Best Ambience In Bkk

[Valjean]

If you want the fancy could be many of the places above and I guess you have a good list. I went to Vertigo once, dropped 8000 or 9000 baht for 2 for an amazing view and fairly standard food. Better for drinks I think.

My favorite in Kin Lom Chum Saphan on Soi Sansem 3. On the river, wonderful view, live music that's easy listening, GREAT food, especially the seafood. Mostly Thai's. Casual but nice. Dinner for 2 a little under 1000 so not street prices but affordable. I have taken 4 dates there and each one loves it (always ask to go back). It has a wonderful Thai ambiance - big groups, families, music and really fantastic food. That is IMHO Thai ambiance and I love it. It's romantic without being stuffy. Recommended.

[orchis]

I think Le Lys on Lang Suan soi 3 is very good Thai food, beautiful cosy place, discreet, laid back and courteous service at the same time, will close in March (lease) will relocate Suan Plu. And my worst experience in 10 years was Tamarin on soi 20, unedible cooking, weirdo service, non Thai Asian waitress got nasty in the end because we asked the bill and then again (and again) while SHE was eating.

Edited January 18, 2006 by orchis

[Bull]

The terrace of "To Die For" in Thong Lor H1 is a great place to scape the "Bangkok ambiance", i.e. noise, pollution, crowds. Great Mediterranean food at decent prices...

Bull

[sundevil]

I can second the recommendation for Le Lys. I really liked the old location, but the new one on Narathiwas is great as well. Nice setting, great food, large menu, and friendly owners and staff. Give it a try and you won't be dissapointed.

If you are looking for something on the river, Kin Lom Chom Saphan which has also already been mentioned is hard to beat. Great food, beautiful view of the rama 8 bridge and the river, and nice music from the live band.

There is also another place in Samsen just up the river from Kin Lom, but I forget the name. IT is something to do with "love" or heart. I forget, but you'll know if you stumble upon it. Nice little place too.

On the other side of the river is Patravadi restaurant, which I assume is connected with Patravadi theatre. Nice and modern with good food. I think they have live performances at night time, though I'm not sure if it is music or theatrical.

[buadhai]

Another place with nice ambience is Rot Sabiang across from the Ambassador on Suk Soi 11. They have a few tables right on the street which don't do the place justice. Further back they have a nice garden setting overlooking a big pond. There are also indoor tables which surround a model train layout and a few more upstairs which avoid the (tacky?) railroad theme. We've never eaten inside, but have always enjoyed the garden meals.

[karazyal]

Hi all,

I would like to ask if there are any other restaurants in BKK with nice ambience besides the State Tower and Banyan Tree? I've had dinner at both places with my gf and am looking for other restaurants for her coming birthday.

I think the THERMAE BAR AND COFFEE HOUSE is snooty and high-brow enough to qualify!

Good atmosphere, interesting clientele at good prices! Unique kitchen facilities!

(Basement restaurant and bar under the Raumchit Plaza Hotel, near Sukhumvit Soi 15.)

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Ambience is a bit of a subjective view I suppose, but imho the riverside buffet at the Shangri La takes some beating (both for quality of food and ambience). You'll need deep-ish pockets for it, but from the other places you mention, doesn't sound like that's a problem.

I went there, and it's anyway just a buffet, and not better than oishi in my opinion, but a lot more expensive....

[TAWP]

Australian Outback. Nice food and ambiance. I mean, what more ambiance then a big, fat, steak on your plate is there to have? =)

[raro]

Hi all,

I would like to ask if there are any other restaurants in BKK with nice ambience besides the State Tower and Banyan Tree? I've had dinner at both places with my gf and am looking for other restaurants for her coming birthday.

I think the THERMAE BAR AND COFFEE HOUSE is snooty and high-brow enough to qualify!

Good atmosphere, interesting clientele at good prices! Unique kitchen facilities!

(Basement restaurant and bar under the Raumchit Plaza Hotel, near Sukhumvit Soi 15.)

just choose carefully, sometimes the chicken is past expiration...

[poorfarang]

Anybody ever eat at Sirocco on the state tower? (The Golden Dome)

Went their this past weekend and really enjoyed it. Started the evening inside at the oyster bar at Distil and then moved to the couches they have setup ouside to enjot the view a bit. Had a few drinks and then moved to the main terrace to eat at Sirocco. Prices were not that bad. I had Feticuni Alfredo for 850 baht and the lady had some fish for about 900. Not the cheapest but not as bad as I was expecting.

Drinks are farily pricy though. I think the bar serves coke for 320 baht a glass!

