Pad Thai Thip Samai
Ask any local where to find the best pad Thai in Bangkok, and most will tell you Thip Samai. Also known as Pratu Pee (meaning 'ghost gate'), this really is the grandfather of Bangkok’s most famous dish, opening up shop nearly 50 years ago in the Old City.
Portions here are generous, and the signature egg pad Thai comes with a thin layer of omelette cocooning the moist and fresh noodles that are cooked over a charcoal fire. Prices start at a slightly inflated 60 baht, and go all the way up to 200 baht if you want a huge shrimp too. Don’t forget to order their famous orange juice, which is delivered fresh from the countryside every day. Thip Samai is easy to find – just look for the line of people queuing underneath the bright red sign on Machachai Road, near Wat Saket (Temple on the Mountain).
Location: 313-315 Maha Chai Rd, Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Open: Daily from 5pm to 1am
Phone: +66 (0)2 226 6666
Baan Phadthai
Baan Phadthai is a restaurant devoted to Thailand’s most famous noodle dish. While it’s true that most travellers visiting Bangkok will enjoy a pad Thai – usually cooked in front of you in a wok as old as the person cooking it – the versions created at this converted shophouse close to the Sapan Taksin BTS Skytrain Station are a little more special. Because the original recipe is very simple, many pad Thai restaurants and street stalls add unique ingredients or condiments – there’s nothing new about that. But Baan Phadthai takes this simple delicious dish to the next level with high-quality ingredients and a few innovative variations such as pad Thai phoo (crab) or pad Thai with moo yang, a traditional and popular grilled pork neck.
Location: 21-23 Charoen Krung (Soi 44), Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Open: Daily from 11am to 10pm
Phone: +66 (0)2 060 5553
Pad Thai Ekamai (ผัดไทเอกมัย)
This modest shophouse in Ekamai claims to serve the best pad Thai in Bangkok, specialising in generous portions of seafood to go along with those delicious wok-fried noodles. At 250 baht, their signature ‘Pad Thai Ekamai’ does seem a little bit pricey (compared to the 40 baht you usually pay for just the noodles), but the hearty dish does come with fresh squid, 2 large king prawns, and a few juicy mussels.
Other options at this well-known restaurant include basic pad Thai for 45 baht, as well as the highly recommended pork satay for 65 baht. Find Pad Thai Ekamai by heading up Ekkamai Road (Sukhumvit Soi 63). Look for the red banner in Thai on your left, just before Soi 19.
Location: 303/4 Soi Sukhumvit 63 Soi 19, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Open: Daily from 10.30am to 4pm
Phone: +66 (0)82 022 5000
Pad Thai Mae Am (ผัดไทย แม่อัม)
Pad Thai Mae Am is a modest yet highly rated spot that's walking distance from the Klong Toey MRT Station. Specialising in only 2 noodle-based dishes (the second being kuay diow gai or thick rice noodles and chicken), Pad Thai Mae Am really brings things back to basics. Seating comes in the form of miniature stools, while the tired-looking walls are adorned with old photos and magazine clippings.
The pad Thai recipe is just as old school (which can only be a good thing) with the noodles being prepared before with tamarind paste, palm sugar and fish sauce, and then given a re-fry to give them a classic pinkish colour. The result is about the best we’ve ever tasted in Bangkok – not too greasy to give you a heart attack, but not too clean to make you feel like you’re on a diet.
Location: 2253/5 Rama IV Rd, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Open: Daily from 11am to 10pm
Phone: +66 (0)89 230 4302
Nara Thai Cuisine
Nara is a foreigner’s favourite restaurant that has been serving lovingly presented Thai food for many years. They have 2 versions of pad Thai, but we recommend the pad Thai with shrimp, sweet tamarind sauce and crispy egg, which costs around 220 baht.
The taste definitely caters more to overseas visitors than locals as it's sweeter than most other pad Thai recipes. All of the ingredients used are top quality and the dining room is stylish and air-conditioned. Side ingredients include fragrant banana flower, lime, spring onion and crushed nuts. If you want to create a more localised version of the dish, use the pretty garnish selection to add a few mounds of chilli flakes and vinegar. Nara has several locations but we rate the original branch next to Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok as the best.
Location: Lower Ground Floor, Erawan Bangkok, Phloen Chit Rd, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Phone: +66 (0)2 250 7707
