Dusit Thani Bangkok, a Modernist building on the Sala Daeng intersection recognized by its iconic golden spire, was once one of the most memorable landmarks of Bangkok. It stood on that location for five decades until the Dusit Thani Group announced the hotel’s closure early this year to make way for Dusit Central Park, a mixed-used development due to fully open in 2023.
In the meantime, the hotel’s beloved dining outlets—Thai dining room Benjarong, Vietnamese restaurant Thien Duong, and the Dusit Gourmet cafe—have been relocated to a lovely leafy house complex on Saladaeng Road.
Called Baan Dusit Thani, the complex features refurbished wooden houses that each hosts a dining outlet.
One of the smaller houses by the main road is home to Dusit Gourmet, which offers pastries, baked goods and coffee, as well as Asian and international casual bites. The café evokes an intimate and homey feel, its wood-heavy interior decorated with framed images of Dusit Thani in the old days. You can get afternoon tea here, perhaps the most walletfriendly hotel-backed one in Bangkok for only B390/person. Connecting to Dusit Gourmet is Garden Bar, where tipplers can wind down with drinks in hand by a swimming pool.
The main structure is home to the hotel’s famed signature Thai restaurant, Benjarong. Memorabilia from the old Dusit Thani Hotel surround diners as they feast on dishes that combine traditional Thai flavors with modern presentation, For example, flossy catfish garnished with green mango is served in a martini glass, coming with tom yum custard with crab meat, while mango and sticky rice comes with mango chunks, mango ice-cream and coconut cream snow. While the other restaurants offer the same menu and traditional Dusit feel, Thien Duong, the restaurant that serves French-Vietnamese fare, has been given a complete revamp. It now features youthful, lively and colorful interiors, and a cocktail menu curated by the team behind Tropic City.
