Fine dining restaurants in Bangkok

Thai food is one of my favourite cuisines. Honestly, I could eat it everyday! Whilst Bangkok is famous for its lively, vibrant markets and street food scene, sometimes you want to experience something a little more refined. Here are some fine dining restaurant recommendations for Bangkok, tried and tested when we were there in October.

Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin at Siam Kempinski

One Michelin-starred Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin is a modern Thai fine dining restaurant, situated in the Siam Kempinski hotel. It’s currently the only Thai restaurant in the world that holds a Michelin star and it’s so well deserved.

I’m not normally a fan of eating in hotel restaurants but once you enter, you forget that you are in a hotel. It’s a beautifully decorated, tranquil space with lily ponds and seductive dark wood furniture with colour pops of purple and gold.

The menu was innovative and the food was absolutely delicious. There is a set menu but we opted for the a la carte menu, however we were still treated to a number of small courses that provides the ‘street food experience’. I had to try the chef’s signature starter of Maine lobster salad with frozen red curry. It was served in a very theatrical way and was absolutely beautiful – both in presentation and flavour.

We enjoyed the food immensely and the service was excellent. We would definitely return the next time we’re in Bangkok.

Thiptara at The Peninsula

We stayed at The Peninsula for two nights on our return from the Maldives. We only arrived at the hotel from the airport at around 8pm so we decided to eat there. The Peninsula is located along the Chao Phraya river so two of their restaurants are outside on the river. We opted to try their Thai restaurant, Thiptara, and it was great. It’s a beautiful restaurant with Banyan trees, lots of tropical plants and the view you get of the river with all the boats going past just adds to the ambience. Again, it doesn’t feel like you’re in a hotel restaurant as its in the gardens.

We opted for the set menu and really enjoyed it. The service was good too and we’d definitely go again.

Vertigo at Banyan Tree

Bangkok is renowned for its rooftop bars and restaurants, which offer panoramic views over the bustling city. To be honest, there are so many to choose from and I wished we’d tried more than one but there’s always next time! We chose to go to Vertigo at the Banyan Tree hotel. We had a drink first at their bar, which was pretty packed, and then moved on to dinner.

The view truly is amazing but it was quite windy, however I guess you’d expect that at 61 floors above ground! The food was good but not the best we’d had, although I suppose that’s not surprising when it’s really the views people go for. At the end of the meal a photographer took our picture and then printed it off for us as a memento, which was a bit cheesy but a lovely touch. We would definitely return for a drink at the bar but next time we are in Bangkok, I’d like to try another rooftop restaurant.

Penthouse Bar & Grill at Park Hyatt

We stayed at the Park Hyatt during our first stay in Bangkok, before heading to the Maldives and decided to eat at their restaurant, the Penthouse Bar & Grill on our last night before our flight as we’d had a busy day and it was the easy option. It had a wonderful view over the city and was very stylish, like the hotel itself. The food and service were excellent. And best of all, we only had to get the lift down to our room!

The Never Ending Summer

So, this isn’t actually fine dining but rather a very trendy, modern restaurant that we thoroughly enjoyed. Situated in Khlong San next to the Millennium Hilton, we got a river taxi boat to have lunch there one day as it was recommended by the concierge at the Park Hyatt. It’s a small complex of converted warehouses which house restaurants, a bookshop and some studios. At night it becomes an outdoor market. The restaurant is gorgeous! High ceilings with exposed wooden beams, plants and an open kitchen behind a glass partition.

The food was authentic Thai and was absolutely delicious. Normally we don’t have dessert at lunch time but we couldn’t resist the sticky rice with mango (which was perfectly ripe). The service was good, however our waiter’s English wasn’t the best. This resulted in not receiving one dish we ordered but actually it added to the charm.

Mazzaro

The concierge at The Peninsula recommended Mazzaro, which is a restaurant that is a contemporary blend of Italian and Thai. Now, as my husband is Italian both of us were not convinced but we looked it up and it had really good reviews so we decided to take a gamble. Well I’m glad we did because it was fab!

It was just across the river from our hotel so we got the hotel shuttle boat across and walked for a couple of minutes up the road. Upon entering, the decor is very arty and modern with a lovely bar area.

It was pretty full when we arrived and as it’s not a big restaurant, I recommend you book if you want to go. The food was delicious and because it was our last night in Bangkok, we opted to go for the more traditional Thai dishes. Chef Pin has studied at Le Cordon Bleu Institute, which gives you an indication of just how good the food is. There were also lots of framed newspaper and magazine reviews on one of the walls.

Bangkok is a city with amazing cuisine and many fabulous restaurants so you’re always spoilt for choice. I think out of all of these, my favourite was Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin as it was exceptional in every way. Have you been to Bangkok? Which restaurants would you recommend?