17 Best Places To Eat And Drink In Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand, otherwise known as The Land of Smiles, has so much to offer the world — not least of which is the country's beautiful cuisine, which has seen an explosion of popularity in recent years. And what's not to love? Thai cuisine is adept at meeting the needs of various eaters; it's easy to go gluten-free or vegetarian, and Thai cooking is notoriously dairy free. If you've become as consumed by Thai tastes as us, you probably hope to one day get right to the source and experience this amazing cuisine in its home country.

And that's just what we did. During a recent tour of Thailand, we went right to the country's capital to explore all of the street food stands we could find. Bangkok is famous for its night markets and a wide array of food courts that offer both traditional Thai dishes as well as foods influenced by immigrants from neighboring countries. Along the way, we made sure to peek into some exceptional cocktail bars and dig for as many hidden gems as we could find. Enjoy this guide to eating and drinking in Bangkok.

All fine dining establishments considered, more likely than not, you're going to end up eating most of Bangkok's meals from street food vendors in various markets and stalls across the city. Not only is it affordable, but it's the easiest way to get right to the heart of what local Thai people eat on the daily. Few places offer as robust and reliable choices as Or Tor Kor Market, located off Kamphaeng Phet Road in the Chatuchak neighborhood.

That said, what locals informed us about, Or Tor Kor is considered a higher-end market. However, take that with a grain of salt, as even a premium food hall cost is worth it when you factor in the exchange rate. Or Tor Kor mostly serves as a fresh farmer's market for fruits and produce, seafood, meat, and spices (among other things). There is a well-organized and very clean food court in the heart of it all, where duck noodles, curries, and som tam are plentiful. Along the way to it, you'll pass other prepared food sections serving Thai crepes, various satays, and other usual street foods. Most importantly, regional Thai foods from farther north and from the south are easier to find here, which is especially good to know if your travel doesn't include destinations other than Bangkok.

For many hungry eaters, Thai cuisine and street food are inseparable. But there is a finer side to the nation's food as well, and establishments like Saawaan urge diners to consider the bold, innovative ideas that talented chefs can deliver from Thai techniques and ingredients. The thoughtful touches begin with the ambiance. Unlike the country around it, the interior is dark; severe wood panels deck the floor. But the black walls are hung with gold clouds, floating parallels to the shining, gold-wrapped buildings of Bangkok's Grand Palace.

From this lead, the quality of the food follows. The Michelin 1-star Saawaan offers a tasting menu that rotates with the Thai seasons but always follows disciplined principles of fresh sourcing and informed Thai cooking. A recent menu offering explores numerous preparation methods: a melange of raw oyster, scallop, and yellowtail tuna precedes tangy fermented Surat Thani river prawns atop well-crafted rice noodles. Further down the offering list, native torch ginger offers a botanic complement to charcoal-grilled guinea fowl. The luminous colors of khao yum salad explode beneath it all, calling the vibrant tropical environment of Thailand right into the dining room.

Another World's Best inclusion, The Bamboo Bar, is the hotel cocktail lounge at Mandarin Orange Bangkok. While you won't find fresh fruit hanging from every tree in the hotel lobby, at the bar, bamboo is in more than name. Furniture, walls, and even the serving area are embedded with bamboo. Tiger print accents adorn couch pillows and push your eye line toward gilded lamps. With such a bold approach in such a historic venue, you might think the tasteful jungle design is doing the heavy lifting here.

Let's just say this: Cocktails at The Bamboo Bar would be as good if the bartenders served them out of the back alley. Signatures are available, but we recommend going with the Elements menu. It's a clever play on the varied climates of Thailand, from the rivers to the mountains to the cityscape — and yes — the rainforest. There are innovations in every biome; Under the Sea highlights Matusalem Platino white rum and a vegetal seaweed framboise brightened by pineapple and balanced with cucumber bitters; One Cloud Nine (Bulliet bourbon, mountain herbs, and white port) and simultaneously grounded and heady. Your love for this bar will grow faster than bamboo shoots.

