List Of Worst Eateries In Bangkok

[CarlBkk]

Just a fun topic really and of course very subjective. Which cafes and restaurants stick in your mind as having consistently the worst tasting food or the poorest value for money?

Off the top of my head:

Chesters Grill

MK

Santa Fe

Phayathai Place condo cafe

Saxophone

Giusto

I want to vomit just thinking about my experiences in the above. Hate them.

[kiakaha]

McDonalds.

KFC.

Burger King.

why people eat this rubbish in Thailand, which has so many more healthier and sometimes cheaper fast food options, is beyond me.

Pizza Hut and Pizza Company...these are not pizzas, it is slop on dough, covered in processed cheese.

[dantilley]

Giusto

Definitely agree with this one, especially for the price. Little Italy on the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 23 is rough also.

O'Reileys and The Duke Of Wellington on Silom Road are the worst pub grub.

Those Oishi conveyor belt sushi places are awful (not the normal Oishi restaurants though).

Phaya Thai 2 Hospital food centre is the worst food centre I've been in.

Just about any guest house / hotel on Khao San Road is well worth avoiding also.

[Ulysses G.]

McDonalds.

KFC.

Burger King.

why people eat this rubbish in Thailand, which has so many more healthier and sometimes cheaper fast food options, is beyond me.

Because they taste good.

[taxexile]

Chesters Grill and Subway Sandwiches serve up the worst food in bangkok by a long margin.

the names alone should serve as warnings.

Chester , reminiscent of overweight film characters in black and white american films who always seem to be losing money at the racetrack or losing their pretty wives to shady gangsters.

Subway , reminiscent of windy cold dark dank urine puddled underpasses peopled by the undesirable and dangerous in inner city britain.

Edited February 4, 2008 by taxexile

[Ulysses G.]

Actually, if you can figure out the proper way to build the sub and the correct sauces to put on, Subway is overpriced, but not bad. I had a farang girl who used to work in one tell me what to put in several different subs and they were much better than my own experiments.

[taxexile]

Actually, if you can figure out the proper way to build the sub and the correct sauces to put on, Subway is overpriced, but not bad. I had a farang girl who used to work in one tell me what to put in several different subs and they were much better than my own experiments.

my research led me to the conclusion that they should improve on the quality and textures of the breads they use , always seemed stale and too chewy.

[HarryHacker]

Cheap food.

Agree that Chesters is awful, Subway has bad attitude and poor taste, add the Foodland fast food eatery on Soi 5, which get my number 1 award for garbage food.

Expensive food

The Rib Room in the Landmark.

[Ulysses G.]

Actually, if you can figure out the proper way to build the sub and the correct sauces to put on, Subway is overpriced, but not bad. I had a farang girl who used to work in one tell me what to put in several different subs and they were much better than my own experiments.

my research led me to the conclusion that they should improve on the quality and textures of the breads they use , always seemed stale and too chewy.

Interesting, because they make it themselves so that it will - supposedly - always be fresh. Maybe no one is checking up on these things in Thailand?

[Ulysses G.]

Agree that Chesters is awful

Mostly, but the BBQ chicken on rice isn't bad.

[surface]

Fuji. The quality of their sushi is so consistenly bad that it truely amazes me when I see so many Thai's eating there with all of the great fresh seafood available here. Last time I was there they placed a bunch of wasabi between the fish and the rice as a little surpise for my companion. You can't be any more obvious in trying to cover up the horendous quality by sneaking a spoonful of wasabi under individual pieces of hamachi.

[popshirt]

A & W in Silom Complex is BEYOND bad...............

[CarlBkk]

A & W in Silom Complex is BEYOND bad...............

A&W YES! I completely forgot about that inedible disaster. Also in the Silom complex is a Filipino chain called Little something...wasted money in there too.

Santa Fe is probably the worst - processed steaks that actually tasted synthetic and smelt strange. My whole family felt very sick and wanted to puke when reminding themselves of the smell. Not food poisoning, just bad quality food.

Giusto indeed...was looking forward to that evening. Lovely restaurant, good menu, 10,000 baht bill....food was well presented, some dishes tasteless but others over salted and made me VERY ill for the next 3 days.

The worst foodcourt ever must be that in Chatujak bus terminal. Pure fat and gristle in sauce plus rice.

[percy2]

Of the places already mentioned.

I've never enjoyed anything from

Chetser's Grill

Little Italy

Pizza Hut

The Pizza

Places that either have something I enjoy or have had mixed results for me

KFC (Their spicy rice meal)

Mikey D's ( I enjoy the tastes , but nearly always feel ill after)

A+W (Curly Fries + Burgers)

DoW (everything I have had has been OK if not fantastic)

O'Reilleys (Ditto DoW)

Subway (skip the sauces and don't add all the salad and they are ok)

Fuji (you get what you pay for)

Places I have enjoyed my meal

MK (its cheap and cheerful and I do enjoy their roast pork and duck)

BurgerKing (great once every 3 or 4 months)

Rib Room (never had a bad meal their, Though to be fair the last one was 6 or 7 years ago)

Guisto (had some fantastic meals their, its pricey though)

Not mentioned

Good

NY steak House

Bulls Head

Dubliner

Delaneys (or whatever its called now)

Jools

Road House

Coyote

L'Opera

La Piola

Rosano (sp? new place of the old owner of L'Opera)

Rang Mahal

Bella Napoli (Take Away Pizza)

PizZanotti (ditto)

NYSP (ditto)

Madrid (eat in pizza)

Secret Recipe (great Laksa)

The noodle shop in the Landmark (great Laksa)

Blue Elephant

Bangkok Bakery Co. (in the JW, best sandwiches in town)

Rang Derm

Baan Laos

The Ramen shop on the sub soi betwee Thonglor 11-13.

The guy with the black woolen hat and sweat band that makes the best Pad Thai in town on first on the right from the corner of Suk. & Soi 38 but only after 8pm (draw breath)

The Tapas place on Soi 11

I'm Sure I've missed more than a few

Places that are OK

Crepes and Co.

Jungle restaurant next to the Bulls Head

Kuppa

Scoozi

Woodstock

Coffee bean by Dao

Tip Top (good food but horrible environment)

Steak Laos

Senior Pico

Sabrosa Mexican Grill

Sunrise Taco

Taco Loco

Au Bon Pain

Great American Rib Co.

Log Cabin (good som tam Gai Yang , but please turn the music down)

Lots lots more but mediocrity is hardly memorable

Places I will try not to eat again

Larrys Dive

The Londoner

Bourbon Street (15 years ago one of the best places in town, either something has gone wrong recently or there wasn't much competition 15 years ago)

The Pat Thai stall on the corner of 33 (crap noodles but the Hoi Taad is ok)

The Kow Meung Gai stall on the 3rd floor of MBK

The riverside restaurant next to the pier at Marriott riverside.

CHeers

[triplegee]

Timely topic for me.

I took the wife to eat at Seafood Palace at Asoke on the weekend before we ventured upstairs for a long pool session with some mates in a private room at The Sports Academy. We went and chose our seafood in the "Seafood Market" as follows:

- 2 small packs of scallops (not in shell) = pan fried in garlic

- 2 Rock Prawns (not large) = bbq'd in pepper sauce

- 1 squid = deep fried

And some morning glory and 1 fried rice for me and 1 steamed rice for the missus.

I drank 3 glasses of house wine with the meal and she ordered 2 orange juices.

Now for the fun bit... we normally have a bit of a "guess the bill" competition and generally one of us gets close. She went first and chose 1,400 THB - I went for 2,400 THB. The bill came and it was 4,600 THB!!

Don't get me wrong - the food was great - just ridiculously over-priced. I couldn't be bothered querying it with the staff btu we did check that it wasn't a totalling error. There were 4 cooking charges of 280 THB per dish along with some high fresh seafood pricing.

No wonder there was only 3 other tables there whilst we were dining.

[percy2]

Timely topic for me.

