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Muslim Restaurant
Plant yourself in any random wooden booth of this ancient eatery for a glimpse into what restaurants in Bangkok used to be like back in the day. The menu, much like the interior design, doesn't appear to have changed much in the restaurant's 70-year history, and the biryanis, curries and samosas are still more Indian than Thai.
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Naaz
Hidden in a nondescript alleyway is Naaz (pronounced Nát ), a tiny living-room kitchen serving some of the city's richest khâo mòk kài (chicken biryani). Various daily specials include chicken masala and mutton korma, but we're most curious to visit on Thursdays when the restaurant serves something called Karai Ghost.
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Nang Loeng Market
Dating back 1899, this atmospheric fresh market is a wonderful glimpse of old Bangkok, not to mention a great place to grab a bite. Although it seems not to have entirely recovered from a fire a few years ago, Nang Loeng is still known for its Thai sweets, and at lunchtime is also an excellent place to fill up on savouries.
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Nasser Elmassry Restaurant
Part restaurant, part shrine to the glories of stainless steel furnishings, you simply can't miss this popular Egyptian joint. This is Muslim food, and the emphasis is on meat, meat and more meat, but the kitchen also knocks off some brilliant veggie mezze as well. Enhance your postprandial digestion and catch up on the Arabic-language TV news with a puff on the shishah in the super-casual smoking room upstairs.
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Ngwan Lee Lang Suan
This cavern-like staple of copious consumption is still going strong after all these decades. If you can locate the entrance, squeeze in with the post-clubbing crowd and try some of those dishes you never dare to order elsewhere such as jàp chǎi (Chinese-style stewed veggies) or hǒy laay phàt náam phrík phǎo (clams stir-fried with chilli sauce and Thai basil).
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Oh My Cod!
English cuisine bears the burden of a negative reputation, but is there anything more satisfying than fish and chips? An order here takes the form of a puffy filet accompanied by thick-cut chips (French fries) and peas, prepared 'garden' or 'mushy' style. Breakfast is served all day, and parched Anglophiles can enjoy a proper cuppa in the sunny courtyard dining area.
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Old Siam Plaza
Wedged between the western edge of Chinatown and the northern edge of Phahurat, this shopping plaza has a decent 3rd-floor food centre serving Thai and Chinese food. Even better yet, the 1st floor is a virtual crash course in Thai desserts, with vendors selling all the streetside sweets in a quieter and more sanitary setting.
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Or Tor Kor Market
Or Tor Kor is Bangkok's highest-quality fruit and agricultural market, and sights such as the toddler-sized mangoes and dozens of pots full of curries are reason enough to visit. The vast majority of vendors' goods are takeaway only, but a few informal restaurants exist, including Rot Det, which does excellent stir-fries and curries, and sublime Isan at Sut Jai Kai Yaang, located directly south of the market.
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Pan
If you're looking for authentic Thai, but don't want to stray far from the comforts of Th Khao San, this streetside eatery (next to Viengtai Hotel) is your best bet. Simply look for the overflowing tray of raw ingredients, point to what you want and Pan will mix it up for you. The clientele is decidedly international, but the flavours wholly domestic.
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Pickle Factory
Just a few tables too many to be a dinner party, this converted modern house rolls out homemade pizzas to a practised crowd of layabouts. East-meets-West pizzas defy conventional wisdom with combos such as khîi mao (wing beans and holy basil) and pizza vodka (yup, those are peas). Take a taxi from the station to avoid a long, lonely walk.
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Pizzeria Bella Napoli
An eclectic and boisterous crowd gulps down glasses of blood-red wine and gooey, garlicky, wood-fired pizzas in this Neapolitan outpost. Prepare to feel horribly jealous when the party next to you orders the prosciutto-bridge pizza.
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Pratunam Chicken Rice Restaurants
At the Pratunam intersection are two competing khâo man kài restaurants known by every taxi driver in the city (just say 'Midnight Kai Ton' to get here). Folks argue about which one is better, but we vote for the shop further from the corner. The dipping sauce with big chunks of ginger is its bird in hand.