Michelin Bib Gourmand-rated Krua Apsorn is part of a contemporary class of older, less fine dining-focused establishments, which are being recognized more by the organization in recent years. For folks who appreciate Thai food cooked in a homey atmosphere, one of the several locations of Krua Apsorn will be a perfect pick. The restaurant has been open for two decades, and in that time, chef Pa Dang and her family have served everyday folks and the Thai royal family alike.

When visiting Krua Apsorn, we suggest going for the stir-fried crab with yellow chilies. The mud crab meat has even more seaborne sweetness than the blue crabs we're used to eating, but the tingling peppers make for a well-rounded plate. If you can't shake the heat from this dish, order up a coconut sorbet. In fact, order one regardless of whether or not you've had something spicy. There are many vegetarian options as well, and you will be hard-pressed to find a better deep-fried tofu anywhere in the world.

Visiting Nang Loeng Market in Bangkok serves two purposes during a trip to The Big Mango. Not only is it a well-known place for some of the best street eats around, but it is also a historical landmark of the city. The market opened in 1900. It was intended as a food-products market that could serve a wide diversity of residents who were settling in Bangkok from all across Asia. As such, the delicacies that you'll find here — from China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and further — do more than keep you full; they display the diasporic history of Bangkok.

With iron-crusted fans struggling mightily to cool things down and tall, overarching wooden beams that seem to sag under humid weight, eating at Nag Loeng is an atmosphere that promises a true experience. The outer rim of vendors sells more traditional Thai dishes, like braised beef noodles, pink soup, and pad Thai, while deeper in the market, a wider range of influences becomes the norm. Thanks to food court seating, there are plenty of places to sit while sampling dish after dish.

Maybe it's the rush of being in such a large capital city, the incredible fashion sense of so many people walking the streets, or the energy of sightseers wanting to make the most of their time here; Bangkok has an undercurrent of excitement rolling through it. One that makes you want to out the Bat Signal to your friends for a night out on the town. But since most wayfarers don't travel in packs, that can be sort of hard if you're far from home. It was in this sort of circumstance that we found ourselves at BKK Social Club.

Placed in the Four Seasons Bangkok, walking into BKK Social Club is like jet-setting to another place without ever hopping on a plane. The atmosphere is modeled to give you more of a Buenos Aires vibe. White-jacketed bartenders sling cocktails with international influence, like the Abierto (Cynar, pink peppercorn-basil-grapefruit cordial, basil, soda), while maintaining service so friendly it's like they saw the signal lighting up the sky.

What culinary figure has had a more inspiring rise in the past half-decade than Supinya Junsuta of the self-named Jay Fai restaurant? Once regarded as a well-known street food cook but now treated with the respect of a Michelin-starred chef (which she is), Junsuta is a banner example of how a less pretentious approach to culinary accolades can develop into justified grassroots growth.

But what is Jay Fai these days? Street food? A full-service restaurant? Depends on your definition of either. One thing that hasn't changed is that even with the attention, the chef is still in the kitchen, goggled against the brash heat of roaring forges and flipping the wok as she personally cooks every dish.

The signature golden-fried crab omelet is just as decadent as the word says; it's also the priciest street food dish you're likely to buy in Bangkok. We heard a lot of complaints about this. But stopping to consider that the sizeable quantity of lump crab meat would fetch just as much or more at a Western seafood restaurant — while potentially being cooked by less talented senses — should remind diners to check their privilege. It only takes one taste of the tom yum — acidic, sour, and umami-laden with each spoonful — to make it clear that Jay Fai's taste and passion for food deserve the five-hour waitlist. In the meantime, get there early, see some sights, build up your appetite, and don't miss your number being called.

Jek Pui has had a pop in fame with food travelers recently, thanks to a feature in the Netflix food show "Street Food: Asia." Yet the hawker stand, known for its several curries, is beloved by locals who know it as "Musical Chairs," thanks to the lack of tables outside. Instead, you'll order your curry from the cooks, who ladle it out of large stockpots, and then try and find an open stool. The plastic seats open randomly as diners finish their food and carry on with the day.

Eating a Jek Pui is a quick affair. In fact, most are coming for takeaway meals. While visiting the stall, we sampled the green curry rice with chicken, which was smooth and mild. The red curry with beef was a touch spicier. A braised egg was plated for a smothering effect over that heat, and all in all, this was a delightfully fuss-free meal.