Home to world-conquering Gaggan, countless five-star hotels and game-changing restaurants, this is one of Bangkok's best areas for eating out. Here are our top picks, as determined by BK's Top Tables 2019 guide to Bangkok's 100 best restaurants. Enjoy!
(Thai) Chef Thitid Tassanakajohn (of the one Michelin-star Le Du) retreats from the modernist culinary techniques he learned in New York in favor of homey, everyday Thai meals. Co-run by his younger brother Chaisiri, Baan dishes out unpretentious meals which prove chic, high-quality dining can be delivered at pocket-friendly prices—and in a strikingly modern yet inviting space.
139/5 Wireless Rd., 02-655-8995. Open Wed-Mon 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30-10:30pm
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: Get a complimentary Pra Kung valued THB 350 when spending THB 1,500 or more /sales slip (limit 1 dish /card / table /sales slip) Today – 30 Sep 19 |
(Italian) Venetian head chef Andrea Buson steps outside your usual Tuscan and Roman favorites. His green pea risotto bursts with salty strips of pancetta and fresh pea flavor. A slow-cooked octopus tendril showcases Venetian cuisine’s seafood roots, plated with chickpea puree and sweet, zesty lemon. Biscotti’s after-dark vibe of rich, lacquered woods is as grand as ever.
1/F, Anantara Siam, Rajadamri Rd., 02-126-8866. Open daily 11:30am-2:30pm, 6-10:30pm
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: Get 50% discount for 2 diners | Get 33% discount for 3 diners Get 25% discount for 4 diners Get 15% discount for 5 diners up to maximum of 16 diners Get 20% discount for single diners for Citi ULTIMA only Today – 31 Dec 19 |
(Steak) Center stage in Waldorf Astoria’s suite of lavish dining spaces, this red-blooded steakhouse from New York peddles premium-grade beef with all the trimmings. Steaks, seafood towers and other no-nonsense staples arrive from an open kitchen to beautifully appointed dining booths that sit beneath a quilted Thai-pattern ceiling.
55/F, Waldorf Astoria, 151 Ratchadamri Rd., 02-846-8888. Open daily 5:30-10:30pm
(Thai) Unique, daring and challenging, Front Room defies labels. Chiang Rai-born head chef Fae Chummongkhon pulls from her Nordic training to offer tasting menus that also give a nod to her Thai heritage. Some dishes, like an a egg yolk and rich mussel veloute, will be familiar, while others—Atlantic salmon with a sweet carrot sauce or toothfish dressed in the salty-bitter tang of sea water—reveal a new way of thinking about flavor.
Waldorf Astoria, 151 Ratchadamri Rd., 02-846-8888. Open daily 5:30-10:30pm
(International) India's first woman to win a Michelin star has done so on her own terms and in Bangkok. While Garima Arora's cuisine will hint at her Indian heritage, it’s the food cultures of New Nordic kitchens such as Noma (where she used to work) that dictate a totally produce-centric approach, as well as flavor combinations and course hierarchy that fly in the face of classical convention. The Gaa team wants to challenge what you may think about when something should be sweet, when it should be sharp, when it should have umami. Invention and tenacity have proven Garima's friends with 10- or 14-course menus that are like nothing else we've experienced.
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: Get a complimentary 3-glass juice pairing valued THB 800 when spending via Citi credit card (limit 1 set /card /table /sales slip) Today – 31 Jan 20 |
(International) Is Gaggan Anand Asia's most famous chef? With a Netflix Chef's Table special and a string of wins at Asia's 50 Best under his belt, there's no doubt. And for what? Tasting menus that chart around 25 courses of Indian, Japanese, Tibetan and Thai flavors skewed beyond all recognition into everything from Minion ice pops to lumps of coal. In the tradition of Japanese omakase, Gaggan has mostly dispensed with the need for cutlery, instead designing his transcendent courses—momo dumplings bursting with pork curry, grape juice and garlic; reinvented Indian snacks like idli and murukku—into individually prepared bites.
68/1 Lang Suan Rd., 02-652-1700. Open Mon-Sat 6-11pm
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: Get priority booking for Citi ULTIMA (subject to availability) Today – 31 Dec 19 |
(Japanese) Now with its own Michelin star to complement the one at its Tokyo mother branch, Sushi Ichi treats guests to uncompromisingly authentic omakase-style sushi. Artistic, delicious, refined and subtle, the food (flown in daily from Toyosu Market) competes for attention with the very theater of omakase, where chefs in traditional outfits wield elegant knives and scrape fresh wasabi on boards strewn with shagreen.
LG/F, Erawan, 494 Phloen Chit Rd., 02-250- 0014. Open Tue-Sat noon-2:30pm, 6-11pm; Sun noon-2:30pm, 6-10pm
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: Get 10% discount when spending THB 10,000 or more /sales slip for lunch or when spending THB 17,000 or more /sales slip for dinner Today – 31 Dec 19 |
(Italian) At The St. Regis hotel, Italian fine dining is handled with a respect for the classics. Hearty pastas, crispy-based pizzas and a delicious choice of carne share the menu with more creative touches like spaghetti in clarified tomato sauce and gambas carpaccio prepared tableside.
