Sandwiched between On Nut and Ekkamai in Bangkok, Phra Khanong is a salad bowl of cultures and cuisines, with boutique restaurants, drinking dens, and art hubs. It’s also a popular address that attracts both middle-class locals and expats. Whether you want to experience the best of Phra Khanong like a tourist or a local, here are some of the area’s top-ranking restaurants you will want to visit.
Cielo Sky Bar
Cielo might still be Bangkok’s best-kept secret. Set atop what is easily the tallest building in Phra Khanong, and boasting a bar manager who has notched 24 wins in cocktail competitions across the world since 2004, this rooftop retreat has quite the pedigree. Not to mention fair prices and an ambiance more business-casual than black-tie.
Separated into a half-dozen zones with Spanish names—from indoor dining in “Capricho” to tables spread across “Paso,” or the terrace in other words—Cielo is about as big as a rooftop bar-restaurant can be. The terrace is a beautiful place to spend an evening with friends, or stoke the fires of romance. Looking out over the Rama IV-Sukhumvit intersection, the 360-degree view is unimpeded. At night this is truly as good as it gets.
Azzurro
Tucked away down Sukhumvit 31, Azzurro is an Italian addition to the bustling food street. The extensive menu of this quaint, two-story restaurant is inspired by the flavors from different regions of Italy. The restaurateur himself even represents one of them, as a native of Tuscany. The hospitality is warm and the assortment of Italian specialties, such as antipasto and homemade pasta, large. The elements combine to make for a cozy dining atmosphere.
Portobello mushrooms grilled with Italian herbs and arugula is one of Azzurro’s signature appetizers. With a generous drizzle of balsamic cream dressing, sliced portobellos lavishly dressed with extra virgin olive oil, and a prominent tang from the tomato salsa, the dish plays on bold flavors. For a shared appetizer, the imported mussels and clams are recommended on special. Bathed in a bright and spicy tomato sauce, tempered with Thai chili, the mussels and clams pick up a pungent persona.
The Coffee Club at Summer Hill
Daily life up and down the main drag around Bangkok city is a fairly chaotic and cacophonous affair, but The Coffee Club, which opened at Summer Hill, offers a friendly and flavourful oasis of calm—whether you just want a latte and some Wi-Fi, or a full and fortifying meal.
The Coffee Club is an Australian company that has expanded internationally over the past few decades. The quiet café can sit a number of guests with a menu that includes brunch favorites, Thai specialties, and plenty of sweets—in both dessert and drink form.
Wild & Co.
Arguably the most unique restaurant in the district, Wild & Co., takes the Thai taste for “forest food” and fuses it with the Western yen for grilled meats. Owners of Wild & Co. designed a stunning glass-walled dining room that affords views of the greenery outside. Both the menu and the jungle-like interiors were inspired by the restaurateurs’ travels in South Africa and devouring exotic meats as kudu and springbok.
The house smoker flexed its muscles on a mighty portion of Beef ribs which had been rubbed with sea salt and basted with apple juice every half hour while slowly searing in hickory smoke for eight hours. With only 40 seats per night, Wild & Co. hits the right note with a wine list and full bar to ensure that everyone stays well lubricated while chowing down on exotics.
Source: Bangkok 101
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