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Rachanawi Samosawn (Navy Club Restaurant)
Commanding one of the few coveted riverfront locations along this stretch of the Chao Phraya, this restaurant has a reputation among locals in the know for cheap and delicious seafood-based Thai nosh.
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Ramentei
The sight of French-maid-clad Thai waitresses speaking Japanese may have you wondering what you've been smoking, but the spot-on Japanese comfort food will bring back your senses. Located smack dab in the middle of Bangkok's Little Tokyo, this ramen joint serves up a variety of authentic noodle dishes to the city's sizeable Japanese expat community. Choose a seat at the open kitchen to witness your bowl being prepared, or hide yourself behind a Japanese magazine in one of several booths.
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Ran Nam Tao Hu Yong Her
Although the name of this blink-and-you'll-miss-it shophouse eatery translates as 'soy milk restaurant', the emphasis here is on northern Chinese cuisine - a rarity in Bangkok. Try the Shanghainese speciality xiao long bao (described on the menu as 'Small steamed bun') steamed dumplings encasing a pork filling and rich hot broth that pours out when you bite into them.
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Ranee's Guesthouse
In addition to meat-free Thai, this 'flashpacker' oasis now fancies itself as a bakery, and puts out some better-than-decent pizza, pasta and bread. Dining with new friends in the cool leafy courtyard, we double-dare you to miss the bad old days of cheap guesthouse eats.
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Reflections Bar & Restaurant
Kitted out in candy colours, this darling of Soi Ari wowed Thai menu-crawlers several years ago and still manages to maintain their attention. The options ramble from mainly Chinese seafood to Thai standards and this place is a welcome touch of style for hole-in-the-wall fans. The attached hotel lobby-bar is a favourite of the neighbourhood's indie creatives.
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Ricky's Coffee Shop
Ricky's is a beautiful café, decorated like an old Chinese tea shop and decked out with old fans and cigarette poster-girl prints. And it knows its road-warrior market well, serving the best baguette sandwiches in Banglamphu. Pity about the unreliable service and bland Thai food.
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River Bar Café
Sporting a picture-perfect riverside location, good food, and live music, River Bar Café is the epitome of a Bangkok night out. Take a seat on the deck to soak up the breezes and to avoid the enthusiastic but loud live bands inside.
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Rosdee
This stodgy family eating hall is never going to make it on to any international magazine's 'Hot Lists' of places to dine, but the elderly bow-tied staff does give the place a certain element of charm. Instead, Rosdee is known for its consistently tasty, well-executed Thai-Chinese favourites such as the garlicky aw sùan (oysters fried with egg and a sticky batter), or the house speciality, braised goose.
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Roti-Mataba
This classic eatery appears to have become a bit too big for its britches in recent years, but still serves tasty Thai-Muslim dishes such as roti, kaeng mátsàmàn (Muslim curry), a brilliantly sour fish curry, and mátàbà (a sort of stuffed Indian pancake). An upstairs air-con dining area and outdoor tables provide barely enough seating for its loyal fans.
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Royal India
A windowless dining room of 10 tables in a creepy alley may not be everybody's ideal lunch destination, but this legendary north Indian continues to draw foodies despite the lack of aesthetics. Try any of the delicious breads or saucy curries, and finish with a homemade Punjabi sweet.
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Rub Aroon
Perfectly situated for a post-temple refresher, this café across the street from Wat Pho also throws in great old-word atmosphere and a few simple dishes.
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Ruen Mallika
Thai restaurateurs have tourists figured out: convert an old teak house into a restaurant and the crowds will come, regardless of the food. Ruen Mallika ups the ante with exquisite dishes, like dizzyingly spicy náam phrík (a thick dipping sauce with vegetables and herbs) and soulful chicken wrapped in banana leaves. The surrounding garden supplies the ingredients for deep-fried flower dish, a house speciality.
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Sanguan Sri
This restaurant, resembling a concrete bunker filled with furniture circa 1973, can afford to remain decidedly choei (old-fashioned) simply because of its reputation. Follow the lead of the area's hungry office staff and try the excellent kaeng phèt pèt yâang , red curry with grilled duck breast served over snowy white khànǒm jeen noodles.