Edited February 14, 2006 by poorfarang

[raro]

Anybody ever eat at Sirocco on the state tower? (The Golden Dome)

Went their this past weekend and really enjoyed it. Started the evening inside at the oyster bar at Distil and then moved to the couches they have setup ouside to enjot the view a bit. Had a few drinks and then moved to the main terrace to eat at Sirocco. Prices were not that bad. I had Feticuni Alfredo for 850 baht and the lady had some fish for about 900. Not the cheapest but not as bad as I was expecting.

Drinks are farily pricy though. I think the bar serves coke for 320 baht a glass!

...that earns you a nomination for the most-misleading-nick-on-TV contest

[asia_pilot]

I know this is an old thread but I would like to get it alive again. I just found out that Fogo Vivo is no longer in business.

Since this thread is almost 2 years old, what are currenly your fine eateries in Bangkok ?

[Groongthep]

As for Thai/Isaan Food: Sukhumvit Soi 36, the first restaurant on the right. Not sure what it's called, though. Very nice atmosphere, good food and non-touristy Thai dancing. Mostly frequented by Thais, no rip-off.

I realize this is a very old post, but just for the record this place is (was) called Vientiane Kitchen. Isaan Restaurant Sukhumvit Soi 36 Website Recently, someone told me the place has changed hands and is now called Baan Lao but I cannot verify this.

My apologies to asia_pilot. Vientiane Kitchen is a nice place but hardly falls in the category of fine dining.

Edited February 11, 2009 by Groongthep

[girlx]

Ambience = Atmosphere surely? None of the above have a shred of real ambience. Indeed if you were to dine at any of them you could be anywhere in the world. Pretentious <deleted> especially Vertigo!

Professor Fart! I got excited thinking you were back but then I noticed this thread was 3 years old!

I agree with you nevertheless...

[jfchandler]

Crepes and Co. and Cabbages and Condoms, both lower Sukhumvit, have lovely settings.

Ventiane Kitchen in Soi 36 is an Isaan-themed and fooded place -- nice for Thai/Isaan dance and music, and a rustic Thai kind of ambiance... But not really the kind being discussed in this thread. Their web site is showing no reference to a name change, although there was a former (now closed) restaurant nearby with the other name mentioned above.

The place mentioned above in Soi 11 is Rosabieng (not ROT), which has nice air con indoor dining and an outdoor patio adjoining a pond. The best seat there is a circular wooden gazebo with table just at the edge of the pond. But lately at night, it seems perpetually occupied. Good Thai food and a vast menu. But just medium on the ambiance scale, unless you get the gazebo.

[Groongthep]

The place mentioned above in Soi 11 is Rosabieng (not ROT),

The sign outside poorly transliterates รถเสบียง, which means "dining car"as Rosabieng. The name in Thai would be more closely pronounced as Rot Sabiang. Rot=car and sabiang=provisions or food.

[polecat]

For me, it's hard to beat Tapas on Soi 11 (round the corner from Cheap Charlies) on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's a quiet little sub-soi and lounging around with friends slurping sangria and eating chipirones is a wonderful waste of time.

For another kind of ambience, I head down to Chinatown for black pepper crab at T&K or Manturo's on Soi Texas and watch the neon lights and ambling pedestrians. There's something about that part of town that I love.

Edited February 12, 2009 by polecat

[Hawkup2000]

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Lower Sukhumvit

Black Swan

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So you read names like State Tower, Banyan Tree and you suddenly think of a pub in Asoke?

[on-on]

The Face (Thai, Indian, Bar area and Spa) on Sukhumvit 38 - Great decor, I tend to just hit the bar here.

Japanese too - though I think the Japanese part is the weakest (Mikasu I think?).

This place, Face, doesn't get enough high marks, though that's probably a good thing as it's not overcrowded with yuppies looking to take their pic at the latest trendy place and post it on facebook or hi5 or lastnightsparty or whatever (see: Long Table). Still, I'm surprised it took me so long to find it. No one ever mentions it alongside the other cool places and it's definitely way up there in terms of ambience and quality. I'd also add Le Lys on Narathiwat Soi 7 (Suan Plu Soi Phra Phinit), which is excellent and has a fantastic, low key setting with loads of character. Go in the evening when they set the tables out in the courtyard and make sure to stop into the bar in the back.

Personally, on a regular basis, I prefer the ambience of hidden little Thai places that are stuck back in neighborhoods and wooded areas and such in and around town. Bangkok is dotted with them if you look around enough and the food is often fantastic. It's easier once you cross the river, but there are enough of them in town too. Some great riverside places as you get out of town a bit as well - Nonthaburi and Phra Padaeng.

