Sushi

Honmono Sushi BK PICK!

Honmono is an excellent sushi joint that’s worth the high prices and, thankfully, isn’t a bewildering experience for those of us who aren’t Japanese salarymen. After a year, almost every branch of Honmono still packs in hi-so Thais every night. The Take Sashimi platter (B1,500) is a favorite, and comes with seven kinds of assorted sashimi. The quality is great, and the pieces are enormous. You can also get a larger platter for B3,200. Their sushi and maki are also excellent, such as the dragon avocado and the grilled Matsusaka beef.
19 Thonglor Soi 23, 02-185-1447. Open Mon-Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat-Sun 11:30am-2pm

Mugendai

Claiming that their produce is imported to them five days a week (most places only get two deliveries), Mugendai seems to be the closest competitor to Honmono. Owned by a group of friends who have eaten all around Japan, the location is really hip, high up on the rooftop of Grass. Recommendations include the Aburi Seven (B2,200), comprising seven sushi varieties like Matsusaka beef, otoro and engawa, unagi foie gras (grilled eel sushi stuffed with foie gras, B1,500) and kinki shioyaki (grilled rockfish with salt, B3,200).
7/F, Grass, Thonglor Soi 12, 02-726-9222, 087-996-8888. www.mugendaibkk.com. Open Mon-Fri 5:30pm-midnight; Sat-Sun 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-late

Tsukiji

Named after the famed Tokyo fish market, the specialty here is sashimi and sushi. The clientele is mostly Japanese salarymen, and although this place bears some kind of affiliation with the Fuji chain, this is clearly their little pet project, and operates on a whole other level. The décor is suitably bland, the no-nonsense kimono-clad waitresses efficient and the chefs masterful. Dinners can break the bank, but those in the know enjoy the much more affordable sushi sets (B198) at lunch, which sometimes run out by 1pm.
62/19-20 Soi Thaniya, Silom Rd., 02-233-9698. BTS Sala Daeng. Open daily 11:30am-2pm; 5:30-11pm

Kaiseiki

AOI BK PICK!

AOI may be found in a bunch of malls, but that doesn’t make its dishes and décor any less lovable to many of the people we talked to. A typical Japanese restaurant, Aoi offers everything from udon, sushi and teppan to its extremely popular set menu.
Try 4/F, Emporium, Sukhumvit Rd., 02-664-8590-2. www.aoi-bkk.com

Izakaya

Tenkaichi Yakiton Yakitori Nagiya BK PICK!

It’s near impossible to get in on weekends, and you’ll be waiting for a table alongside chain-smoking Japanese guys even on weeknights. The izakaya mood is perfect, even if the décor is minimal: lanterns hanging from ropes, Japanese kitsch plastered all over the wooden bar/kitchen, thunderous bellows from the all-male kitchen as patrons come and go, steam rising from the yakitori grill. Obviously, you’re here to knock back pints of draft Asahi or cups of shochu (the menu has two pages of the Japanese liquor by the glass and some bottles, too) but Nagiya’s food is no afterthought.
Nihonmachi 105 (behind K Village), 115 Sukhumvit Soi 26. 02-258-2790. www.nagiya.com. Open daily 5pm-midnight

Imoya

Imoya is a pretty typical izakaya: picture Japanese hanging lamps at the front door and drunken salarymen with neckties tied around their heads. Imoya is famed for its friendly, homey atmosphere, decent prices and super basic menu of dishes like fried rice, California maki and udon noodles. Small portions, but they go great with your bottle of sake, shochu or Asahi.
2/13-14 Sukhumvit Soi 24. 02-663-5185. Open daily 5pm-12am

Akanoya Robatayaki

Akanoya Robatayaki brings robata (Japanese grilling) to town. Be warned, there’s no menu here; rather the ingredients are presented at a counter display that evokes the Tsukiji Market. You’ll have to ask the staff to translate the signs and prices as they’re all in Japanese, but your reward is exotic fare such a isaki (chicken grunt sea bass) and kinki (rockfish) (B950-1,980), Hokkaido crab (starting from B1,750) or Wagyu beef from Omi (B990). The vegetables are also imported and worth a try if you’ve got the cash: tomato (B200) and taro (B200). This small, fun and energetic place is bringing in the crowds so book well in advance—we mean weeks ahead.
46/10 Sukhumvit Soi 49 (across from Terrace 49), 02-662-4237

Ramen

Bankara Ramen BK PICK!

