The best recent restaurant openings in Bangkok

This new fried chicken place in Ari offers you more flavours than just your original fried chicken, in a Taiwanese style. With the crispy and tenderness, they offer a set of chicken with three size selections (from B350) where you can choose your spicy level. A glass of strawberry milkshake (B190) goes well with fried chicken as it is an American tradition. Nightlifers might go upstairs for its cocktail bar and sip chu me some love (gin, apple, jasmine tea, seltzer and butterfly peas, B350) after a long day. 

10/2 Ari Soi 4. 098-263-6435. Daily 11am-midnight

The flavours of Latin American abound at this nature-centric restaurant near Lumphini Park. A new spot for seafood lovers, it uses local coastal ingredients to make standout offerings such as prawn tartare (B250) and tuna tataki (B280). If fish and prawns aren’t your thing though, try the A5 wagyu tenderloin (B2,750) served with mini tacos. It is a fine example of Mexican cuisine prepared with French techniques by Michelin-starred chefs Olivier Limousin and chef Sebastien Lalanne. 

16 Somkid Soi, Lumpini. 099-443-2426. Open Tue-Sun 5pm-2am. Closed Mon

It doesn’t take much to get the party started at this new brightly-decorated branch of Fatboy Izakaya. You can enjoy fatboy roll (B650) or ramen cacio e pepe (B280) surrounded by Japanese manga art featuring Crayon Shin-Chan, Astro Boy or Mario – overlooking the bustling Ratchaprasong area. But it won’t be long before you are up and dancing.

3/F Gaysorn Amarin, Phloen Chit Rd. 083-949-5646. Mon-Thu 11.30am-2.30pm & 4pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 11.30am-2.30pm & 4pm-1am, Sun 11.30am-2.30pm & 4pm-midnight

This colourful dim sum restaurant on Sathu Pradit Road is the latest project from Thitid Tassanakajohn, aka the Michelin-starred Chef Ton, famed for his work at Le Du, Nusara, Baan and Lahnyai Nusara. Gowin offers both premium and regular options: from crab har gow (B149) to prawn dumplings (B39) or a large bowl of Gowin steamed pork rice (B459).

11/1 Sathu Pradit Rd. 061-614-9498. Mon-Tue 8am-5pm & Thu-Sun 8am-5pm. Closed Wed

This elegant restaurant evokes the tradition of Indian polo clubs with Rajasthani-inspired decor in the heart of Bangkok next to the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel. Signature dishes at Jharokha – named after the stone window projecting from a building in Indian architecture – range from Himalayan gucchi and khumb (stuffed morel, king oyster mushrooms and yakhni, B450) to the spicy shikari mass ke sule (Australian lamb striploin, mustard mint dip and fennel, B650), with plenty of vegetarian options.

2/F Erawan Bangkok, Pathum Wan. 082-997-3399. Daily 11.30am-10.30pm

Comfort food galore at the second branch of Kenny’s BBK at Sukhumvit Soi 31. Try bucatini carbonara (B350) or Kenny’s special pizza (B390) with mystery ingredients. Beef lovers check out the 300g hanger steak grilled on charcoal with chimichurri (B590). And watch English Premier League matches at weekends.

24/1 Sukhumvit Soi 31, Khlong Tan Nuea. 090-995-2040. Daily 10am-3am

Edo-style hand-rolled sushi offerings focus on ingredients that include premium seafood and wagyu beef and the chefs are happy to tell you how and why they select prime produce from various parts of Japan. Signatures such as lobster ikura (lobster with salmon eggs) and awabi (sliced abalone) will delight seafood aficionados. Those who crave fusion fare should try crispy unagi (B220) and A5 wagyu jumbo (B590) for a meal with a difference.   

Ekkamai Soi 19, Khlong Tan Nuea. 065-989-5296. Open Tue-Sun 11am-2.30pm & 5pm-9pm. Closed Mon

Tap in the secret password sent out to diners and the sliding door will reveal Kuma no Yakitori, a Japanese restaurant originally from Osaka, where – omakase style – you leave it to the owner chef Yoshinari Takagi to choose a 15-course (B3,500) experience built around grilled chicken on skewers (yakitori). Twelve guests can be seated around the counter and the private room can seat seven diners.

1/F Rain Hill, Sukhumvit Soi 47. 02-258-6173. Tue-Sun 5pm-10pm. Closed Mon

This restaurant at the Nysa Hotel promises “simple dishes, smoking coal and Thai soul”. Three chefs are behind this Thai fusion experience, Bangkok-born Napol “Joe” Jantraget and his wife desserts creator Saki Hashino from Nagoya, who co-founded Samlor and Nawa, and Jirapat “Sept” Praphotjanaporn, who joined forces with the couple in 2020. Dishes include fire roasted pork belly (B420) and smoked short ribs (B1,290) as well as smoked and grilled mushroom (B490).

