homemade ice-cream in a small room decked out with, you guessed it, ukuleles.

 

 

 

— Sarun Chuenmanus, 19, Cloud Behind bassist 

 

 

 

— Chayajee Krittyapongsakorn, 23, assistant film director