The Best Places to Eat Southern Thai Food in Bangkok

You can start your journey in hopes of finding the best Southern Thai recipes in Bangkok at Baan Ice, located in Thonglor. Its exterior is somewhat mundane except for the large, lighted tree that sits out front. While this restaurant lacks in ornamentation, it certainly makes up for it with its delectable eats. The Thai food here is praised by locals, expats, and tourists alike, leaving diners to know that they are about to dine on some incredibly noteworthy cuisine. Baan Ice certainly makes no exceptions for foreigners in regards to how spicy they are cooking up some of their tastiest Southern Thai curries, so be sure to ask for a dish to be mai pet, or not spicy. Otherwise, diners will chow down on the noteworthy dishes just like the Southerners do—hot, spicy, and incredibly flavorful.

You know an eatery is serving up flavorful Southern Thai cuisine when one of the most famous Thai islands is in the name of the restaurant. Tumrhap Phuket is putting Thai restaurants to shame with its mouthwatering appetizers, rare main dishes, sweet squid dishes, and more. In addition to being delicious, Tumrhap Phuket is incredibly affordable, with some dishes costing as little as ฿109 (approximately US$3.20). One of the most noteworthy dishes found at this eatery is their khao yam, or Southern-style rice salad. It sounds like a strange combination, but this restaurant finds a way to prepare each seemingly random ingredient, from the egg to every herb thrown in, perfectly. Other delectable dishes include their red curry with pork and the sour soup with young coconut, snoot lotus stem, and fish.

Phuket Town Restaurant lies off a quiet, inconspicuous soi (street) in the otherwise bumping neighborhood of Thonglor. Diners follow signs along the street that point them in the direction of the restaurant. Upon arriving, visitors will feel like they have left Bangkok for an area a bit more beachy: Phuket Town. Paintings made to look like the actual Phuket Town, equipped with ocean views and the main road that makes the town so famous in the first place, decorate the walls. Beach tunes play throughout the small and cozy restaurant, and a bartender is at the ready to mix up the most tropical of drinks, such as The Hot! Phuket Girl or the Phuket Hangover. In addition to cocktails, Phuket Town Restaurant is serving up a number of Southern Thai dishes—such as their fermented rice vermicelli with steamed crab meat in spicy curry—that would make even a local islander proud. In addition to their Phuket specialties, they also have appetizers, soups, salads, noodle dishes, and more.

Courtesy of Kelly Iverson

It is a rare sight to see a vegetarian chowing down on hot and spicy sour prawn soup or any of Thailand’s most notable Southern dishes; however, there is a restaurant in Bangkok serving up some pretty convincing faux shrimp, chicken, beef and more. May Veggie Home is a vegan restaurant located in the heart of downtown Bangkok that is serving up some Southern Thai favorites. Luckily for those on a meat-free diet, all of the dishes here are meatless and tasty. Some of the most delectable Southern items on their menu include their vegetarian fish topped with sweet and sour sauce, vegetarian shrimp and vegetables in a mouthwatering Panang curry, and the vegetarian shrimp tom yam with coconut meat.

Located on the peaceful Chao Phraya River is one of the most luxurious Thai restaurants in town: Sala Rim Naam. Located inside of the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, this restaurant is well known for the Thai cultural performance and dance it puts on every night. While this performance, in addition to the great views of the river, makes this restaurant one of the most popular ones in the city, its food is one more added reason as to why hungry patrons should visit. Some of Sala Rim Naam’s most noteworthy dishes include their fried prawns with garlic and red chili sauce and their spicy prawn soup with lemongrass, kaffir limes, and straw mushrooms. Their delicious Southern Thai curries are made flavorful and creamy with the restaurant’s homemade coconut milk as well.

Those on the lookout for quality Southern Thai food in Bangkok should look no further than the BTS Skytrain Station Nana. If visitors steer clear of the bits and pieces of seedier areas here, they will come across Prai Raya on the otherwise quiet Soi Sukhumvit 8. With the mouthwatering and wide range of seafood found at Prai Raya, diners may soon forget that they are a handful of hours away from a proper beach and in the middle of downtown Bangkok. The restaurant, built in 2015, sits inside a large, white mansion that is similar to the architecture found on the island of Phuket. The most raved about dishes at this restaurant are their crab curries, particularly their fresh crab meat with yellow curry and rice vermicelli.

Not one diner can disagree with the dishes being served up at Supanniga Eating Room. This restaurant serves traditional Thai cuisine with a modern twist in a bright and hip venue. The recipes found on the menu hail from the owner’s grandmother, who is from the province of Trat. Though this province lies in the southeast corner of the country, Supanniga Eating Room is still dishing out some of the best Southern Thai cuisine in the capital. In addition to a number of seafood-based dishes, this eatery in Thonglor also offers a number of mouthwatering curries, stir-fried dishes, and more that are from the south of Thailand.