The long-form anchor. 121 venues, 8 neighborhoods, 14 occasions. From the opening letter to the side sheet, this is the publication's foundation. Scroll on for the full issue.
From the Pass
The list you're about to read is not a guide.
It's what I'd text a friend. Twenty years on the floor. Six cities. Thirty-plus restaurants opened or operated. Most of them I don't write about. This one is different. Bangkok is home, and the rooms on this list are the ones I actually walk back into.
No comped tables. No stars. No rankings. I pay at every one of these rooms and I only put one on the list if someone on the pass cares. That is the only qualifier.
What's changed in this version. Cento and Quilombo aren't here. They're mine. You can find them on the About page if you want to try them. I cut the neighborhoods from 53 to 8. I added the occasion filter because that is how you actually choose where to eat on a Tuesday at 7pm.
And I replaced the top-whatever with A Weekend in Bangkok, a 48-hour itinerary that changes every month. This month: classics. Next month: riverside. The list is alive. Check the dateline. Send me corrections.
Cook well. Count better.
— Manu
A Weekend in Bangkok · April 2026
This Quarter: Classics.
The first weekend for someone who has never been. No hype, no new openings. Just the rooms that define the city.
The Hotel Breakfast Circuit. Eight rooms across three neighborhoods. Hotel breakfasts are Bangkok's most underrated power move. Quiet, slow, and zero performance. Get a window seat by the river. Order eggs, coffee, and one thing off-script. Let the room do the work.
By OccasionBy Neighborhood
121 rooms showing
grouped by neighborhood
Yaowarat & Old Town
15 rooms
The oldest part of the city still working. You come here for the street, the temples, and one or two kitchens doing serious work inside rooms that look like nothing from the street. Walk. Don't drive.
Charoen Krung & Riverside
16 rooms
The river is the lead. Five-star hotels, art galleries in old shophouses, and the best breakfast circuit in Asia. Take the boat if you can. Sit by a window.
Sathorn & Silom
22 rooms
The business spine. CBD by day, hotel bars by night. This is where the closing-the-deal dinners happen. Lily's at the Ritz at 7am for the breakfast meeting, Sühring at 8pm for the one that matters.
Siam & Ratchaprasong
17 rooms
The hotel belt. Old-money Bangkok. Waldorf, Four Seasons, Park Hyatt, Anantara, Athenee. Come here for the weekend brunch or the rooftop with the view that never gets old.
Sukhumvit Midtown
28 rooms
The heart of the list. Most of my week happens inside a two-kilometer stretch here. Soi 11 to Soi 55, from the corner dumpling shop to the sushi bar with one seating. The noise and the gold.
Thonglor & Ekkamai
14 rooms
The neighborhood. Expat density, new money, great coffee, better bars. Dry Wave for the cocktail, Iode for the French, Fatboy for the izakaya you walk into.
Ari & North
6 rooms
Slower, greener, less tourist. Market morning at Or Tor Kor. The Michelin-starred neighborhood restaurants you fly in for. Weekend energy.
Further Afield
3 rooms
Worth the drive. The airport hotels, the day-trip spots, the one-in-a-lifetime rooms off the grid. Use sparingly. Plan ahead.