RESTAURANT REVIEWS
Bangkok: Thai / Seafood / Asian
Disclaimer: The restaurants reviewed in this section are simply places where we at Naked Farang have eaten. It is by no means an exhaustive list of the best or worst eateries. No payment is accepted for a good review and the restaurants are never made aware that a review is taking place. The Naked Farang can not be bribed and there is truly no such thing as a free lunch. If you want to recommend any places for us to visit and review, contact us on the link below. You can even recommend your own restaurant, but you won’t be warned that we are coming until after the visit. Equally, if you have visited a restaurant and want to share your review, fill in the form on the link at the bottom of the page and return it for our consideration.
Sukhumvit Zone |
|
CABBAGES AND CONDOMS |
Cuisine: |
Thai / Seafood |
Location: |
Sukhumvit Soi 12, Bangkok |
BTS/MRT: |
Asoke BTS / Sukhumvit MRT |
Price: |
500 to 1,000 baht for 2 people including drinks |
Open: |
11:00am to 10:30pm every day |
Vegetarian: |
Yes. A good choice |
Highlight: |
The ambiance and decor |
Low Point: |
Food is adequate but nothing special |
Reservation: |
Recommended but not usually required |
| Contact: |
(02) 229-4610 |
NAKED EYE RATING |
Food: |
7/10 |
Standard fare without being exceptional |
Service: |
8/10 |
Friendly and attentive staff |
Ambiance: |
9/10 |
Relaxed and friendly with live traditional background music |
Décor: |
10/10 |
Beautifully decorated courtyard is the highlight |
Cabbages and Condoms is one of my favourite Bangkok restaurants and it’s somewhere I take friends and family for special occasions. While the food is standard Thai fare, it is the ambiance and décor that make the dining experience special. After you wander off the quiet soi and along a winding path into the restaurant, it feels like you have been magically transported a million miles from the hustle and bustle of nearby Sukhumvit Road. Sitting in the courtyard garden surrounded by trees and fairy lights, you are soothed by the gentle sound of water features and unobtrusive live music played on the kim, a traditional stringed instrument played like a glockenspiel. In case you are wondering, Cabbages and Condoms got its name because of the owner’s connections with promoting family planning and safe sex. I have no idea about the cabbages, but you usually receive a free condom when you leave. It makes a change from mints! I would recommend Cabbages and Condoms for romantic meals-for-two or group get-togethers.
Silom Zone |
|
THAT’S IT |
Cuisine: |
Thai |
Location: |
Sala Daeng Soi 1, Silom |
BTS/MRT: |
Sala Daeng BTS (long walk) |
Price: |
500 to 1,000 baht for 2 people with drinks |
Open: |
|
Vegetarian: |
Good choice available |
Highlight: |
Food and decor |
Low Point: |
I once had to dress up as Elvis here for a company party |
Reservation: |
Not essential but recommended for peak times |
| Contact: |
|
NAKED EYE RATING |
Food: |
8/10 |
Their Tom Ka Gai is the best I have ever had |
Service: |
8/10 |
Steady and friendly |
Ambiance: |
8/10 |
Chilled out although with live music on the weekends |
Décor: |
9/10 |
Excellently laid out and decorated |
That’s It is a great place to have a romantic meal or relax with a few friends. It also makes a great venue for special occasions and parties. I first went there for a company New Year party and later decided to have my son’s 1st birthday party there. The food ranges from average to excellent. Their Tom Ka Gai is the best I have ever tried and definitely recommended. The décor is also aesthetically very pleasing. The restaurant resembles an old Thai house that has been gutted and renovated by some throwback Californian hippy. While it’s definitely oriental, there’s something, somehow occidental that I can never quite put my finger on. It may be the English Premier League football on the large TV, but I’m not sure. The treated wooden interior blends in subtly with the many plants and water features, including a fish pond. There is a range of seating choices on different levels. A Japanese-style raised platform where you take your shoes off and sit cross-legged at a low table is extremely popular with small Thai groups but too challenging for most farang knees. That’s It never seems to get too crowded so it’s fairly intimate, although it’s more busy on weekends when it has live bands playing pop and soft rock tunes. It’s on Sala Daeng Soi 1, about 100 metres from Sala Daeng on the left. It’s quite a walk from the BTS, so I would recommend walking back to Sala Daeng and taking a taxi.
