Bangkok: Food, Drink, Entertainment
Food
Recommended
Jools Pub, Soi 4, Sukhumvit – rated very highly for its British grub.
Foodland Supermarket on Soi 5, Sukhumvit, is great. For do-it-yourself food or for buying cheap beer to restock the mini-bar before you get charged a fortune, this supermarket has it all. The staff are friendly and courteous too. Highly recommended.
Al-Ferdoss, Schiller Inn, Soi 3/1, Sukhumvit. Some of the nicest Middle Eastern food we've had, at laughably low prices. The boss takes a personal interest in what's being served and is very helpful in advising you on how much to order. Massive pitta breads, beautiful mezze. Beer comes in very large coffee mugs - but not during Ramadhan (it's a heavily Muslim Middle East/South Asian expat area).
Kiku No Hana, Landmark Hotel, Sukhumvit Road (between Soi 4 and Soi 6) does a very reasonable Japanese buffet. It's not cheap (if you're after cheap Japanese, then the Fuji chain is the best value we've found) but it's a very pleasant experience and offers a good range of sushi, sashimi, soups, teppanyaki, sukiyaki... and the sake's very reasonably-priced too. Nice for a treat!
The Ship Inn, Soi 23, Sukhumvit, does nice fish and chips – the chips in particular are among the best we've had in Thailand, made with real potatoes. The food takes some time to arrive, but it's worth the wait!
Read our review
If you're in the mood for a good lunch but can't quite settle on a cuisine, then the lunchtime international buffet at the Ambassador Hotel's Am Café (171 Soi 11, Sukhumvit Road) is worth a look. Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Western food – all you can eat for about £7!
Read our review
All right but...
Foodland Supermarket has a restaurant upstairs. It's got a lot going for it. Nice food, reasonable prices, and it's open later than most. We have mixed feelings about it though. Having had several good meals in there, our reporter noticed a bug perfectly frozen in an ice-cube in his drink. Sure, it probably wasn't their fault but...
The Old Dutch, corner of Soi 23, Sukhumvit and Soi Cowboy - our reporters frequented it for years and enjoyed the (allegedly) biggest and best fish and chips in Bangkok. But on their last visit, they were disappointed to receive portions which consisted of eleven chips and two fish fingers. Not only that, we've had another report from someone who believes he was served draught beer slops and the waiter wouldn't replace it. Maybe this place has changed management or something (their branch down in Pattaya has now closed) but what used to be pretty good is now highest on our "don't go there" list.
Update (Jan 2001): It's under new management, so we tried it again. Very nice food but the portions leave a lot to be desired. Seven chips, anyone? No thanks.
Update (May 2006): Call us gluttons for punishment if you like, but friends of ours told us that the Old Dutch had now recovered something of its past high standards, so we decided to give them one more chance. It seemed to be pretty busy when we looked in, so we sat down. As damage limitation after so many past disappointments, we ordered just the one meal between us: schnitzel and chips. The chips were a small portion of the usual plastic clones, but cooked and presented nicely; the schnitzel was good too. But the whole thing came with a weird combination of veg - roots and brassicas - which just doesn't seem right with chips, although in fairness they were nice and crunchy. Overall, our impression was one of mediocre food cooked competently.
2½/5. We wouldn't advise people to steer clear, but equally we couldn't wholeheartedly recommend it. There were plenty of caveats about slow or otherwise faulty service in the menu – although these were probably meant to be a joke, they didn't inspire confidence, especially after the earlier disappointments. On the plus side, we didn't get served beer slops this time.
Soi 5 saga...
Things change! We said: Soi 5 Food Center, corner of Soi 5 and Sukhumvit - great Thai food, reasonably cheap, friendly efficient service. What more can we say? Top rating! Don't miss it.
And soon after, we got a letter from a Brit-Thai couple saying: We tried the Soi 5 Food Center and were very disappointed. Being fair-minded people, we gave it a second chance and were disappointed again. The service was fine, the prices reasonable, the place was clean, but the Thai food just didn't satisfy with regard to taste. On the second visit I opted for steak and got a very small meal (and I'm not a big eater). We rate it very lowly, and it certainly doesn't get a third chance.
Update: Mad Jack Daniels has written in to say that he likes Soi 5 Food Center and is a regular there every time he's passing through Bangkok. As well as enjoying the food, he particularly likes the fact that they offer individual portions, unlike most restaurants where portions are intended for groups. He can order rice, a salad, and perhaps a curry there whereas if he went to a more upmarket restaurant he'd have to content himself with just one dish. He gives it a definite thumbs up!
If we get any more stuff about Soi 5 Food Center, they're going to need a page to themselves! Maybe I should contact them about paid advertising. Meanwhile, if you'd like to write in about Soi 5 Food Center or anything else, please do so.
Not recommended
The Offshore Bar fish and chip shop, Soi 23 Sukhumvit, used to be very good, with equipment imported from the UK. But it's gone downhill over the years, possibly because the staff don't know how to operate the equipment properly, possibly because they don't take so much care over the ingredients any more. We wouldn't rate the Offshore Bar next door either – too dark, dingy and small...) All in all you're better off going a little further down the Soi to the Ship Inn.
Bars
Recommended
Cheap Charlie's just off Soi 11 is a good "beer bar" (as the non-girlie ones are called) but it's outside so it can be bad for mosquitoes sometimes. Although it does attract the odd tourist, Cheap Charlie's has a regular crowd of expats, mainly American, including a few Brits (Hello Sarah, dahling!).
Domino on Soi 11 is our regular base in Bangkok. Run by genial Swiss owner Peter and his Thai partner Dew since 1982, it's a very popular pub sports venue. They also do a range of Swiss/German style pub grub too – we like sharing a schnitzel from time to time to help soak up the beer!
Not recommended
None yet - they all sell beer, don't they? You might want to check your beer in the Old Dutch, though...
Entertainment
Look out for the brilliant blues band, Soi Dogs, led by the awe-inspiring presence of Denmark's mighty Jeff T... Why not check them out?
And if you fancy seeing a film, then there are plenty of cinemas. We like the one in the top of the Emporium Shopping Plaza at Phrom Phong BTS Station – a big screen and very few people in the audience during the daytime. Wrap up warm, though – the aircon is much too fierce!
