The Thai capital channels its own character with a worldly flair as it makes strides in the realm of food and drink, the arts, and five-star hospitality.

Photographs by Christopher Wise

*Left to right:* A sculpture at the entrance to Dusit Thani Bangkok’s spa; relaxing in a Lumpini Park–view room at The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok.

I am on the top of the world—or so it feels from a restaurant 56 stories above the streets of Bangkok, where I’m conversing with Daniel Fraser, co-founder of Southeast Asia–focused travel agency Smiling Albino. A Canadian who first arrived here three decades ago to teach English to the Thai royal family, he still marvels at how much his adopted home has changed—and continues to evolve. From our vantage point, the city’s frenetic energy is almost tangible, its skyline a thicket of high-rises. The Thai capital welcomed 32 million international tourists last year, making it the most visited city in the world. “Bangkok is going like gangbusters,” Fraser says. “It’s at the top of everyone’s travel list.”

For good reason. Bangkok has long lured holidaymakers with its enticing mix of warm Thai hospitality, vibrant street life, rich food culture, and humming nightlife. The well-connected metropolis also serves as a springboard to destinations in other parts of the kingdom, in addition to nearby countries. But these days, Fraser has noticed a shift: more of his clients are flocking here solely to soak up the Bangkok buzz.

“For years, our custom tours usually involved flying into Bangkok, maybe visiting Chiang Mai in the north, and then the ruins of Angkor in Cambodia, or maybe Vietnam. But now, we get so many requests just for Bangkok. They know exactly what they want and have us script out everything: restaurants, hotels, and tours. That’s the difference—interest in Bangkok is totally booming.”

He attributes much of the appeal to the city’s ascendant food scene. Fittingly, we are munching on contemporary Thai dishes at Le Du Kaan, one of the hottest new restaurants in town, where a huge terrace affords views all the way to the Chao Phraya River. It’s the latest venture from superstar Thai chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, who returned to his hometown after working at Michelin-starred New York restaurants like Eleven Madison Park and Jean-Georges.

“Bangkok has totally transformed in recent years,” Ton tells me while DJs play and a crowd gyrates, downing Thai-spiced happy hour cocktails as the sun sets. “You can see restaurants like this in New York,” he adds. “But this is new for Bangkok. Places like this really put our city on the map.”

*Left to right:* French luxury meets Thai craftsmanship at Dior Gold House in Bangkok’s Ploenchit district; chef Masami Ouchi behind the sushi counter at Nobu Bangkok.

*Left to right:* A Chao Phraya Sunset cocktail at Le Du Kaan; the 56th-floor outdoor terrace at Le Du Kaan offers panoramic views of the Bangkok skyline.

Le Du Kaan is among a notable roster of culinary heavyweights at Empire Tower, an office building whose uppermost floors have been recently recast as a fine-dining hub in the sky. Two floors above is the world’s highest and largest Nobu, where Japanese-Peruvian flavors are delivered with signature precision. Other standouts include K by Vicky Cheng, the latest from the chef behind Hong Kong’s VEA and Wing; and Italian restaurant Sartoria by Paulo Airaudo. From the bustle of street level, private gold-accented elevators whisk diners skyward in style.

It’s a tremendous change from my visits in the early 1990s as a Hong Kong–based reporter. Back then, Bangkok felt overheated, chaotic, and eternally gridlocked—hours-long traffic jams were the norm. It was a horizontal city of confusing alleys and derelict neighborhoods, especially along the Chao Phraya, where faded historic buildings attested to Bangkok’s past grandeur as a trading hub. Today, those same locales are experiencing a creative revival driven by enterprising locals. Take Talat Noi, a funky area of car-parts warehouses, colorful temples, and old Chinese shophouses that has broadened its appeal with a growing number of art galleries, music clubs, speakeasies, and top restaurants.

These include hot spots from current queen of Thai cuisine Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij. Her one-Michelin-starred Potong offers four-hour culinary journeys among pharmacy beakers and antique furnishings in the 120-year-old shophouse that served as home and Chinese medicine shop for her Thai-Chinese immigrant family for generations. Potong is booked out months in advance—and the lines are bound to get longer now that judges of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list have named Soontornyanakij the World’s Best Female Chef for 2025.

