Finding a Southern Thai restaurant in Bangkok can be a bit of a challenge as the restaurant scene is so diverse and Southern Thai restaurants are completely outnumbered by local eateries that offer mostly central Thai and Isaan food options. That does not matter that there are no Southern Thai restaurants in Bangkok though. Famed for its spiciness, every now and then the Southern Thai cuisine is a welcome variation for many Bangkokians with famous dishes such as Khua Kling and Gaeng Som Pla. And if you do fancy Southern Thai food in Bangkok, make sure to visit one of these places for a guaranteed flavour feast.
Looking for the best Southern Thai restaurants in Bangkok? Keep reading!
The best Southern Thai restaurants in Bangkok are:
1. Khua Kling Pak Sod
Khua Kling Pak Sod is a Bangkok legend when it comes to Southern Thai food in Bangkok and is probably the most famous restaurant in Bangkok in this cuisine. This family-run business operates for years and has nowadays five different restaurants spread over Bangkok. Their secret is serving heavenly, authentic Southern Thai food made from their grandmother’s recipe. The restaurants are beautifully decorated and styled in a colonial way. This makes it an excellent option for having a nice dinner as a couple or with family and friends. Dishes cost you around 250 to 300 THB with a few exceptions there. Another benefit of the detailed menu is that they do have a recommendation section with over twenty different highly recommended dishes to choose from.
Khua Kling is one of the signature dishes of this restaurant, which is a Southern dry chilli served with vegetables. I can’t stress this enough, but the Southern Thai cuisine is famed for its spiciness, including this Khua Kling (180 THB). But there are non-spicy and less spicy dishes available such as Nua Pu Pad Prik Kee Noo Sua (480 THB), which is a crab meat stir-fry with basil leaves and the Kai Pa Loh Kha Moo (280 THB), which is a pork stew which has similar flavours as the northern Thai dish Hang Lay. Two other signature dishes that people come for is their Gaeng Leung You Maprao Pla Grapong (240 THB) and the Gaeng Pu Bai Ch Plu (580 THB), which is a crab meat yellow curry.
2. Prai Raya
Prai Raya is yet another popular Southern Thai restaurant in Bangkok and is located near Nana BTS Station. The branch in Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 8 is based on the original Prai Raya in Phuket, which attracts much more visitors even though the quality of the food is exactly the same. Prai Raya in Bangkok is inside a beautiful colonial building and is absolutely worth the visit. Similar to the previously recommended restaurant, Prai Raya has a section of the most recommended dishes, although frequent customers know that there are two signature dishes that make it such a great place.
The first one is their Fresh Crab Meat in Yellow Curry (400 THB), which is a non-spicy, creamy curry with large chunks of crab meat. I would highly recommend ordering this with rice noodles instead of steamed rice. The other signature dish is Steamed Pork Belly With Pepper & Garlic (250 THB), which is super tender pork belly as it’s cooked for a minimum of three hours. The pork belly does have a lot of fat on it, which is common in Asian countries. With that being said, you can find many other Southern Thai specialities here. I personally loved the Deep-Fried Prawn With Tamarind Sauce (480 THB).
3. Baan Ice
Baan Ice is a popular Southern Thai restaurant in Bangkok with several branches spread over the city that offers a wide variety of Southern Thai foods. There are a whopping forty-two different recommended dishes listed on the menu and a different section with crab specialities, meaning that there will be a dish available for every type of eater. Prices vary between 150 THB to 350 THB per dish with a few exceptions here and there. Highlights of the menu are the Stir-Fried Crispy Pork with Red Curry Paste (220 THB), Beef Green Curry with Bird’s Eye Chillies (350 THB) and Baan Ice’s Dark Pork Knuckle (190 THB), although there are many other recommended dishes available on the menu.
4. Steve Café and Cuisine
Steve Café and Cuisine is a popular Thai restaurant next to the river close to the Rama VIII Bridge and has noways a second branch in Rama VI. This place is not too fancy and has a great vibe while you enjoy your drinks and dinner next to the river. Steve Café and Cuisine is known for its simplicity and good service and offers a wide variety of great-tasting Thai dishes, including a limited Southern Thai section. Think popular dishes like Southern Style Yellow Curry (210 THB), Khua Kling (180 THB), Gaeng Tai Pla (210 THB) , Sataw Pad Kapi Goong (200 THB) and Bai Liang Pad Kai (160 THB). Is it fancy dining? No. It is tasty food? Absolutely yes!
5. Phuket Town
I personally haven’t visited this restaurant yet and will certainly do as soon as I can. Based on my friend’s advice and of course the reviews on other platforms, Phuket Town is absolutely worth visiting. The restaurant, completely inspired by Phuket Town, is located at Sukhumvit 55 in Thonglor and offers a wide variety of classic Southern Thai foods. More information about this Southern Thai restaurant will follow, in the meantime, check out their Facebook page for more information.
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There you have it, the best Southern Thai restaurants in Bangkok. We hope you enjoyed our recommendations and inspire you to try out these great Southern Thai restaurants that do come with plenty of spice!