Temple views, river breezes and fairy lights over the water – our favourite places to eat and drink along Bangkok’s Chao Phraya.
By day the Chao Phraya can feel almost practical – ferries shuttling up and down, hotels and malls lining the banks. As soon as the sun drops, it turns into a stage: temple silhouettes, dinner cruises lit up like floating ballrooms, fairy lights in old wooden houses and the city skyline glowing behind it all.
Along this stretch you’ll find just about everything: once-in-a-trip fine dining with serious wine lists, relaxed Thai kitchens with plastic stools, design-driven warehouses, heritage cafés and noisy seafood buffets at the fish market. The challenge isn’t finding a riverside restaurant – it’s picking the ones that are actually worth crossing town for.
This guide gathers 20 places we keep coming back to when we want dinner with a proper river moment. Choose the neighbourhood that fits your plans – Tha Tien and the Old Town for temple views, Khlong San and Charoen Krung for hotel terraces, Talat Noi for characterful shophouses and creative spaces, Phra Athit for laid-back bars – and, if you can, aim for golden hour. Those few minutes when the sky changes colour and the boats switch on their lights are when these spots really earn their place on the map.
A landmark French restaurant at Mandarin Oriental with two Michelin stars, refined service and floor-to-ceiling views over a bend of the Chao Phraya River.
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One-Michelin-star French fine dining in ICONSIAM’s most dramatic dining room: curved banquettes, river-spanning views, modern French tasting menus and quietly flawless service.
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Capella Bangkok’s signature Riviera-inspired restaurant, now with two Michelin stars: light-filled river views, seasonal tasting menus and one of Bangkok’s most polished dining rooms.
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Italian riverside restaurant at Four Seasons Bangkok with handmade pasta, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, layered terraces and a relaxed yet glamorous mood.
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Boat-only royal Thai restaurant in a restored riverside mansion, serving set menus from Siam’s old kingdoms amid antiques, candlelight and river breezes.
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Intimate royal Thai set dinners on a riverside deck facing Wat Arun, with candlelight, heritage-house charm, few tables and slow, romantic evenings.
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Three-masted tall ship permanently moored at Asiatique, with open-air decks for sunset cocktails, Thai and European seafood plates and a slightly theatrical riverside vibe.
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Glass-walled steak and seafood grill at Asiatique, with riverside domes, deck tables, Josper-grilled cuts and golden-hour views of Sirimahannop and the Chao Phraya.
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Nautical-chic restaurant and bar below Royal Orchid Sheraton, with open decks almost level with the river, Asian-leaning sharing plates, craft cocktails and nightly live music facing ICONSIAM.
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Classic Italian restaurant at Royal Orchid Sheraton with indoor trattoria vibes and a romantic poolside terrace overlooking the Chao Phraya, serving pastas, risotti and grilled mains with a solid wine list.
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Characterful wooden house down a tiny alley in Talat Noi, with bar stools right over the river, Thai-Chinese comfort dishes, heritage desserts and soft, romantic vibes.
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Casual Thai dining over the river from Wat Arun, with homestyle recipes from Trat and Khon Kaen, a cosy two-storey space and sunset terraces made for golden-hour feasts.
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Compact Thai townhouse at Tha Tien with vintage-chic interiors, a small terrace, vivid curries and glass walls framing Wat Arun from lunch to nightfall.
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Industrial-style Thai kitchen in a converted warehouse at The Jam Factory, with high ceilings, lush greenery, a tucked-away riverside garden and nostalgic, ingredient-led dishes.
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Coastal Thai restaurant near Wat Arun with golden, design-led interiors, strong seafood dishes and rooftop river views made for golden hour.
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Riverside café in a restored Chinese mansion, with blue façades, antiques, shady trees and a gravel garden opening straight onto the Chao Phraya – perfect for golden-hour coffee or craft beer.
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Poolside café-bar at Riva Surya with Thai and Western comfort food, slow-smoked BBQ plates and riverside cocktails facing Rama VIII Bridge – ideal pre- or post-Khao San stop.
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Laid-back Thai restaurant in a small riverside house between ICONSIAM and Millennium Hilton, serving classic seafood, cold beer and live music with front-row river views.
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All-day riverside restaurant at Millennium Hilton with big river views, an outdoor deck and extensive international buffets from seafood-heavy dinners to long Sunday brunches.
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Open-air seafood buffet at Bangkok’s Fish Marketing Organization, with tanks of live prawns and crab, self-grill charcoal stoves and one of the city’s busiest value-for-money river views.
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