Table talk in Bangkok (July 9–15)

LARDER is turning four, and it is celebrating the sensible way:  by handing over its kitchen to a very good guest list. KA NAP KI returns as  a two-week chef takeover series, inviting chefs from some of Bangkok’s best restaurants to cook dishes you would not usually find on their own menus. This year’s line-up includes Margo, 80/20, Scuba, Charmgang, SOMA, SDC, La Lupita, Duet, Bisou, Juksunchae and Electric Sheep, with special dishes served alongside LARDER’s regular menu. Drop into Sukhumvit 39 or Chatuchak, or order through LINE MAN, and see what  familiar names do when they step outside their usual kitchens.

July 11-26. Available at LARDER Sukhumvit 39 and LARDER Chatuchak

Summer truffles may not have the cult status of their winter cousins, but they still bring that earthy, unmistakable hit. Akira Back Bangkok is making the most of the season with four limited dishes built around truffles sourced from the French Alps and Italy. The menu includes the restaurant's signature AB Truffle mushroom pizza, seared Hokkaido scallop with miso cream butter, Kagoshima A5 ribeye with truffle beef jus, and a black truffle macaron to finish. Available at lunch and dinner, it is a tidy excuse to add a little more truffle to the season.

Available until August 31. From B390++ per dish. Akira Back Bangkok, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, Sukhumvit Road

Some ingredients deserve the full menu treatment. At Summer Palace, grouper takes centre stage across August and September with a seasonal selection celebrating one of Cantonese cuisine’s most prized fish. Expect steamed grouper with egg white and Hua Diao wine, poached whole grouper with pickled cabbage and Sichuan chilli sauce, and more. The one to gather a table for is the whole grouper served two ways, with wok-fried fillets and steamed belly prepared separately to show off different textures. Proper Cantonese sharing food, in other words.

August 1-September 30. Lunch 11.30am-2.30pm, dinner 6pm-10.30pm. From B1,288++ per dish. Summer Palace, Mezzanine/F, InterContinental Bangkok, Ploenchit Road

Vietnamese food downstairs, Italian mood upstairs. Ciao SongWat is the latest reason to linger on Song Wat Road, taking over the second floor above SongViet with a European-inspired setting filled with art, vintage finds and an easygoing soundtrack. The menu keeps its roots in Vietnamese cooking, while gelato, spritzes and light bites, including Tuscan bread with Greek yoghurt, tomatoes and olive oil, give the space a slower, more aperitivo-ish feel. Come for dinner, stay for a scoop, or settle in longer than planned.

Open now, 5pm-10pm. Ciao SongWat, 2/F, SongViet, Song Wat Road

Burgers do not exactly need an upgrade, but 25 Degrees has found one anyway. For July and August, the diner inside Pullman Bangkok Hotel G is serving a Japanese A5 Wagyu Burger built for anyone who likes their burger with extra indulgence. Alongside it comes a thick Hershey Milkshake for chocolate lovers who are not pretending this is a light lunch. The specials join the restaurant’s usual line-up of burgers, truffle fries and American diner favourites, making this an easy stop for lunch, dinner or a milkshake-only detour.

July and August. Japanese A5 Wagyu Burger B490. Hershey Milkshake B280 net. 25 Degrees, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, Silom Road

Classic recipes rarely survive unchanged for generations, but that is precisely what keeps diners returning to Benjarong. Set within a historic Thai house just moments from Dusit Thani Bangkok, the restaurant keeps signature dishes that first won over diners decades ago at the heart of its menu, with several recipes tracing their origins to Thai family kitchens of the late nineteenth century. Others have remained on the menu since the hotel's original opening in 1970. 

Longtime regulars still return for favourites such as the mangosteen salad and pomelo salad, while first-time visitors are discovering the same dishes for a new generation. The menu also includes the 72 hour beef short rib green curry, slow-cooked until exceptionally tender, alongside seafood classics including grilled river prawns with kaffir lime and tamarind sauce, deep-fried whole seabass with sweet and sour sauce, and the restaurant's longstanding tom yum goong. 

Together, the dishes reflect traditional Thai cooking at its most enduring, best experienced with family, friends or distinguished guests in a serene and private setting. Guests staying at Dusit Thani Bangkok can also reach the restaurant via the hotel's complimentary tuk-tuk, making the short journey to the historic house part of the overall dining experience.

Open now, 11am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-10pm. Benjarong, Baan Dusit Thani

Bangkok is no stranger to four-hands dinners, but this one pairs two restaurants cooking at the top of their game. Chai Jia Chai, the city's only Black Pearl Two Diamond Chinese restaurant, is partnering with Shanghai seafood destination La Bourriche 133 for the first collaboration between the two restaurants and the Shanghai team's first service outside China. 

Chef Tsai Shih Wei joins executive chef Lee Jia Wei for a menu built around three ideas: preserved ingredients alongside pristine seafood, Asian flavours meeting French technique and traditional recipes viewed through a contemporary lens. If collaborations have become Bangkok's favourite dinner format, this is one that actually brings something new to the table.

11 July, from 6pm. Chai Jia Chai, Sukhumvit 31

Chef collaborations are now a familiar sight in Bangkok, but few explore regional Italian cooking quite like this. For two days only, Cannubi by Umberto Bombana welcomes chef Giuseppe De Vuono from Octavium, part of the Umberto Bombana culinary group and awarded two Michelin stars, for a menu celebrating the flavours of northern and southern Italy.

Originally from southern Italy, chef Giuseppe will present dishes inspired by his hometown traditions, while Cannubi’s chef Andrea Susto will contribute three courses rooted in the produce and culinary identity of northern Italy. Together, the chefs bring two distinct regional perspectives into a single menu. Available for lunch and dinner on 10 and 11 July, the collaboration features a four-course lunch and a six course dinner, offering diners the opportunity to experience the cooking of two acclaimed Italian chefs during this limited engagement.

10-11 July. Lunch from B2,900++ and dinner from B5,900++. Cannubi by Umberto Bombana, Dusit Thani Bangkok

Silver Waves by Boon continues its Gastronomy Series 2026 with a one-night collaboration between chef Ho Chee Boon and three-Michelin-starred chef Alvin Leung. This eight-course gala dinner brings together two distinct approaches to Chinese cuisine, with chef Ho's refined Cantonese cooking meeting chef Alvin's modern Chinese flavours, all served against panoramic views of the Chao Phraya River. 

The specially curated menu showcases each chef's signature style across eight courses, with an optional wine pairing available for the evening. Expect contemporary interpretations of Chinese cuisine shaped by years spent in some of the world's leading kitchens. Seats are limited, so early reservations are a sensible idea for anyone hoping to secure a table.

July 18, from 6.30pm. B4,888++ per person. Silver Waves by Boon, Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok

Cocktail menus usually arrive fully formed. At wasteland, guests get to see the ideas before they become the finished product. Beginning on 8 July, the bar launches BROWSE, a three-month research and development programme that turns its creative process into the main event. 

Across 12 weeks, wasteland will release a completely new cocktail menu every Wednesday, with each edition serving as a snapshot of recipes, techniques and ingredients being developed for the bar's next chapter. Once the week is over, the drinks disappear, making room for another round of experiments. 

Sustainability remains central throughout the programme. Cocktails draw on local ingredients, surplus produce, byproducts and overlooked materials, exploring new ways to reduce waste while pushing flavour in unexpected directions. If you've ever wanted to see what happens before a cocktail menu reaches its final form, this is your chance.

July 8-September 30. Wednesday-Sunday, 6pm-midnight. Wasteland, Sukhumvit 71 Road