8 Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants that are light on the wallet and worth your time
Stars get all of the hype these days, but the best finds are often outside of that elite altitude.
Enter the spacious dining room of Flourish at Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok to enjoy authentic Thai recipes elevated up a notch with some very fine ingredients—think stir-fried tiger prawns with Thai basil and white turmeric or Wagyu beef red curry. The Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant is helmed by Chef Chatsorn Pratoomma, who took her love for Thai cuisine and the culinary arts beyond her hometown, having honed her skills in some of the finest restaurants across Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and even the Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan.
G/F, Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, 80 Soi Tonson, 02-095-9999. Open daily noon–10pm
Get a complimentary mango sticky rice dish valued THB 307 when spending THB 1,000 or more /sales slip via UOB Credit Card |
If this name rings a bell from a recent trip to Pai in Mae Hong Son, you’re not going crazy—it's the same famous northern Thai restaurant, which has expanded to several locations across Bangkok as its popularity grew. This place does real-deal northern food: sour soups, betel leaf curries, salted fish with baked pork ribs, and the restaurant’s uber-popular Benjarong crispy noodles. The venue has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand rating for six consecutive years—essentially every year it was eligible because of its location. If you aren’t feeling a long trip up north, you can find the brand’s Bangkok locations in CentralWorld, The Crystal SB Ratchapruek (Nonthaburi) and Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
555, Ratchaphruek Rd., Maha Sawat, 086-363-2899. Open daily 11am-9pm
Get a complimentary Butterfly Pea beverage valued THB 59 when spending THB 1,000 or more /sales slip |
While Bangkok has been eagerly awaiting the launch of the shiny new Dusit Central Park, the brand has long managed the restaurant-dense Baan Dusit Thani nearby, which is where you will find the brand’s flagship Vietnamese eatery, Thien Duong. It’s one of the very few fine-dining Vietnamese restaurants in Bangkok. The decor is a lavish mix of Vietnamese antiques and classical decor. The menu takes all-time favorites—steamed pork sausages, skewered minced prawns with sugarcane, banana blossom salad, steamed crab claws, and more—and plates them with refined presentations, making for a refined and exotic experience.
Baan Dusit Thani, 946 Rama 4 Rd., 02-200-9009. Open 11am-2:30pm, 5:30-10pm
Get 10% discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages |
Since opening in 2019, this passion project from well-known Bangkok restaurateurs Kasama “Oh” Laopanich and Billy Bautista (also the brains behind La Monita and Billy’s Smokehouse), Thai Niyom has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand rating every year since, largely for its fiery, unpretentious, and country-spanning Thai dishes. As we said in our 2019 issue of Best Eats, the sai oua is out of this world—juicy and packed with unique flavors. But the spicy southern curries and pungent Isaan favorites hit just as hard. This is definitely an all-in-one type of sit down Thai restaurant, and it’s worth your time.
Mahatun Plaza, 888/28-29, Phloen Chit Rd., 02-044-1010. Open daily 11am-9pm
Get 10% discount on food only when spending THB 1,500 or more /sales slip |
Plu
Suan Plu has exploded in popularity, and dining quality, in recent years, and no better restaurant to help lead this charge than the eponymously named Thai restaurant Plu. Holding a Bib Gourmand ranking since 2018 (every year its been open), you’ll find the venue tucked down a tiny offshoot of Suan Plu’s main road, the restaurant is found in an old house nestled under a shady tree with a mix of Colonial-style decorations and a tropical, welcoming atmosphere. There's also private dining rooms and an impressive outdoor deck geared up for big groups. It boast a lengthy menu that mixes both Thai and Myanmar traditions (a heritage shared by the owner), like the explosively sweet-salty Myanmar-style tea leaf salad. Pair the well-balanced food with some exceptional cocktails and you have a recipe for a good evening out.
3, Suan Plu Rd., 062-642-2222. Open daily 11am-3pm, 5-10:30pm
Get 10% discount on food only when spending THB 2,000 or more /sales slip |
Ever since it opened in 2019, Charmgang has had an aura of cool about it—the red shophouse, the shuttered doors, a menu that doesn’t play by the typical touristy rules, and a regularly packed house of hipster Charoenkrung diners. Fans of nam prik kapi (southern shrimp paste relish) with deep fried vegetables tempura and mackerel, have to order their kaffir lime relish set—different in name but very similar to nam prik kapi, and excellent. Their large dessert combo plate—which includes coconut milk, longan ice cream (so good it could be served on its own), a sort of deep fried donut, and a few sugary pieces of fruit—is another must-order.
14, Nakhon Kasem Soi 5, 098-882-3251. Open Mon-Fri 6-9:30pm; Sat-Sun noon-1:30pm, 6-9:30pm
Get a complimentary beverage valued THB 300 when spending THB 5,000 or more /sales slip |
Very affordable, homey Thai food by the riverside is the name of the game here. Chang-Wang-Imm’s chef-owner, Buncharas “Yai” Kaewwatanaborawong, started her career as a hair stylist before becoming a self-taught chef and restaurateur. Now, her riverside restaurant, also known as The White Pagoda, has legions of fans who pile into the old 1950s house by the water to snack on the likes of shrimp crackers with chili sauce, grilled eggplant and shrimp salads, and three-layer pork stir-frys. The breezy atmosphere here is hard to beat—especially with one of their signature cocktails or mocktails in hand.
44 Bang Tanai, Pak Kret District, Nonthaburi, 085-525-9242. Open daily 11am-10pm
Get 5% discount on food only when spending THB 2,000 or more /sales slip |
Get a complimentary Chao-Kuay valued THB 30 when spending THB 500 or more /sales slip on food only |
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