Looking for the best Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok?
Look no further, as we spend a lot of research on where to find the best versions of this tremendously popular Thai dish in the nation’s capital.
Pad Kra Pao is the Thai equivalent of the hamburger as it’s served within minutes and with that garlicky and spicy flavour, a savoury meal every Thai is craving at any moment of the day.
In this article, we briefly explain what Pad Kra Pao is and then jump straight into what we believe are the best Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok.
Looking for the best Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok? Keep reading!
What is Pad Kra Pao?
Pad Kra Pao, or as Western tourists often recognize it as Stir-Fry with Holy Basil, is a hugely popular Thai stir-fry dish that’s made with holy basil, garlic, chilli, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar.
There are countless versions of Pad Kra Pao to find with different types of protein, but the basic, hearty flavours are always the same.
The most common versions of Pad Kra Pao are Pad Kra Pao Moo (with minced pork) or Pad Kra Pao Kai Chin (with chunks of chicken), but crispy pork, prawns, scallops and beef are widely available too.
Pad Kra Pao is a spicy dish that can be found at every Thai restaurant in the country, however, as you order Pad Kra Pao as a foreigner, the waiter will always ask if you can handle the level of spiciness.
And as Pad Kra Pao is always made from scratch, the level of spiciness is easily adjustable.
A Pad Kra Pao is only complete when you order it with a Thai fried egg, which is a crispy fried egg with a sunny side up.
The combination of the egg yolk with rice and spicy Pad Kra Pao will make you a Pad Kra Pao-addict within seconds.
The 7 best Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok are:
1. Pad Kra Pao Kai (50 THB) – Ung Jia Huad
When it comes to the best Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok, we cannot ignore the fact that Bangkok has one legendary Pad Kra Pao restaurant, namely Ung Jia Huad.
Without a doubt, the best and most authentic Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok can be found here.
For nearly fifty years, the owner of this local eatery has been serving Pad Kra Pao and a handful of other stir-fried Thai dishes, although Pad Kra Pao is by far his specialty.
Guests can choose between pork and chicken and both can be ordered as either minced meat or as sliced chunks of meat.
During our research, the owner was, unfortunately, sick and ended up in the hospital.
But nowadays, this local restaurant is up and running again and is as popular as it was before.
We could not snap pictures, but this article will be updated soon including some mouth-watering photos of the heavenly Pad Kra Pao.
In the meantime, check out the article from Mark Wiens about Ung Jia Huad where you can browse through the beautiful pictures of the food at Ung Jia Huad.
2. Pad Kra Pao Pork (105 THB) – Phed Mark
Food blogger and YouTube star Mark Wiens is an expert when it comes to Pad Kra Pao as you might have noticed when watching his hugely popular YouTube show.
In 2019, he opened, with other famous food icons in Bangkok, a small restaurant close to BTS Ekkemai where his staff serve one thing and one thing only: Pad Kra Pao.
Guests can choose between two types of protein, either with pork (105 TB) or with beef (155 THB) and choose between three different levels of spiciness, with the medium spiced Pad Kra Pao as the signature.
We were really impressed by this Pad Kra Pao as it’s a relatively dry Pad Kra Pao with a deep stir-fry, almost smokey, flavour.
Although there is an even higher level of spiciness, the medium signature will surely make you sweat.
But that’s what Pad Kra Pao should be. One more important thing, the Pad Kra Pao is served with a fried duck egg and that egg is literally cooked to perfection with the perfect running egg yolk.
Why this Pad Kra Pao is among the best in Bangkok: deep stir-fry flavour, perfectly cooked duck egg, highly flavoured with a nice level of spiciness.
3. Pad Kra Pao Moo (59 THB) Yakyai Jaidee
Update: Unfortunately, this restaurant is permanently closed.
Jakyai Jaidee is a small restaurant located opposite Sam Yot MRT Station, in the older parts of Bangkok relatively close to The Grand Palace and Chinatown.
This lesser-known place is part of an upgraded food court with a colonial interior and excellent, clean food options.
Because it’s a much better place than regular food courts, you pay just slightly more than what you’re used to but the food here is definitely worth the visit.
Jakyai Jaidee is located on the second floor and has a limited menu, including one of the tastiest Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok.
What makes it so delicious is the deep stir-fry flavour it has, besides the savoury and garlicky taste it already has.
It’s far less spicy compared to the previously recommended Pad Kra Pao at Phed Mark but has that similar, roasted, stir-fried taste. What we loved about this Pad Kra Pao as well as the different use of holy basil.
The Pad Kra Pao is served with both stir-fried holy basil, as well as crispy fried basil, something we’ve never seen before.
Why this Pad Kra Pao is among the best in Bangkok: deep stir-fry flavour, two types of holy basil, relatively dry Pad Kra Pao with excellent flavours.
4. Pad Kra Pao Duck with Chilli & Basil (150 THB) – 55 Pochana
55 Pochana is a legendary restaurant located near Thonglor BTS and once the doors open at half-past six in the evening, this local eatery will be packed until it closes its doors in the middle of the night.