I took the wife to eat at Seafood Palace at Asoke on the weekend before we ventured upstairs for a long pool session with some mates in a private room at The Sports Academy. We went and chose our seafood in the "Seafood Market" as follows:

- 2 small packs of scallops (not in shell) = pan fried in garlic

- 2 Rock Prawns (not large) = bbq'd in pepper sauce

- 1 squid = deep fried

And some morning glory and 1 fried rice for me and 1 steamed rice for the missus.

I drank 3 glasses of house wine with the meal and she ordered 2 orange juices.

Now for the fun bit... we normally have a bit of a "guess the bill" competition and generally one of us gets close. She went first and chose 1,400 THB - I went for 2,400 THB. The bill came and it was 4,600 THB!!

Don't get me wrong - the food was great - just ridiculously over-priced. I couldn't be bothered querying it with the staff btu we did check that it wasn't a totalling error. There were 4 cooking charges of 280 THB per dish along with some high fresh seafood pricing.

No wonder there was only 3 other tables there whilst we were dining.

The place screams TOURIST TRAP!

Never been there , but I have been to the Sea Food Market many times, before when it was on the corner of Asoke and Sukhumvit and the second location on Petchaburi on the corner of Sukhumvit 39 (it used to have flaming gas torches burning all along Petchaburi) and more recently on soi 24.

The quality is good , the experience is great when you are entertain friends from out of town and the price is ridiculous.

Even so I end up going back.

Cheers

[bkkmei]

isn't the seafood palace the one where those tourists got hit with an astronomical bill and it made the papers?

anyhow.....

I was VERY disappointed at Mahanaga - that'll teach me to go to a fusion place. The food was bad, the portions were mercifully tiny and the service was worse than the food.

Arirang (little Korea, near Suk soi 12) was good when it first opened, but has gone downhill. Very tough bbq meat and almost cracked my tooth on a stone in their bibimbap. Mind you, they gave me a freebie meal when I complained

At Giannis, a cockroach was nicely cooked in my rabbit dish. What a pity as the rest of the food was superb. I'd probably even go back!

I quite like Giusto - but it is rather pricey and the decor is a little cold.

Wonder how long this thread will last...?

[thaihome]

Of the places already mentioned.

I've never enjoyed anything from

Chetser's Grill

Little Italy

Pizza Hut

The Pizza

Places that either have something I enjoy or have had mixed results for me

KFC (Their spicy rice meal)

Mikey D's ( I enjoy the tastes , but nearly always feel ill after)

A+W (Curly Fries + Burgers)

DoW (everything I have had has been OK if not fantastic)

O'Reilleys (Ditto DoW)

Subway (skip the sauces and don't add all the salad and they are ok)

Fuji (you get what you pay for)

Places I have enjoyed my meal

MK (its cheap and cheerful and I do enjoy their roast pork and duck)

BurgerKing (great once every 3 or 4 months)

Rib Room (never had a bad meal their, Though to be fair the last one was 6 or 7 years ago)

Guisto (had some fantastic meals their, its pricey though)

Not mentioned

Good

NY steak House

Bulls Head

Dubliner

Delaneys (or whatever its called now)

Jools

Road House

Coyote

L'Opera

La Piola

Rosano (sp? new place of the old owner of L'Opera)

Rang Mahal

Bella Napoli (Take Away Pizza)

PizZanotti (ditto)

NYSP (ditto)

Madrid (eat in pizza)

Secret Recipe (great Laksa)

The noodle shop in the Landmark (great Laksa)

Blue Elephant

Bangkok Bakery Co. (in the JW, best sandwiches in town)

Rang Derm

Baan Laos

The Ramen shop on the sub soi betwee Thonglor 11-13.

The guy with the black woolen hat and sweat band that makes the best Pad Thai in town on first on the right from the corner of Suk. & Soi 38 but only after 8pm (draw breath)

The Tapas place on Soi 11

I'm Sure I've missed more than a few

Places that are OK

Crepes and Co.

