You may have driven or scrolled past some of these places. Non-obvious signage, slightly tucked away in a soi you’ve been once or twice, or seen fleetingly on a friend’s Instagram story, which disappeared before you had a chance to ask.
“IFKYN,” they write.
Well, you actually don’t know, and you’d really like to because that dish looks delicious.
There is a rise of low-key, homey restaurant trend cooking up right now in Bangkok. Chefs are serving authentic, accessible Thai food in hidden restaurants and behind open kitchens, with aesthetics that are often slightly moody and unpretentious, but intentionally styled that way. Staff operate like a close-knit family, and the wine list is typically surprising, a mix of natural labels and some signature cocktails on the list.
These understated restaurants typically have a months-long waiting list, which means that although they may be tucked away in a building somewhere, many people in and out of the city manage to find them and secure a table, even if it takes them 60 days and a lot of coordination.
What we like about this trend is a new generation of small, personal Thai restaurants reshaping the art of going out for dinner in a big city. These restaurants operate out of houses, narrow and bustling shophouses, or even tucked-away rooms in nondescript buildings. The food is classically Thai, bowls of steaming rice served with curry dishes, classic kai jiew with their own personal tricks, and plates of something delicious, either fried or stirred. The menu is always uncomplicated but well-presented and sophisticated in its simplicity, if that makes sense.
This kind of food pairs well with wine, and it’s difficult to imagine this unless you are there. Dimly lit restaurants with a one-sheet wine list and colorful labels, rows of funky natural wine served with bowls of curry and rice, which go well together.
This unassuming trend started with the rise of the Charmgang universe, now a sprawling business founded by three chefs who trained under David Thompson at Nahm. Charmgang began in a small shophouse in Talat Noi, now a foodie hub, with the mission of giving classic Thai curries a contemporary twist in an urban setting. The restaurant earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand soon after launch. Currently, the restaurant is closed for renovations and has temporarily relocated to Baan Trok, merely steps away, a restored heritage house which has since been renovated and modernized by siblings who took over their family’s home, turning it into a space for creative F&B pop-ups, a bar, and exhibition space. Charmkrung’s pop-up feels like a nod to its earlier days, with simple table set-ups and a reliably good menu where diners eat alongside rice cookers on the makeshift bar counter. The group’s second venture, Charmkrung, has become a staple destination for tourists and locals alike. The restaurant is hidden in a nondescript building in Charoenkrung. The menu is diverse, ranging from a special fried rice to grilled catfish and beef curry, served with bananas, and a series of small plates. The group’s third and latest venture sits right opposite with a view of the street. Charmkok operates as a standing bar, primarily serving beer and easy finger food like fried chicken, somtum, and yakitori-style dishes in a Thai manner.
Other established players in this space include Chef Dylan Eitharong, a Thai-American who moved to Bangkok in 2019 to run a supper club out of his aunt's house on Soi On Nut 25 under the name of Haawm. The restaurant pretty much skyrocketed to mainstream recognition following singer Dua Lipa’s visit in 2024. Tucked away almost to obscurity, Haawm operates like a chef’s table at your friend’s house, where you go to be pleasantly surprised and very well fed. Bookings can only be done via Instagram DMs.
Meanwhile, Baan Lami operates in a similarly intimate register. The restaurant is located in a room inside an old Thonglor condo, hidden behind a wooden door without any signage. The menu is wholesome: choose from hearty dishes like sliced beef brisket to larb chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice, and pair them with a nice bottle of skin-contact wine.
What unites these places is a sensibility that's easier to feel than explain. The founders cook differently, the rooms look different, and the menus change. But the effect is the same: food that feels personal, service that doesn't perform, and cooking that references home without quite being replicable there. Someone's mother’s influence may be present in these dishes somewhere, but this is a whole new generation of restaurants in Bangkok.
