3 Best Restaurants in The Old City, Bangkok

To enjoy chef Jay Fai’s Michelin-award-winning dishes at her small open-air eatery, plan in advance or be prepared for upwards of a three-hour wait. Reservations via email or phone are possible, although response may be slow; you can also try showing up when the restaurant opens at 10 am, and put your name on a waiting list. 

This small shophouse restaurant is a truly capable all-round Thai eatery, a rarity in a neighborhood where you’re generally better off eating at places that specialize in one or two dishes. Recommended plates include nuea pu phat phrik lueang (crabmeat stir-fried with yellow chili) and kaeng khiaw-wan look chin pla krai (green curry with fish balls).

Serving exceptional traditional Thai food for more than 60 years, Sorndaeng features white tablecloths, lacy curtains, and black-trousered waiters. Fans say the restaurant makes the best thawt man plaa (fried spicy fish cakes) in the city. At lunch, the restaurant tends to fill up with local government office workers.