Jungle restaurant next to the Bulls Head

Kuppa

Scoozi

Woodstock

Coffee bean by Dao

Tip Top (good food but horrible environment)

Steak Laos

Senior Pico

Sabrosa Mexican Grill

Sunrise Taco

Taco Loco

Au Bon Pain

Great American Rib Co.

Log Cabin (good som tam Gai Yang , but please turn the music down)

Lots lots more but mediocrity is hardly memorable

Places I will try not to eat again

Larrys Dive

The Londoner

Bourbon Street (15 years ago one of the best places in town, either something has gone wrong recently or there wasn't much competition 15 years ago)

The Pat Thai stall on the corner of 33 (crap noodles but the Hoi Taad is ok)

The Kow Meung Gai stall on the 3rd floor of MBK

The riverside restaurant next to the pier at Marriott riverside.

CHeers

A really great list and I don't disagree with any of it, but how do you remember all those places? you must write them down, keep a diary or something?

My worst is the 2 Mexican places on Silom. One (La Fiesta I thnk) , we actually got up and left a few minutes after food was brought out, something my wife is loath to no matter how bad.

The 2 Subways on Sukhumvit are of noticeably less quality then the one on Silom.

Coyotes on Convent is quite good (for Mexican in Asia). As a matter of fact, you can’t go real wrong with any of the restaurants (not including Pubs) on Convent Road.

Good seafood at Somboon Seafood - corner of Suriwong & Narathiwat Roads, tends to full of Japanese tourist, but still worth it. Best raw oysters I have had in Bangkok. The crab curry is a specialty.

Several places down Narathiwat featuring any number of types of food. Many tend to “hip” places rather then real restaurants. Pakrong (sp?) is favorite among an older crowd.

My all time best restaurant for food and atmosphere (without a budget) is Sirocco.

TH

[percy2]

A really great list and I don't disagree with any of it, but how do you remember all those places? you must write them down, keep a diary or something?

My worst is the 2 Mexican places on Silom. One (La Fiesta I thnk) , we actually got up and left a few minutes after food was brought out, something my wife is loath to no matter how bad.

The 2 Subways on Sukhumvit are of noticeably less quality then the one on Silom.

Coyotes on Convent is quite good (for Mexican in Asia). As a matter of fact, you can’t go real wrong with any of the restaurants (not including Pubs) on Convent Road.

Good seafood at Somboon Seafood - corner of Suriwong & Narathiwat Roads, tends to full of Japanese tourist, but still worth it. Best raw oysters I have had in Bangkok. The crab curry is a specialty.

Several places down Narathiwat featuring any number of types of food. Many tend to “hip” places rather then real restaurants. Pakrong (sp?) is favorite among an older crowd.

My all time best restaurant for food and atmosphere (without a budget) is Sirocco.

TH

If I'd have spent some more time I could have added many more.

The Only place on convent I wouldn't go back to is La Boulange.

Three places I missed from the good list....

V9

Bei Otto

Chesa

Your right Somboon is good, in all their locations.

Whats that place with the big catfish on the corner of Seacon Square, the soi is named after it?

Cheers

[thaihome]

La Boulange - Is that the french place accross from Starbucks? Never tried it, but will take your word for it.

I guess this thread is suppose to be about bad places to avoid. It is hard to do with so many really good places. We do tend to aviod Sukhumvit altogether and rarely eat at farang places except where we know the food already.

TH

[jEFFREYk44]

Seafood Market "If it costs too much, We have it!"

[Ulysses G.]

Fuji. The quality of their sushi is so consistenly bad that it truely amazes me when I see so many Thai's eating there with all of the great fresh seafood available here. Last time I was there they placed a bunch of wasabi between the fish and the rice as a little surpise for my companion. You can't be any more obvious in trying to cover up the horendous quality by sneaking a spoonful of wasabi under individual pieces of hamachi.

The only bad fish that I have had in Fuji is when I ordered cheap types that I had never heard of before to save money. The typical stuff - tuna, salmon, eel - is always fine and not overly expensive.

