Thailand is a land of culinary genius, but when it comes to where to dine, some restaurants do it better than others. In short, we’ve rated Thailand’s best of the best restaurants you need to visit.
Thailand’s skilled chefs and cooks use local, fresh ingredients to weave magic into their tasty dishes and sauces, creating a mouthwatering culinary experience. We’ve scoured the internet for the top restaurants using reviews, Michelin Star ratings and competition results to narrow down the absolute best restaurants in Thailand.
Sorn, Bangkok
Accolades don’t come much higher than the acclaimed ‘Asia’s Best Restaurants’ 2022 list. Landing a coveted spot within the top two, Sorn is notoriously hard to secure a reservation at for good reason. Through each tantalising bite, Sorn’s patron chef, Supaksorn Jongsiri, imbibes his encounters with diverse southern Thai into a one-of-a-kind culinary experience. Set in a restored two-storey mansion, the restaurant is a beautiful accompaniment to the food, where each dish has a story to tell based on past influences and memories. Consequently, you can feel the love and passion that goes into every flavourful mouthful, where texture, colour and even temperature creates a spellbinding journey of the senses.
Where: 56, Sukhumvit 26 Soi Ari, Klongton Khlong Toei, Bangkok
When: 6-11pm, Tuesday-Sunday
Sühring, Bangkok
With a two-star Michelin rating and a ranking within the top 10 of ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ 2022 awards, Sühring restaurant serves up an elegant and elevated spin on traditional German fare. Twin chefs Thomas and Mathias Sühring draw upon childhood memories and ‘lessons from grandma’ to inspire their delicious menu, with the dishes changing every two to three months. Setting into one of the restaurant’s four dining spaces, including a Wintergarten glasshouse surrounded by lush garden and an open kitchen where you can see the chef in action, as you’re treated to the ethereal Himmel und Erde (Heaven and Earth) of mackerel, apple and black pudding or blue lobster with butternut squash and vanilla.
Bookings are a month in advance, so be sure to get in early.
Where: 10 Soi Yen Akat 3, Chong Nonsi, Yan Nawa, Bangkok
When: 5.30-8.45pm, Wednesday-Sunday (dinner) | 12-1pm Thursday-Sunday (lunch)
Le Du, Bangkok
Dining at Asia’s #4-rated restaurant in ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ for 2022 is like tasting Thai cuisine for the very first time. Reinterpreting what traditional Thai cuisine looks like through a modern French lens, Le Du promises four or six courses with highlights including compressed watermelon, mango leaf parfait and the ever-present Khao Chae. Also known as Khao Khluk Kapi, this dish is a mainstay of this degustation experience, featuring organic rice cooked with aromatic shrimp paste and pork jam over perfectly cooked river prawns.
Where: 399/3 Silom Soi 7, Bangrak, Bangkok
When: 6-11pm, Monday-Saturday
PRU, Phuket
As Thailand’s only Michelin Green Star awardee, you know you’re in for a delicious and sustainable treat at PRU. Located inside the luxurious Trisara resort, the chefs at PRU (which stands for Plant, Raise, Understand) spend their morning picking vegetables and herbs from the resort’s organic gardens and scouring the local markets for the freshest produce for that night’s meals. Using the rich culinary techniques of Thailand’s past, head chef Jimmy and his team use modern techniques to create lavishly-decorated dishes that take your tastebuds on a cultural journey. To add to the experience, the restaurant’s interior and surroundings are stunning, especially at sunset.
Where: 60/1 Moo 6, Srisoonthorn Road, Cherngtalay, Thalang District, Phuket
When: 6pm-10.30pm, Thursday-Monday
Nahm, Como Bangkok
Nahm has well and truly earned its reputation for world-class cuisine, having earned itself a Michelin Star for the past five years and a ranking in the annual San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna lists of Asia’s top 10 restaurants. Hidden in the renowned COMO Metropolitan Bangkok, this renowned restaurant knows how to combine shrimp paste, chillies and lemongrass to craft out-of-this-world food, such as pu sorn klin – blue swimmer crab on rice crackers – and kua gapi – savoury coconut relish on charcoal-grilled catfish with wild ginger.
Where: 27 S Sathon Rd, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
When: 11am-10pm, Wednesday to Monday
The Oyster Bar X, Koh Samui
Fresh from the sea isn’t an expression here, it’s a way of life. With a 4.9 to five-star rating on review sites, Koh Samui’s The Oyster bar x Samui’s food of the sea-tasting affair offers the freshest crustaceans and other local produce (with some oyster species being imported for tasting experiences), lovingly prepared to emphasise the enjoyable, complex ocean flavours. With caviar, lobster, calamari, scallops, prawns and even escargot on the menu, there’s a mouthwatering dish for everyone.
Where: 84/34 M.3, Had Lamai Rd, Maret, Koh Samui
When: 6-11pm daily
There are a few more amazing restaurants that are worth a special mention, such as the Rambutan Restaurant & Cafe and Another World Restaurant in Chiang Mai, as well as La Playa, Chez François and Oxa in Surat Thani. These restaurants are all extremely popular and highly rated in reviews, bringing the best of Thai cuisine to visitors.
If you’re looking for accommodation with great onsite restaurants, check out Thailand’s best all-inclusive resorts and exclusive range of deals here.
Looking for more Thailand inspiration? Check out The Best Beach Clubs in Thailand.
Main image: In-villa dining at Trisara Phuket, courtesy of www.andrewmaccoll.com
