It all started when five foodie friends wanted to bridge the gap between flavorful street food and proper dining rooms. The Local Canteen is the result, a space that serves affordable Thai sidewalk favorites in the comfort air-conditioned space.
It didn’t start all easy, though. Their first endeavor, which involved importing Rangsit’s renowned boat noodles to inner Bangkok, failed. The partners thus reworked the menu to focus only on lunch sets featuring old-school Thai dishes including fried prawns with deep-fried garlic and pepper, tom yum mushroom and rice (B155), stir-fried minced pork with holy basil and century egg (B165), moo klook foon (marinated deep fried pork with ground roasted rice, B145), mixed mushroom spicy salad with grilled pumpkin (B145) and aromatic grilled seabass in banana leaf (B225). Cap off your meal with the Vietnamese drip coffee (B65) to send you back to the office in full spirits. Come afternoon, from 15:00 to 17:30, the menu shifts to quick bites and sweet treats such as maha chai coconut ice cream with mango and deconstructed peanut bar (B95).
The Local Canteen’s interiors were put together by one of the partners, Rachen Chokenana, who livens up a minimalist contemporary room with touches of vivid colors. Natural light shines through the roof, bringing a cheery warmth to the dining room.