Bangkok outshines Paris as home of world's top restaurants

Times

06-07-2025

If your image of Thai cuisine is a red or green curry, or cheap and cheerful street food, think again. Bangkok has just sealed its reputation as an international capital of fine dining.
For the first time the Thai capital has more entries on a prestigious list of the world's 50 best restaurants than any other city.
Forget stir-fried noodles. The six Thai restaurants on the list are more likely to serve connoisseur-pleasing dishes such as 'ant larvae and dried fish soup' or 'squid, strawberry and salted egg'.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 is regarded by the industry as the most influential ranking of its kind. It is chosen by 1,120 international food writers, critics, chefs, restaurateurs and gourmets, who have recommended restaurants in 32 cities across 22 countries.
This year, for the first time, Thailand has the most entries on the list, knocking Paris (four) off its usual top spot and outranking another strong non-European performer in Lima (also four). London has two restaurants in the list.
Bangkok's highlighted restaurants include Potong, an innovative establishment in the heart of the city's Chinatown run by Pichaya 'Pam' Soontornyanakij, the woman named by the same panel as the world's best female chef.
Born into a family of traditional Chinese herbal medicine providers, Pam specialises in Thai-Chinese cuisine. The food at Potong, ranked 13th in the world, focuses on five elements: salt, acid, spice, texture and Maillard reaction (the chemical process of reducing sugars that creates distinctive flavour). Specialities include pork tongue with caviar and 14-day aged duck.
'Fine dining used to feel like something imported, a format from Europe or Japan brought into Thai spaces,' she said.
'Bangkok has always had a strong food identity but there is now a confidence among Thai chefs to lead with their own culture, their own flavours and their own sense of place. At the same time, diners here have become more adventurous. They're open to tasting menus and to multi-sensory experiences.'
The other Thai restaurants on the list include Nusara, a glamorous restaurant near the Grand Palace overlooking Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, in Bangkok's old town. A new entry at No 35, it is run by the chef Thitid 'Ton' Tassanakajohn and inspired by his family's recipes as well as cookery books from the royal kitchens of King Rama V, who ruled Thailand from 1868 to 1910.
Le Du, ranked No 30, already boasts a Michelin star and was previously named the best restaurant in Asia in 2023. It celebrates 'the extraordinary agricultural bounty of Thailand' in its extravagant tasting menus. Dishes include poached oysters with spicy green mango relish; and shrimp and pork balls with pickled radish, pork powder and a scoop of jasmine ice cream.
Both Le Du and Nusara are run by Ton, placing him in the rare company of those such as Heston Blumenthal who have had two entries in a single year.
Better known for its temples, shopping malls and colourful nightlife, Bangkok is now becoming a high-end food destination in its own right.
'This is a big achievement for Bangkok as a food city,' Ton said. 'I hope after this people will know Bangkok not only for our street food but our fine dining..
'It is not only these six on this list. There are lots of other great chefs, restaurants and bars doing something very cool. It's a very exciting time in Bangkok.'
The food at Sorn, ranked No 17, offers 'mind-bending' and 'explosive flavours with no compromise on chilli heat and spice', according to the list. It is inspired by the southern Thai cooking of the grandmother of Supaksorn 'Ice' Jongsiri, its chef patron.
Bangkok's high-end scene has taken off in the past decade as internationally acclaimed chefs such as Alain Ducasse have opened branded establishments.
Gaggan is the highest-ranked Bangkok establishment at No 6 on the list. It is part-meal and part-performance under the direction of its patron Gaggan Anand, a disciple of Ferran Adrià at the famous El Bulli in Catalonia. Emojis are used to represent each course of food and diners are encouraged to eat with their hands or even lick the plate.
For Sebby Holmes, chef patron of Farang, a modern Thai restaurant in north London, the transformation in Bangkok's restaurant scene compares to London in the 1980s and 1990s.
'There is a load more money, a lot of chefs have trained and cooked abroad, and they have realised there is such demand for high-quality food,' he said. 'It has happened very fast, but they have been kind of catching up, so it makes sense that so many are getting acknowledged at the same time.'
The best restaurant in Europe, according to this year's list, is Asador Etxebarri, in Atxondo, serving flame-grilled meat 'in a peaceful Basque village surrounded by mountains and lush greenery somewhere between Bilbao and San Sebastian'.
London is represented by the double-Michelin starred Ikoyi and KOL, which specialises in Mexican-British fusion cuisine.
And the top spot overall? That goes to Maido, in Lima, the Peruvian capital, thanks to a bold menu inspired by the 'ingredients and traditions from the vast Peruvian Amazon, with courses like the miniature jaune parcel of pork jowl and palm heart that nods to a rainforest staple, snacks of 'ham' made from sustainable paiche fish, and yucca served with Amazonian beans'.