Bangkok’s flourishing restaurant scene has prompted many top chefs to open multiple outlets, with seemingly no impact on the insatiable demand. Chef Pam recently unveiled Khao San Sek in another historic Chinese shophouse down the street from Potong. The menu focuses on five key ingredients: chili, coconut, fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice. Its small, colorful dishes are presented with the same depth of storytelling that made Potong a global sensation, paying homage to local street food and its roots in the melding of Thai and Chinese culinary traditions.

*Left to right:* Staff at Khao San Sek; a crab dish at the same restaurant.

One night, after stuffing myself at Khao San Sek, I stroll through Song Wat, a part of old Bangkok close to the river and Chinatown, but with its own unique flavor and breed of entrepreneurs. Cafés, antique shops, and cocktail bars sprout like wildflowers in a district that Time Out magazine has added to its latest list of the world’s coolest neighborhoods. I amble past derelict buildings painted with huge murals by local artists, encountering book shops, art galleries, and hipster cocktail bars like The National.

The latter is run by Pongsuang “Note” Choop, who previously operated Mischa Cheap in the famed backpacker area of Khao San Road. Note felt Khao San had run its course after de- cades as a tourist magnet, especially when authorities spruced up the area during the pandemic. Last November, he opened his Song Wat bar right beside Bukowski & Co, a cocktail den named for California beat poet Charles Bukowski. “This is the hippest street in Bangkok, but it’s authentic,” says Note. “It has a real community, with no tall buildings or malls. It’s a great place to hang out, meet people, and chill.”

Around the city, the subway network has steadily expanded in recent years, though not fast enough to keep pace with urban sprawl. Bangkok is a megalopolis of 10 million—or 17 million if you include the greater metropolitan region—plagued with problems including inadequate infrastructure, flooding, and worsening pollution. It also has one of the lowest amounts of public green space per capita in Asia. Thankfully, there’s been a citywide shift to change that, with former industrial land in the heart of town being reclaimed to double the size of Benjakitti Park. Newly expanded in 2022, the site is now a 72-hectare oasis with wetlands, a skywalk, nature trails, and a sports center in a onetime tobacco factory. You can stroll there via an elevated walkway from Lumpini, which celebrates its centennial this year.

At the same time, the Thai capital has become a place of broader possibilities, drawing talent from around the globe. “The story about Bangkok being a world city has been brewing for quite a while,” says Philip Cornwel-Smith, a local culture writer and author of the 2020 book Very Bangkok. Outside perceptions have shifted too, reflecting a growing interest in contemporary art, architecture, fashion, and design. And high-end shopping. Cornwel-Smith explains these developments have been just as significant to Bangkok’s global rise as its thriving food scene.

*Left to right:* A hanging sculpture in The Storeys shopping zone at One Bangkok; Potong’s chef Pichaya Soontornyanakij.

Kanom pum—steamed rice cake with palm-sugar caramel—at Khao San Sek; a noodle vendor in the Song Wat area. — *Left to right: Kanom pum*—steamed rice cake with palm-sugar caramel—at Khao San Sek; a noodle vendor in the Song Wat area.

Indeed, the spread of increasingly lavish malls has produced a series of regional standouts, most recently EmSphere in the Phrom Phong area, and Thailand’s biggest redevelopment project, One Bangkok, a world-class retail district on the site of the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, which closed down in 2011. The ambitious master plan includes five luxury hotels, high-end offices, a concert hall, and eventually, the tallest skyscraper in the country.

Such projects not only draw Bangkok’s top hospitality talent, but also leading artists and architects like Duangrit Bunnag, designer of hip developments like Warehouse 30, a complex of art galleries and creative spaces near the Chao Phraya River. Bunnag also worked on Bangkok Kunsthalle, an edgy art space that opened last year in a group of old brutalist buildings outside Chinatown. Bangkok’s creative scene has also been boosted by the Bangkok Art Biennale, which brings together a compelling mix of local and international talent. And the long-awaited Dib Bangkok is set to debut by year’s end, featuring over 1,000 contemporary works by over 200 artists in a repurposed 1980s steel warehouse.

That artistic flowering has not gone unnoticed by international fashion brands. In the vibrant Ploenchit district, Christian Dior has launched a glittering pop-up concept store named Dior Gold House. Behind its golden-tiled facade, Dior’s latest collections are displayed in interiors that showcase Thai craftsmanship via works by local artists and designers. But the ultimate fusion of Bangkok talent might be the audacious pairing of French luxury house Louis Vuitton and Kolkata-born rockstar chef Gaggan Anand (whose namesake restaurant has topped the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for an unprecedented fifth time). Gaggan at Louis Vuitton opened last year at the revamped Gaysorn Amarin mall, with a multicourse menu showcasing Anand’s irreverent, boundary-pushing approach, melding progressive Asian flavors with an added French touch. The 30-seat restaurant forms part of LV The Place Bangkok, a multifloor concept encompassing a boutique, a Louis Vuitton café, and a high-tech museum for the brand.

This unlikely partnership alludes to the brilliant ways Bangkok puts its incongruous pieces together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. “I think Bangkok has become the perfect travel destination,” Anand says. “You come here, land from whichever time zone, and go to the spa. You have your big dinner, go shopping or sightseeing—we have everything, from historical palaces to boat rides and bars. And the best hotels are all in Bangkok.”

*Left to right:* Contemporary art space Bangkok Kunsthalle has taken up residence in the once-abandoned buildings of an old printing house; chef Gaggan Anand.

*Left to right:* A wall of art books at Bukowski & Co.; the lobby bar at Dusit Thani Bangkok.

The already stellar hospitality scene is also getting a boost. Cue the reincarnation of the iconic Dusit Thani Bangkok (from US$362 a night), which was the city’s tallest building when it first opened in 1970. Dusit International’s beloved flagship hotel was demolished six years ago, and the all-new property that stands in its place has retained some elements from its predecessor, including the rooftop spire. The second-generation Dusit Thani features bigger rooms and a spiffy design by Hong Kong’s André Fu that highlights the hotel’s history and Thai traditions. Every room affords front-row views of the greenery and artificial lakes of Lumpini Park.

Over on the park’s eastern fringes, The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok (from US$388 a night) debuted last December within the One Bangkok development. Local studio PIA Interior has given the hotel a restrained yet timeless aesthetic inspired by the mansions of Thai nobility a century ago. Upstairs, there’s an outdoor pool that wouldn’t look out of place at a beach resort, while park views through floor-to- ceiling windows await in the clean-lined rooms.

Another newcomer is Aman Nai Lert Bangkok (from US$1,336 a night), located in a leafy corner of Ploenchit. Its April opening marked a homecoming of sorts for Aman Resorts, as the brand’s inaugural resort, Amanpuri, debuted in Phuket 36 years ago. The building overlooks century-old trees at the estate of visionary local developer Lert Sreshtha- putra, whose 1910s teakwood house is now a museum in this private park—once Bangkok’s second-largest after Lumpini. Aman Nai Lert stands out for its 1,500-square-meter wellness center and 52 capacious suites, all an elegant vision of low-key opulence. But the jewel in the crown is the three-bedroom Aman Suite, which spans the entire 18th floor. Priced at nearly $25,000 per night, it has its own gym, cinema, and spa.

The hotel’s general manager Ted Tucker knows the territory, having spent seven of his nine years in the city working at the riverfront Capella Bangkok. Aman Nai Lert is bound to give that chic urban resort some competition, but Tucker notes the Thai capital is always evolving, with something for every taste. “Bangkok has it all: rooftop bars and restaurants, temples and old neighborhoods. I was captivated when I first came here as a tourist, by the chaos and sensory overload,” he adds. “This is the most engaging metropolis in Asia.” As a resident who has witnessed the city renew itself over the past dozen years, I’m inclined to agree.

*Left to right:* Poolside at Aman Nai Lert Bangkok; tea service at K by Vicky Cheng.

*Left to right:* Outside The National bar on Song Wat Road; a spa suite at Aman Nai Lert.

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2025 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Bangkok’s New Beat”). Buy a single issue or subscribe here.

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