Famously popular with global travellers, Bangkok is also a gastronomic hotspot renowned for its vibrant food and drink offering. Away from the high-profile establishments that grace 50 Best’s various rankings, the city’s boasts a thriving restaurant, bar and hotel scene for those in the know. Check out this insider’s guide to one of the world’s most talked-about destinations
Charmgang
A trio of Nahm alumni opened Charmgang in 2019
Founded by a team of young Thai chefs who cut their teeth at Nahm (formerly The Best Restaurant in Asia), Charmgang is a pivotal player in the slow-but-sure revival of the Chinatown-adjacent Talad Noi area of old Bangkok. When you enter a pitch-dark alley, fear not: for the light at the end is a garage-chic open-kitchen hotspot turning out a small menu of fermentation-forward, southern-influenced dishes that Thais praise as authentic. Order the scallop cupcakes, wagyu beef stir-fry with serrano peppers and onions and massaman curry. To drink, select from a page of herbaceous gin and tonics or its range of excellent natural wines.
14 Soi Charoenkrung, Bang Rak, Bangkok, 10100
@charmgangcurryshop
God
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A temple to tipples, this tiny new bar with a holier-than-thou name was purpose-built to look like a crumbling church. There’s a small menu of signature drinks, and each is served with something tasty and fancy, such as an oyster or dollop of sea urchin. The martinis are outstanding. The lights are low. The owner is the waiter… Niks Anuman-Rajadhon, who some may know as the co-founder of bars including Teens of Thailand, Asia Today, Independence and Tax bar, has opened his fifth spot in Chinatown – and this time he’s working the crowd. With drinks running at more than 500 baht per (a steal in New York and London but quite pricey for Bangkok), this is an impressive, super sultry date night spot.
25, 27 Soi Rammaitree, Pom Prap, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok, 10100
@godbkk
Ad Lib
Escape the bustle of Bangkok at Ad Lib's rooftop pool
Bangkok traffic is simply terrible, which means that one’s hotel location is doubly important; it’s best to pick a stay with easy access to transport and the city beyond. Ad Lib, possibly the most stylish boutique hotel in the city, is just around the corner from a highway entrance (airport access: check) and in-between two SkyTrain stops. But, tucked down a quiet alley, this hotel is designed with warm woods and slates surrounded by greenery, with comfortable but design-forward furnishing, helping drown out the noise. As with the best hotels, it feels like home – and, in fact, it is a home, built on land that was once the family compound of the eco- and creativity-minded owner.
1 Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
@adlibbangkok
Earth House
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Veganism has as new Bangkok cheerleader in Samantha Haeberli, the founder of Earth House, who is both a certified nutritionist and oenophile. Her tasty smoked beets and plant-based ‘feta’, trumpet mushrooms in garlic chili oil and pan-fried gnocchi pair perfectly with the all-female-made wine list. Haeberli spent a year personally renovating this old villa in the Thonglor neighbourhood: the airy downstairs is perfect as a work-cafe (coffees, turmeric lattes, kombuchas and smoothies are all delicious) but it also transitions into a night-time hub, where you might find live music, DJs and burlesque or drag shows on the schedule. If you’re in a group, sit in the fairy-lit backyard under the sweeping trees, next to the bar.
112/2 Sukhumvit 53 Alley, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
@earth.house.bangkok
Tep
Head to Tep in Chinatown for a taste of traditional Thai spirits
The best possible place to get an authentic traditional Thai cultural experience, while also feeling cool about it, is at this rustic-chic shophouse on Chinatown’s Soi Nana. Normally, we wouldn’t recommend moonshine, but Tep’s selection of house-infused yadong (herbal spirit) manages to be strong while also tasting oddly healthy. It’s a modern twist on an old village classic, and you can shoot it or sip it in mixed cocktails, accompanied by small spicy dishes, to the upbeat soundtrack of live music every night. Just admiring the instruments (wooden xylophone, lap guitar, fiddles) is worth a visit alone, but hearing them play infectious luk krung music transports you straight to rural northern Thailand.
69, 71 Soi Yi Sip Song Karakadakhom 4, Pom Prap, Bangkok, 10100
@tep_bar
Jhol
The regional Indian cuisines of Goa and Kerala are celebrated at Jhol
Butter chicken and tikka masala? Banish them from your vocabulary in this casually glam Indian restaurant that focuses on the flavours and ingredients of the country’s south. The coastal regions of Goa and Kerala inspire a seafood-led menu with dishes that are lighter than their northern Indian counterparts – though no less layered or flavourful. Think chili pepper crab, mango fish curry orblack pepper coconut masala mutton with the flakiest parotta. Jhol is also rightfully famous for its butter, so slather up your bread with as much curry leaf butter as you can handle.
7 2 Sukhumvit Soi 18, Khwaeng Khlong Toei, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
@jholbkk
Alonetogether
Expect riffs on the classics using Thai ingredients and house-made liqueurs at Alonetogether
It’s certainly hard to feel alone in this shoebox-sized bar tucked down a little soi (side street) in the central Asoke neighbourhood. If there are guests already propped up at the bar, you’ll likely need to shimmy past to get to the slightly wider space at the end of the golden-hued room. There, a few low, candlelit tables await, offering arm’s-length distance to the daily changing jazz bands, quartets and singers. This Is the place for tete-a-tetes and musical immersion and appreciation. The eminently drinkable cocktail roster uses house-made liqueurs and Thai ingredients to jazz up the classics. Only two blocks away from the world-famous Gaggan, it’s a perfect post-26-course-dinner stroll for a digestif set to lovely notes.
29 Sukhumvit 31, Klongton Nue, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
@alonetogetherbangkok
Waldorf Astoria
Take in the view over the Royal Bangkok Sports Club from the Waldorf Astoria's modern rooms
Refined, sophisticated and classy, Waldorf Astoria Bangkok fits this bill more than any hotel in the city. With its curvilinear structure, hallways that feel like the flow of water, pale-pastel colour palette and signature floral scent that will waft through your dreams, you softly sink into your stay even before you reach your room. All the key spots – the tiered lavender tea-room Peacock Alley; the resort-style pool with its Gehry-esque half-roof; New York-style steakhouse Bull and Bear; glamorous bar The Loft – are all oriented facing west, dishing up a lush view over the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. At sunset, sample an aperitif looking with the skies ablaze in hot pink and tangerine over distant golden temples.
151 Ratchadamri Rd, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
@waldorfastoriabangkok
100 Mahaseth
Chef Chalee Kader oversees five venues across Bangkok, including 100 Mahaseth and Wana Yook
By now he has a mini-empire, but 100 Mahaseth is chef Chalee Kader’s OG, at least in terms of his deep-dive into Thai cuisine. A nose-to-tail pioneer in Bangkok, named after its address (though he’s got another outpost across town in Thonglor), 100 Mahaseth dishes up umami-packed fire-grilled carnivorous plates like grilled hearts and Thailand-raised beef – two things among many on the menu that were not known as delicacies among the society set until this restaurant opened. Try the famous sai ou – a spicy, sour, herb-filled sausage from the north boxed up like a hot dog – the duck larb with bits of liver mixed in, and the perennially Insta-friendly bone marrow with perilla seeds.
100 Maha Set Rd, Si Phraya, Bangkok 10500
@100mahaseth
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