For decades, Thai come here to enjoy famous dishes such as the Fried Clam with Brown Chilli (150 THB), Fried Beef with Black Pepper (200 THB) and of course the Pad Kra Pao Duck with Chilli & Basil (150 THB).
What makes this Pad Kra Pao so unique and delicious, is first of all the use of fried duck, which gives it an unusual, yet tasty flavour.
Secondly, the garlicky flavour in combination with the chilly sauce is remarkable.
And finally, the duck is topped with crispy fried basil leaves that are crispy, instead of broken ones, which usually occurs when you stir-fry the leaves.
Why this Pad Kra Pao is among the best in Bangkok: unusual, yet tasty combination of fried duck, delicious sauce and topped with crispy fried holy basil leaves.
5. Pad Kra Pao Scallop with Holy Basil (300 THB) – Here Hai
Here Hai is a small restaurant in Ekkemai that is on a mission to serve the best crab fried rice in Bangkok.
Similar to restaurants like Jay Fai, Here Hai creates high-quality classic dishes by using large amounts of top-quality ingredients. For example, the Insane Crab Fried Rice (340 THB) is so large that you can easily share it with two people, and the plate of garlicky fried rice is topped with a lot of crab meat.
With this philosophy, they serve other upgraded classic Thai dishes too, including Pad Kra Pao, making Here Hai one of our favourite seafood restaurants in Bangkok.
The Pad Kra Pao at Here Hai is served with scallops, which is not too common and the scallops are of excellent quality! So if you’ve eaten plenty of Pad Kra Pao before and you’re looking for something different, Here Hai is a perfect option!
Why this Pad Kra Pao is among the best in Bangkok: Pad Kra Pao with high-quality scallops, is unusual yet delicious and you won’t easily find it elsewhere in Bangkok.
6. Pad Kra Pao Braised Pork (65 THB) – Kod-Kra-Pao
Kod-Kra-Pao is a small shop located in the small food court just behind Ari BTS and the most popular food stall at this tiny open food court.
As the name already suggests, Kod-Kra-Pao is specialized in Pad Kra Pao and what makes them so popular is their Pad Kra Pao Braised Pork.
The braised pork is beautifully tender and breaks into tiny pieces the moment it touches your tongue.
There are four different levels of spice to choose from and the medium level was perfect for me.
There are plenty of other versions to choose from, varying from crispy pork belly to Chinese sausage, but the braised pork is by far the most popular.
It’s also possible to order a Milk Omelette instead of a Thai Fried Egg with your Pad Kra Pao, which is a not-so-common twist.
Why this Pad Kra Pao is among the best in Bangkok: Pad Kra Pao with super tender braised pork, different levels of spiciness to choose from, possible to order Pad Kra Pao with an omelet instead of Thai fried egg.
7. Pad Kra Pao Wagyu (169 THB) – Kaprow Khun Phor
Kaprow Khun Phor is another Pad Kra Pao specialist in Bangkok and is located in Silom Soi 20, one of the popular street food areas in Bangkok.
The menu of Kaprow Khun Phor is huge with all sorts of different versions of Pad Kra Pao, including keto, vegan, and vegetarian versions but also a wide variety of seafood versions.
Kaprow Khun Phor has fifteen different levels of spiciness and even has a leaderboard of customers who can handle the most amount of spiciness and the current number one handled the insanely level 37.
Don’t be afraid, this restaurant also serves non-spicy Pad Kra Pao.
Our favourite version of Pad Kra Pao was the Pad Kra Pao Wagyu (169 THB), which was served in a Japanese-style bowl.
The thinly sliced Thai Wagyu was a good alternative to common versions like minced pork or chunks of chicken.
Why this Pad Kra Pao is among the best in Bangkok: a huge variety of Pad Kra Pao versions, many levels of spiciness, Thai Wagyu beef was a welcome alternative.
Map of the best Pad Kra Pao restaurants in Bangkok
Below, you find the map with the best Pad Kra Pao restaurants in Bangkok.
As you can see, if you’re staying around Sukhumvit, you have the possibility of visiting at least four amazing Pad Kra Pao restaurants in Bangkok.
But even when you’re staying around Silom, Khao San Road or Phaya Thai, you have the opportunity to taste the finest Pad Kra Pao the city has to offer.
Popular Pad Kra Pao restaurants in Bangkok that are closed permanently
During the research of finding the best Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok, we discovered, unfortunately, that some popular restaurants that are famed for their Pad Kra Pao closed their doors.
One of these restaurants is Baan Pa Jazz, a local eatery near Victory Monument where an older, elegant lady, cooked all sorts of delicious classic dishes including Pad Kra Pao.
Her Pad Kra Pao was much dryer than regular Pad Kra Pao and because of that, the flavours were much more intense.
I visited her restaurant regularly in the first years I lived in Bangkok and it was always one of my favourite go-to places for Pad Kra Pao.
There you have it, the best Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok
We hope you liked our recommendations and inspired you to go on a food hunt in one of Bangkok’s most exciting food areas.
Check out our relevant articles below for more useful travel and food information about Bangkok.
Relevant (food) articles about Bangkok: