4 Best Pad Thai in Bangkok

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).

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.

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.

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.