L'oliva — Tanisorn Vongsoontorn / Time Out Bangkok

Best restaurants and cafes on Soi Sukhumvit 36, 38 and 40

The tranquil residential lane is now Bangkok’s latest dining and drinking destination

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Tuesday August 16 2022

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In contrast to bustling Thonglor on the other side of Sukhumvit, the interconnected Soi Sukhumvit 36 - 38 - 40, which is lined with low-key residential monoliths and home offices, is not what you’d call a destination for dining and drinking. However, the recent openings of trendy cafes have been drawing the caffeine- and Instagram-addicted crowd to the area, making the quiet lane an emerging hot spot for coffee and brunch.

Here are some of our recommendations.

Soi Sukhumvit 36

Tanisorn Vongsoontorn / Time Out Bangkok

L’Oliva Ristorante

Restaurants
Italian
Khlong Toei

Gabriele Tozzo Luna heads the kitchen at this homey dining room, where you are promised the real taste of Abruzzo (Chef Gabriele’s hometown) in a variety of Italian staples, ranging from pasta and pizza to seafood dishes cooked in a homemade style.

Time Out Bangkok

Caffè Olives

Restaurants
Cafés
Khlong Toei

Set adjacent to sister Italian restaurant L’Oliva Ristorante, Caffè Olives is shadowed by two olive trees growing on its outdoor terrace. The café focuses mainly on caffeinated brews, creamy cakes and comfort bites that highlight Italian flavors, particularly those of Abruzzo, a city in Southern Italy known for exceptional olives. Highlights include pizza topped with zucchini cream and mortadella. If you’re after lighter fare, try the kale anchovy salad with refreshing lemon dressing. Also not to miss is the olive oil cake, which pairs perfectly with their Italian coffee.

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Tanisorn Vongsoontorn

Blue Wild Space

Shopping
Design and interiors
Khlong Toei

A homey house has been turned into a zakka-style shop you'll browse around bric-a-brac collections of vintage goods, everything from small tiny china plates and vintage glasses to vintage clothes and freshly-made snacks.

Tanisorn Vongsoontorn / Time Out Bangkok

Freaking Out the Neighborhood

Bars
Khlong Toei

Situated on Soi Sukhumvit 36 (Soi Naphasap 1), Freaking Out the Neighborhood, spearheaded by Kiratra Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn (one of the founders of music promotions company Have You Heard?), offers a different music bar experience by playing a record front-to-back instead of blasting out random tunes put together into one long playlist on loop.

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My Choice

Restaurants
Thai
Khlong Toei

Don’t let its modern-looking atmosphere and English name fool you; My Choice is a long-running Thai restaurant that’s been around for decades—long before some of you were born. Try its rice noodles with spiced minced pork gravy.

Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out Bangkok

Kate's Place

Restaurants
Thai
Khlong Toei

Kate’s Place is located on the second floor of her shophouse. Hidden behind a secret bookshelf (sorry for spoiling the fun), the space feels and looks like the living room of a stylish home. All the fun is centered on a huge dining table that can accommodate as much as 10 people.

Soi Sukhumvit 38

Tanisorn Vongsoontorn/Time Out Bangkok

Ang Morr

Restaurants
Contemporary Asian
Khlong Toei

Ang Morr restaurant reinvents the cookshop culinary culture that can be traced back to the era of King Rama IV, a time when Western expats settled in the Kingdom and recruited Chinese chefs to cook for them. (“Ang mor” is actually a Teochew term, and what Thai-Chinese grammys and grampys call foreigners).

H Dining

Restaurants
Khlong Toei

Kanta “Toiting” Siddidharm, who has experiences at Gaa, 80/20 and renowned Copenhagen restaurant Noma under her belt, delivers brunch-perfect bites that combine local flavors with Nordic influences, and emphasize homemade ingredients—all the breads are baked fresh daily (the sourdough with whipped butter is marvelous) and the pickles are made in-house. The food is simple but boasts a few unexpected twists. For example, smoked salmon is served on rye bread with sour cream and seafood sauce, and comes with a salad drizzled with candied kaffir lime dressing, while the pork sandwich gets a spicy kick from house-made kimchi. For dessert, don’t miss the parmigiano cheese ice cream with red wine reduction and honey, and maple syrup-glazed donut topped with bacon strip. The place serves natural wine and is pet-friendly.

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Okonomi

Restaurants
Japanese
Khlong Toei

This minimalist Japanese-style café is the first Thailand outpost of the Brooklyn-born brand. Come to enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee and all-day meals including various kinds of Japanese don, ramen, eggs benedict and sandwiches. Early birds who come for breakfast can enjoy a Japanese-style set, which includes fish, rice and condiments served on pretty plates on a wooden tray.

Toby's

Restaurants
Khlong Toei

This newly renovated cafe serves one of the best French toasts (B280) in the city—perfectly crispy and topped with berries. A good spot for brunch, it offers laid-back vibes and a great
playlist.

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Soi Sukhumvit 40

Top Koaysomboon/Time Out Bangkok

A Keen House

Restaurants
Cafés
Khlong Toei

Decorated in minimalist Nordic-style decor with a hint of Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetics, this three-story townhouse-turned-cafe is home to a sunlit coffee shop, a compact-sized gallery and, soon, a workshop space. Drinks include a wide range of coffee selections that can be paired with nice-looking pastry offerings by aspiring chef Ploypaka "Pam" Paokomol.

NOC Coffee

NOC Sukhumvit 40

Restaurants
Cafés
Khlong Toei

The first overseas location of Hong Kong-born coffee shop NOC has opened in Bangkok on Soi Sukhumvit 40. The minimalist coffee shop brews cuppa using house-blended Colombia-Thai beans. Go-to offerings include flat white (from B120) and dirty (from B120).