Bangkok: Koi – Fancy Japanese Fusion Restaurant

Update: KOI Restaurant & Lounge has now moved to a new location in Sathorn.

Poul and I celebrated New Year’s Eve 2010 at KOI, and since then, this place has been more or less permanently on my to-do list, whenever I visit Bangkok. Besides sushi, there are also lots of other tasty dishes and, very important, a good selection of desserts. Although the dining is pricey after Bangkok standards, it is still significantly cheaper than some of the more mediocre sushi places in Copenhagen.

In spite of my best intentions, I hadn’t really thought that I would be able to squeeze in a visit to KOI this time, but late at night, one of my last days in Bangkok, my sweet tooth refused to go to sleep without a nice dessert, so I popped over to KOI and had a tuna tartar and a crème brûlée. KOI also has some really good cocktails and a cool bar, but this time I settled for a soda before I went back to the hotel.

The restaurant is located in one of the more decent areas along Sukhumvit. The food is best described as upscale Japanese with a Californian twist and the menu includes a lot of excellent sushi variations. If you don’t mind your sushi with avocado and mayonnaise, then KOI is one of the nicest places in Bangkok to get your maki fix.

There are also KOI restaurants in Las Vegas, New York and Los Angeles. I’ve visited the one in Las Vegas several times and it is also a super nice place. Just like KOI in Bangkok, the restaurant in Las Vegas also transforms into a hip lounge bar later in the evening.

Dresscode: Everything from smart casual to very up-dressed.

• Costs: Expect to spend around 1500-2000THB, if you want a full experience of what the menu has to offer.

My Bangkok Blog

KOI’s new address in Sathorn: KOI ,9 fl, Sathorn Square Building, 98 North Sathorn Rd., Silom, Bangrak, 10500 Bangkok