Street food in Bangkok – Where to start?

Bangkok is one of my favorite street food cities in the world, and if you’ve been to Bangkok, you’ll probably agree that it would be harder to write a blog post on where NOT to find good street food in the city. There are so many options!

To help you navigate, I’ve therefore picked a few of my old favorite street food spots, which will provide you with a nice and smooth introduction to the Bangkok street food scene. Except for Petchaburi Soi 5, they are not the most hardcore local places, but there’s a good selection of vendors, serving up tasty and authentic Thai food.  Most street food vendors specialize in one type of food, and sometimes only one dish, which they then make to perfection, and if pork blood soup (boat noodles) isn’t for you, then it’s nice to have other choices nearby.

The food is usually served on small plastic plates (for “dine-in”) or in plastic bags, which you can bring along. You pay with cash or vouchers.

Petchaburi Soi 5

This is my favorite place for street food in Bangkok. It’s also the most local one of the places in this post, and the food is amazing. If you like tom yum kung, then you must promise me to visit P’Aor in the small alley between Petchaburi Soi 5 and Soi 7. They make the best tom yum kung I’ve ever had. On the left side, in the far end of Petchaburi Soi 5 (if you’re standing with your back towards Petchaburi Road), after Family Mart, there’s a tiny restaurant called Nong Fuktong & Nong Tangmo, and they make a super tasty Khao Man Gai (Thai chicken rice). The sauce is highly addictive!

Pier 21 at Terminal 21

Most department stores and shopping malls in Bangkok have a food court floor with cheap and inexpensive street food, but the one in Terminal 21 is a notch better than the rest. Both prices and flavors are similar to what you’ll find in the streets outside, and the selection spans from soups and curries to desserts and boba. You buy a plastic card at the entrance which you then use as payment at the stalls. If you don’t spend all the money on the card, you can get a refund of the outstanding amount when you leave.

Sukhumvit Soi 38

The first part of this side street used to be packed with street food vendors after dark, but due to gentrification and issues with a landlord, they’ve been forced to move into a parking lot in the beginning of the street. There’s a nice selection of street food, but the ventilation isn’t the best, so be prepared to eat in the cooking fumes from the busy stalls. This is the least local of the places mentioned. It’s a popular place among the expats in the area, and the location right next to Thong Lo BTS makes it a convenient place to visit for curious travelers.