The St. Regis, 159 Ratchadamri Rd., 02-207-7777. Open daily noon-2:30pm, 6-10:30pm
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: For Citi ULTIMA: Get 50% discount for 2 diners Get 33% discount for 3 diners Get 25% discount for 4 diners Get 20% discount for 5 diners (limit up to 10 diners /card /table /sales slip) For Citi Prestige: Get 30% discount for 2 diners Get 25% discount for 3 diners Get 20% discount for 4 diners Get 15% discount for 5 diners (limit up to 10 diners /card /table /sales slip) Today – 31 Dec 19 |
(Japanese) Thanks to a smooth, oil-free seafood and chicken broth that bursts with umami, this Tokyo blow-in has almost singlehandedly broken the stranglehold tonkotsu ramen has held over Bangkokians for so long. Everything here is made with precision (the freshly made noodles in two sizes, the tender, sous-vide toppings) befitting the chic, light-wood surrounds.
Erawan, 494 Phloen Chit Rd., 02-250-7669. Open MonFri 11:30am-3:30pm, 6-9pm; Sat-Sun 11:30am-9pm
(Thai) Rather than spend the last two years basking in Paste's international stardom, chef-owners Bee Satongun and Jason Bailey have been expanding their devoutly authentic approach to southeast Asian cuisine into Laos. Here in Bangkok, their Gaysorn showpiece remains a must-visit ticket for any serious foodie. Across increasingly sophisticated tasting menus, the chefs introduce a plethora of rare herbs and ingredients: from edible hummingbird flowers in your smoky southern yellow curry with red spanner crab, all the way down to salt from Nan province that they say is smoother than sea salt. No longer confined to the history books, these vibrant, complex dishes also manage to offer something new and beautiful.
3/F, Gaysorn Village, 999 Phloen Chit Rd., 02-656-1003. Open daily noon2pm, 6:30-11pm
(BBQ) Bangkok’s go-to for a true taste of America’s Deep South is packed out night after night with barbecue lovers getting stuck into the smoky, sticky, fall-off-the-bone baby-back pork ribs. All the meat’s prepared low ‘n’ slow in the courtyard’s giant smokers, resulting in tender perfection and intense flavor made to be paired with a whiskey sour or three. A move to larger, Langsuan premises has done nothing to distill the raucous and friendly vibe.
105 Lang Suan Rd., 083-029-7598. Open Tue-Sat 5-11pm
(Thai) Curries turned into ice-cool powder by liquid nitrogen and crab laksa served as a Cornetto are more than just party pieces at this most modern of Thai restaurants. Flavors stick to Thai tradition while wowing with creativity. The vast, double-height dining room is also something to behold.
Siam Kempinski Hotel, 991/9 Rama 1 Rd., 02-162- 9000 Ext: 4321. Open daily noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight
(French) French-born head chef Hans Zahner (who led the team at Shanghai’s Sir Elly’s to its first Michelin star) is elevating Grand Hyatt Erawan’s steakhouse with Kristal Caviar, jellies, carrot “mille-feuille” and Gillardieu oysters. Choose between a five or seven-course menu of elegant, just-that-little-bit-modern French cuisine, or fall back on the a la carte for USA prime steaks.
M/F, Grand Hyatt Erawan, 494 Ratchadamri Rd., 02-254-6250. Open daily 6-10pm; Sun 11am-3pm
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: For Citi ULTIMA: Get 50% discount for 2 diners Get 33% discount for 3 diners Get 25% discount for 4 diners Get 20% discount for 5 diners Get 15% discount for 6 diners or more Get 15% discount on Sunday Brunch and Set Menu. For Citi other card types: Get 15% discount Today – 30 Dec 19 |
(Spanish) Alfresco 54th-story views make a fitting backdrop to laid-back tapas dishes. Treats like Joselito ham, oysters with dried octopus and potato foam, and wild porcini mushroom croquettes preempt hearty sharing plates of suckling pig and steak. Thirsty? There are a whopping 36 wines by the glass.
54/F, Centara Grand at CentralWorld, 999/99 Rama 1 Rd., 02-100-6255. Open daily 4pm-1am
| Exclusively for Citi credit card members: Get 15% discount on food only (excluding Dining Deck zone and Champagne brunch) Today – 30 Dec 19 |
The full list of 100 restaurants is available as a free booklet inserted in BK Magazine Mar 29 issue and a downloadable PDF version.
Citi
Since 2016, Citibank has partnered with Top Tables to offer Citi credit card members promotions at Bangkok's best restaurants. Look out for the blue boxes in Top Tables 2019 to discover how you could save.
JAGOTA
One of the most innovative food companies in Thailand today, JAGOTA sources the world's finest ingredients, offering chefs and food industry professionals bespoke solutions, new ideas and trend-setting produce.