The Harper Notebook: Where to Eat in Bangkok

Bangkok is one of the best food cities in the world. With their careful balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet, Thai dishes never fail to please. At these restaurants, you will find Thai food at its varied best.

Baan Khanitha

This Bangkok favorite occupies a converted house that offers a traditional Thai atmosphere. The menu covers a wide range of dishes, and the curries, especially those with seafood, are excellent. Try the stir-fried tiger prawns with cashews, ginkgo nuts and roasted chiles. The level of spice intensity can be adjusted to suit your palate. Unlike many upscale Thai restaurants in the city, the Thais themselves patronize this one, so it is always full and reservations are essential. US$60.

Baan Khanitha
69 South Sathorn Road. Tel. 2-675-4200

Blue Elephant

Set in a lovely old building, this restaurant features a pleasing mix of classic and contemporary Thai food (some might know the restaurant from its branch in London). On the far-ranging menu, you can choose from dishes such as lamb in coconut milk with massaman curry paste, tamarind juice, palm sugar, sweet purple potatoes, roasted peanuts and cashews; grilled spare ribs with organic honey and Thai herbs from the Royal Project farm; and stir-fried spicy fresh prawns with bird’s-eye chiles, Thai garlic and holy basil. US$65.

Blue Elephant
233 South Sathorn Road. Tel. 2-673-9353

Bo.Lan

Inspired by working with David Thompson at Nahm in London (see below), Duangporn Songvisava and Dylan Jones opened this restaurant dedicated to preserving the traditions of Thai cooking. There are three set menus — with the somewhat annoying proviso that you can’t switch courses — featuring dishes such as stir-fried prawn with cumin, coriander seed and dried chile; and “Krau” curry of grilled fish with pickled bamboo shoot, summer melon and pumpkin. US$65–US$105. Closed Monday.

Bo.Lan
24 Soi Sukhumvit 53. Tel. 2-260-2962

Issaya Siamese Club

This superb restaurant occupies the first floor and expansive terrace of a beautiful pavilion with elements of Thai and Western design. Likewise, chef Ian Kittichai melds Thai techniques and ingredients with Western concepts. Because much of the cooking is market-driven, the menu changes regularly, but you will often find the chef’s specialties, such as massaman curry with lamb shank, and a delicious jasmine-flower flan. US$80.

Issaya Siamese Club
4 Soi Sri Aksorn, Chua Ploeng Road. Tel. 2-672-9040

Nahm

Chef David Thompson is the author of the encyclopedic “Thai Food” and “Thai Street Food,” and he opened the first Thai restaurant to earn a Michelin star, Nahm, at COMO The Halkin hotel in London. Here in Bangkok he builds on that success with dishes that have included coconut-and-oxtail soup with red shallots, smoky prawn salad with tea tree leaves and star fruit, and a sublime curry of coconut and turmeric with blue swimmer crab and calamansi lime. US$75.

Nahm
Como Metropolitan Bangkok, 27 South Sathorn Road. Tel. 2-625-3388