Silom Zone |
|
SALA SAWAN |
Cuisine: |
Thai |
Location: |
Patpong 2, Silom Road |
BTS/MRT: |
Sala Daeng BTS |
Price: |
500 to 1,000 baht for two people with drinks |
Open: |
Daily from lunch until late |
Vegetarian: |
Available |
Highlight: |
Food and homely atmosphere |
Low Point: |
Sex show touts on the approach in the evenings |
Reservation: |
Not required |
| Contact: |
|
NAKED EYE RATING |
Food: |
8/10 |
Good Thai, Isaan & Seafood. Try the honey roast pork |
Service: |
9/10 |
Homely and friendly – they’ll baby-sit as you eat if it’s quiet |
Ambiance: |
7/10 |
Very quiet at lunchtime and almost never crowded |
Décor: |
8/10 |
Tastefully decorated in a Southern European style |
Sala Sawan reminds me of that saying: “If you want to hide something, put it in plain view.” It is almost like a well-kept secret and although it’s quite small and homely, it never seems to get crowded, which is strange because it’s right on Patpong 2 and has good and reasonably-priced food. They serve an extensive range of Thai, Isaan and seafood with a few international and Chinese dishes thrown in for good measure. I would strongly recommend their honey-roast pork, and my Thai wife always orders the crab som-tam. She is a very fussy eater, but she insists that Sala Sawan has the Isaan taste that is so often lacking in Bangkok restaurants. The service is good and the staff is friendly. They have regularly looked after our baby son while we eat during quiet lunchtimes, which is always most appreciated. Sala Sawan is a place that you have probably walked past dozens of times without ever noticing it. It’s only a few years old and that must be the only reason why it still hasn’t built up a more bustling trade. To get to Sala Sawan, walk along Patpong 2 from Silom and it’s on your left just after the chicane.
Silom Zone |
|
ANNA KITCHEN |
Cuisine: |
Thai |
Location: |
Hua Lamphong Train Station |
BTS/MRT: |
Hua Lamphong MRT |
Price: |
250 to 600 Baht for two people with drinks |
Open: |
11am to 9pm daily |
Vegetarian: |
Yes. A good choice of veggie dishes |
Highlight: |
Great food and low prices make exceptional value for money |
Low Point: |
Erm…..It’s in a train station? |
Reservation: |
You’re having a laugh |
| Contact: |
02 613 7410 ext 115 |
NAKED EYE RATING |
Food: |
9/10 |
Good Thai and Isaan fare |
Service: |
8/10 |
Friendly and attentive |
Ambiance: |
6/10 |
It’s in a train station |
Décor: |
6/10 |
It’s in a train station |
Anna Kitchen – Hua Lamphong Train Station is a surprise choice as one of my favourite eateries in Bangkok. While Anna’s Café on Sala Daeng attracts the high-flying jet-set, it is the railroad-riding backpack-gang that drops in here. Anna Kitchen is not a part of the Anna’s Restaurant chain, and it’s not a place that I would go out of my way to visit or take visiting friends to, but on the regular occasions that I drop my wife and son off at the train station for a family visit to Surin, we always call in for dinner and are never disappointed. All the food is good, but the lemon pork (moo ma nao) is delicious and the best I have ever eaten. It even gets Pim’s thumbs up, and she is the world’s fussiest eater. Ambiance and décor are nothing special, but then this is a train station. Nevertheless, it’s a great place to people watch as you sit on the balcony overlooking the train station’s main concourse. The service is good and the food is what keeps us coming back. It’s easy to find. It’s in Hua Lumphong Train Station in the main hall above the food.
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