Edited February 13, 2009 by on-on

[lazygourmet]

The Face (Thai, Indian, Bar area and Spa) on Sukhumvit 38 - Great decor, I tend to just hit the bar here.

Japanese too - though I think the Japanese part is the weakest (Mikasu I think?).

This place, Face, doesn't get enough high marks, though that's probably a good thing as it's not overcrowded with yuppies looking to take their pic at the latest trendy place and post it on facebook or hi5 or lastnightsparty or whatever (see: Long Table). Still, I'm surprised it took me so long to find it. No one ever mentions it alongside the other cool places and it's definitely way up there in terms of ambience and quality. I'd also add Le Lys on Narathiwat Soi 7 (Suan Plu Soi Phra Phinit), which is excellent and has a fantastic, low key setting with loads of character. Go in the evening when they set the tables out in the courtyard and make sure to stop into the bar in the back.

Personally, on a regular basis, I prefer the ambience of hidden little Thai places that are stuck back in neighborhoods and wooded areas and such in and around town. Bangkok is dotted with them if you look around enough and the food is often fantastic. It's easier once you cross the river, but there are enough of them in town too. Some great riverside places as you get out of town a bit as well - Nonthaburi and Phra Padaeng.

The Face-bar is one of my favourite, especially for Hazara (Indian Cuisine) not only great food but nice setting and well trained staff.

[phetaroi]

One sure winner would be Silom Village, tucked away deep between Suk 23 and 31. Great Thai food and the restaurant does have atmosphere, nice string quartet and the tables are not on top of each other, quite romantic.

Is this the same restaurant that has another branch way down Thanon Silom not far from the river? Years ago that had been a favorite of mine for a little Thai ambiance, but the last time I went in 2007 it seemed very ordinary. If so, I have also been to the Sukhumvit branch years ago...and then at least very nice ambiance and good food.

[jfchandler]

As recommended by another poster above, had a great evening the other night at the "To Die For" restaurant and pub located on Soi Thonglor (Sukhumvit 55). As everyone knows, the economy is bad, tourism is way down and many people are feeling glum... So what can be good about that???

Well, one thing is, the opportunity to mozy into one of BKK's hipper establishments on a Monday night and settle down for drinks and snacks in a quiet, relaxed, non-crowded environment. Enjoy good, attentive, but non-hassling service. Sit outside on a garden patio on cushioned loungers and listen to soothing music, while large electric fans keep you cool and the mosquitos (mostly) away. It's the kind of place where well-dressed Thais come in groups and take photos of each other at ease. Indeed, the patrons that night were mostly Thai, with just a few farang mixed couples thrown in.

To Do For even has the nice touch of providing each pair of outdoors loungers with a round acrylic disk that sits on top of the cushions, providing an easy place to rest drinks and snacks while you recline. And the cushions are just firm enough, and the disk wide enough, that nothing gets spilled even if you or your partner are moving about.

They also have an indoors dining room, but we wanted to lounge outside and look upward to the stars. Beers on the menu were priced at 120 baht, while their house wines were going for 250 baht per glass. We shared an entree of Thai grilled beef, som tam and what was supposed to be sticky rice (though they were out of the rice, so offered substitutes including french fries instead). The entree, one of the few Thai dishes on a mostly Mediterranean menu, was under 200 baht, though most others were in the 300 to 400 baht range.

Unfortunately, To Die For has terrible, almost invisible signage from the street, and the restaurant itself is hidden behind a retail complex. It really is a bit of a hidden gem for Bangkok. So to find it, you want to watch for the H1 building sign on the right side of the road beyond Soi 22, just barely before you come to the bridge that goes over the Saensaep Canal. Stop/park there, then walk through the retail complex to the restaurant in the rear... They also have a pretty good web site listed as a link at the beginning of this post.

[rgs2001uk]

One sure winner would be Silom Village, tucked away deep between Suk 23 and 31. Great Thai food and the restaurant does have atmosphere, nice string quartet and the tables are not on top of each other, quite romantic.

Is this the same restaurant that has another branch way down Thanon Silom not far from the river? Years ago that had been a favorite of mine for a little Thai ambiance, but the last time I went in 2007 it seemed very ordinary. If so, I have also been to the Sukhumvit branch years ago...and then at least very nice ambiance and good food.

Silom Village Sukhumvit branch is closed, last time we went there was July/August last year, was being turned into another condo block, it was certainly way better than the Silom branch.

As stated above, nice ambiance and value for money, this area of Sukhumvit has now lost another decent restaurant, some call it progress.