73/7-8 Sukhumvit Soi 13, Khlong Toei Nuea. 080-076-4370. Tue-Sun 6pm-11pm. Closed Mon

Indulge in the full-course hanjeongsik (B3,950), a tabletop filled with small dishes, at Onggi’s 55th floor eyrie, where chef and founder Injin Kim has set out to showcase Korea’s fermented food culture. Onggi takes its name from the traditional earthenware vessels whose porous nature makes them perfect for storing the vegetables (which then became kimchi), rice (makgeolli) and soybeans (jang) used to create the fermented sauces and pastes used in Korean cuisine.

55/F Empire Tower, Sathorn Rd. 065-969-6823. Tue 5pm-10pm, Wed-Sun 12.30pm-3pm & 5pm-9.30pm. Closed Mon

This eight-seat chef’s counter is the brainchild of Dimitrios Moudios, a veteran of two and three Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe and executive chef at Lahnyai, which celebrates royal Thai cuisine. At Ore – from the Greek for “something you like” – Moudios, who began cooking at 14, has been influenced by the minimalist Japanese lifestyle and has centred the menu around vegetables cooked in fresh spring water from Sai Yok National Park. The dinner tasting is B4,590.

31 Sathu Pradit Rd, Chong Nonsi. Mon 7pm-9pm, Thu-Sun 6pm-9pm. Closed Tue-Wed

This fusion fried rice restaurant gives choices of ingredients to make comfort food just for you. Starting from B85, you can choose Thai jasmine, Thai sticky, Japanese,  or basmati as a base for fried rice. Salted egg squid option might be a choice for local seafood flavour. Asian food lovers can also try japanese seaweed or kimchi fried rice or any of the other dozen sauces because you can pick what you prefer. 

169 Samsen Rd, Wat Sam Phraya. 096-719-9689. Tue-Sun 11am-2pm & 5pm-9pm. Closed Mon

At this chic riverside restaurant you can enjoy French cuisine prepared by multiple Michelin star winner, chef Guillaume Galliot. Verdant with palms and other plants, it is a lovely spot in which to enjoy easy bites such as wagyu beef & foie gras burger (B650) and lobster & avocado roll (B450). If soup on a hot Bangkok day doesn’t grab you, think again because Galliot serves up a signature dish called my hot & cold onion soup  featuring (ice cream with marmalade, parmesan and melba toast, B890). Cool and dreamy, it is a spectacular way to beat the heat. 

Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River 300/1 Chareon Krung, Yan Nawa. 02-032-0888. Open Tue-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm & 6pm-10.30pm. Closed Mon 

Artistic Burmese cuisine influenced by British and Indian culinary traditions is served at this tea-house-style eatery. Ceylon tea (B115), their signature drink, welcomes you to vibrant surroundings. If you are in the mood for comfort food, enjoy four-fish mohinga (a lemongrass and four-fish soup with fermented vermicelli noodles, B310) or burrata with mutton and tea leaf (B650). Finish off with lightly burnt cheesecake (B320) and lashings of their homemade whipped cream. 

6 Sangchai Soi, Phra Khanong, Khlong Toei. 064-060-3536. Open Mon-Thu 9am-10.30pm, Fri-Sat 9am-11pm, Sun 9am-10.30pm     

Take a trip back in time to the Cantopop era of the 1980s at this upmarket porridge restaurant’s new branch. Try peng you fried beef (B490), fried pudding tofu (B180) or spicy shrimp in fish sauce (B260) before basking in the glow of the red neon light with a signature cocktail.

26 Sukhumvit Soi 61, Khlong Tan Nuea. 065-964-4239. Daily 11am-midnight

Its terracotta tile and red neon lights take you to Southern Europe. Sababa blends Mediterranean flavours with a dash of Japanese culture at this relaxed izakaya in a low-rise residential street in Thonglor Soi 13. Eat inside the welcoming dining room or in the villa’s garden with the kitchen under the command of co-founder Maxim Baile. Try the pistachio carbonara (B490) with chopsticks.

53 Soi Torsak, Thonglor Soi 13. 080-280-8787. Mon 5pm-11pm, Wed-Sun 5pm-11pm. Closed Tue 

Enjoy traditional sushi at this eight-seat counter bar omakase-style – face to face with the chef, Los Angeles-born Goji Kobayashi, the recently named Young Rising Star Chef at the Top 25 Restaurants Awards, who approaches preparing fish with reverence and skill. A 12-course lunch (B3,900) at midday (weekends only); dinner (B6,500) of 16 to 18 courses at 5.30pm and 7.30pm (except weekends). BTS Chidlom. Free parking.

2/F Vivre Langsuan, Soi Langsuan. 092-916-9299. Tue-Fri 5pm-10pm, Sat-Sun midday-10pm. Closed Mon.

Enjoy the Japanese delicacy of grilled eel (unagi) grilled over charcoal and brushed with a sweet sauce at the first outlet of this chain that started in the Japanese port city of Nagoya almost a century ago and now has restaurants across East Asia. Try ippon hitsumabushi (B940), eel fillets grilled to order on a bed of Japanese rice with a sticky sauce.

6/F The Emquartier, Sukhumvit Rd. 092-563-6222. Daily 10am-10pm