As the first international franchise of the famous Japanese chain, Bankara promises to bring a taste of real ramen to Bangkok. The décor is Japanese to the core, from the very first view of the dark wooden windows and sliding doors to the dramatic kanji sign. There are four types of ramen to choose from that can be personalized with additional toppings like pork, corn, seaweed, veggies and different sized noodles. These include Bankara ramen, the original brand-making recipe, with its signature deeply-flavored broth, and tsukemen, springy noodles eaten cold and dipped in a special soup and miso ramen, a popular mainstay which wows with its unique miso flavor.
The Manor, 32 Sukhumvit Soi 39, 02-622-5162/3. Open daily 11am-11pm

Ramentei

Ramentei is like the white-shirt-dark-tie businessmen that eat here. It doesn’t look very exciting, but it’s very, very good at what it does; in this case, precision comfort food that always has the same great taste. In fact, on some days, you’ll see a visiting Japanese sensei tasting every single dish before they’re taken out (by the army of equally precise service staff) to the hordes of hungry office workers who pack the tables at lunch—and the noticeably more tipsy ones here in the evening. The ramen are neither too thick nor too floury, and the broth is bursting with umami. Not only is the food authentic and deeply satisfying, but portions are gargantuan and the consistency is always there. Don’t forget to try their katsu cutlet, too.
23/8-9 Soi Thaniya, Silom Rd., 02-234-8082. BTS Sala Daeng. Open daily 11-2am

Chabuton

The kitchen here is led by 2002 TV Champion-winning Yasuji Morizumi, a former French cuisine chef who combines his Gallic culinary background with Japanese traditional noodles. Yasuji now owns more than 20 ramen restaurants in Japan and the US. The tonkatsu ramen is the original hit; you’ll be served a bowl of noodles in concentrated pork-bone soup that’s been cooked for more than 15 hours, topped with Japanese bunching onions and slices of special grilled pork.
Siam Square, next to Lido Theatre, Rama 1 Rd., 02-635-7930. BTS Siam. Open Mon-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10pm

Yakiniku

Tamaruya Honten BK PICK!

This place might be located in a mall, but Tamaruya proves that Isetan is still a spot to head to for Japanese food, as evidenced by the Japanese crowd grilling their Wagyu beef from Australia. The a la carte dishes include kalbi (short ribs, B330) or you can opt for the premium Miyazaki Wagyu (B1,600) with a marble score of 4-5. And something not so common: the wasabi here is freshly grated.
6/F Isetan, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-255-9713. www.tamaruya.co.th. Open daily 10am-9pm

Gyu-Kaku

Japanese chain Gyu-Kaku had already opened 700 restaurants worldwide before they arrived in Thailand, quite sensibly opting to set up their first branch in Soi Thaniya, with its heavy concentration of Japanese businessmen at work and play. Gyo-Kaku does stand out from the crowds of Japanese eateries on this soi, though, by showing that yakiniku dining doesn’t have to be just about the buffet, with a quite impressive à la carte menu. The recommendation is Plate A (500g, B890), which is the beef set for two persons and includes beef tongue, sirloin, karubi (short ribs) and rump cap.
62/5-6 Thaniya Rd., 02-632-7781. www.gyu-kaku.co.th. Open Mon-Fri 11:30am-2pm;Sat-Sun 5:30-11:30pm