[percy2]

Fuji. The quality of their sushi is so consistenly bad that it truely amazes me when I see so many Thai's eating there with all of the great fresh seafood available here. Last time I was there they placed a bunch of wasabi between the fish and the rice as a little surpise for my companion. You can't be any more obvious in trying to cover up the horendous quality by sneaking a spoonful of wasabi under individual pieces of hamachi.

The only bad fish that I have had in Fuji is when I ordered cheap types that I had never heard of before to save money. The typical stuff - tuna, salmon, eel - is always fine and not overly expensive.

I agree with UG.

Its not great , buts its not bad. Reasonable value.

I though sushi always had a little wasabi on the rice?

Cheers

[Prakanong]

Actually, if you can figure out the proper way to build the sub and the correct sauces to put on, Subway is overpriced, but not bad. I had a farang girl who used to work in one tell me what to put in several different subs and they were much better than my own experiments.

my research led me to the conclusion that they should improve on the quality and textures of the breads they use , always seemed stale and too chewy.

I got the chicken breast there last week - bloody awful flattened processed chicken.

In Singapore if its not a chicken breast it looks more like one and has a much better texture.

Plus they know how to put it together down here not like the last two attemps I suffered in Bangkok at Sukhumvit and Paragon - serves me right.

[Ulysses G.]

I though sushi always had a little wasabi on the rice?

Cheers

There are different styles, but it is quite common to include wasabi.

[Ulysses G.]

Actually, if you can figure out the proper way to build the sub and the correct sauces to put on, Subway is overpriced, but not bad. I had a farang girl who used to work in one tell me what to put in several different subs and they were much better than my own experiments.

my research led me to the conclusion that they should improve on the quality and textures of the breads they use , always seemed stale and too chewy.

I got the chicken breast there last week - bloody awful flattened processed chicken.

My main problem with Subway is the processed meats, however, it would be pretty difficult to provide fresh turkey and roast beef and such for a reasonable price.

As someone else mentioned, "Bangkok Bakery Co. (in the JW, best sandwiches in town)" is my favorite sandwich place too.

[dantilley]

My worst is the 2 Mexican places on Silom. One (La Fiesta I thnk) , we actually got up and left a few minutes after food was brought out, something my wife is loath to no matter how bad.

What's the other one then, Taco Loco? I agree, it's not as good as somewhere like Sunrise Tacos, but it's not too bad.

The Silom area has a few sub-standard places actually (as well as some excellent ones though) - there are a number of touristy restaurants along Surawong Road near Soi Thaniya - some of which rather bizarrely have plastic models of the food in the front window (one step up from photos in the menu I guess ) - these places are all well worth avoiding...

Edited February 4, 2008 by dantilley

[chownah]

There used to be a vendor at kou san road that sold chicken buts on a stick....really greasy and awful.

Chownah

[Strap]

Nice timing for this topic while im trying to loose weight

Places I enjoyed for a full dinner :

Outback steak house in Siam square

Marriott Dinner buffet

Hard Rock in Siam

Seafood market (soi 24 I think) If it swims we have it place..

Pomadoro sukhumvit

Good for a fast food break:

Burger King Plonchit

A & W Pantip was good and hot .

The food court in pantip plaza is good for the most part also.

KFC in MBK is passable.

Old dutch in Soi cowboy

Places I wont return to:

Tony Roma's sukhumvit

McD's in Ploenchit center

Subway suk soi 4-6 or soi 7/1

American BBq soi 33?

Bus Stop soi 4. after remodeling food seemed to loose its taste.

Burger King across from Pantip.

Little Italy soi 23

Well now im hungry so, maybe more to follow..

cheers

[flightcrew1]

Giusto

O'Reileys and The Duke Of Wellington on Silom Road are the worst pub grub.

Just about any guest house / hotel on Khao San Road is well worth avoiding also.

Have to agree about O'Reileys as it gave me horrible food poison awhile back. I also think it's overpriced what what you get...considering Molly Mallones on Convent is similar prices with great pub food!