Foodie alert–several restaurants have opened in Bangkok and have been making waves for the past few years. From the former Russian embassy to those in trendy locales, there is a wide variety of cuisine to sample. You can play it safe with classic Thai dishes, or try out some fusion fare. Here they are:
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Chef-couple Duangporn Songvisava and Dylan Jones, the masterminds behind one of Bangkok’s top Thai restaurants, Bo.lan, have gone for a casual and raw look in this shop-house restaurant near the river. It focuses on small-portioned, creative Thai dishes that go well with drinks, like chicken satay with brioche, naem (Northern-style garlic and sticky rice cured pork) and the deep-fried whole-chicken skin with homemade Sriracha sauce. The bar boasts plenty of cocktails made with Thai spirits.
394/35 Maharaj Rd., +66 (0) 02-622-2291 Open Tue-Sun 11am-midnight.
Baan
This restaurant’s name means “home” in Thai, and it specializes in dishes prepared using the chef’s family recipes and locally sourced produce, like organic rice, free-range pork and eggs. Baan’s signature dishes span classics like somtum (Thai-style spicy papaya salad) as well as slightly more creative recipes like kai palo tom-sap (spicy fivespiced egg soup). Despite the homestyle cooking, the excellent cocktails and modern decor bring a touch of sophistication.
Wireless Rd., +66 (0) 02-655-8995. Open Wed-Sun 11am-2:30pm, 5:30-10:30pm; Mon 11am- 2:30pm, 5:30-10:30pm. MRT Lumphini
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Borrowing the same concepts from all L’Atelier branches, this elegant red and black space has diners seated around a large open kitchen, a format more remniscent of a sushi bar than classic dining a la Francaise. The food remains unmistakebly French, though the free-range quail stuffed with foie gras and potato purée comes with all the finesse you’d expect from Joel Robuchon, the chef with the most Michelin stars in the world.
5/F, Mahanakorn Cube, 96 Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Rd., +66 (0) 02-001-0698. Open daily 11:30am-2:30pm, 6:30-10:30pm. BTS Chong Nonsi.
Marcel
Expect to drink alongside a young, international art and fashion crowd at this casual restaurant-bar in the swinging Sathorn Soi 10 neighborhood. Downstairs is all about French-influenced bar food like shoestring fries and beef tartare, served alongside cocktails named after French writers. Upstairs offers more formal dishes that draw on Asian influences, like chicken breast, lemongrass and grilled eggplant served with tomato and onion jam, and salmon wasabi pea puree, cauliflower and baby carrots served with raw fennel salad.
Sathorn Soi 10, +66 (0) 02-635-3533. Open Tue-Fri 6pm-midnight; Sat-Sun 11:30am-midnight. BTS Chong Nonsi
Paste (Gaysorn Plaza)
Two of Bangkok’s most highly-regarded modern chefs, Bongkoch Satongun and Jason Bailey, joined forces with the aristocratic Sanitwong family, descendants of Rama II, to open this branch of Paste. Its specialty is recipes from the Sanitwongs’ ancient cookbooks, with a particular emphasis on curries. Try the gang gai gorlae (Southern Thai-Muslim curry with grilled chicken), made using sous-vide, coconut-husk-smoked grilled chicken.
3/F, Gaysorn Plaza, 999 Ploenchit Rd., +66 (0) 02- 656-1003. Open daily noon-2pm, 6:30pm-midnight. BTS Chit Lom.
Taper
This brunch spot offers Western dishes with Thai twists, such as salted egg carbonara (fresh pasta, grilled squid, salty egg yolk) and E-Sarn Olio Aglio (fresh pasta, Isaan sausage, salted fish). Also expect breakfast staples like eggs Benedict and granola with yogurt and their house-made buttermilk biscuit. Book ahead: The little shop-house’s ground floor is dedicated to an open kitchen and a small bar overlooking the street, while the mezzanine level has space for about 20 people.
G/F, 44/11 Thonglor Soi 13, +66 (0) 099-929-5464. Open Tue-Sun 9am-4pm.
House on Sathorn
In what used to be the Soviet Embassy, this standalone outpost of the neighboring W Hotel has one of the most stunning dining rooms in town, artfully blending the building’s period details with considerate modern touches. Half of the restaurant’s 40 seats are at a long, wooden counter facing the kitchen, where the team turns out fusion dishes like Hunting (duck breast lying on splashes of red pomegranate sauce and burnt onion powder as gunpowder) and The Red Parfait (foie gras torchon wrapped with beetroot jelly, served with brioche and aged balsamic vinegar).
106 Sathorn Rd., +66 (0) 02-344-4000. Open daily noon-2:30pm, 6-10:30pm. BTS Chong Nonsi.
