Why Ari is My Favourite Bangkok Neighbourhood and Where to Eat

Most visitors to Bangkok choose to stay in one of three neighbourhoods.

There’s the area Banglamphu around Khao San Road for the backpackers, Sukhumvit for the upmarket clubs and bars, and Silom for the business travellers.

One place that’s not found on the typical traveller’s itinerary is the neighbourhood of Ari. Located in north-central Bangkok, it’s away from the major tourist attractions and therefore the tourists. It’s a neighbourhood that’s popular with middle-class Thais and expats, and is known for its relaxed vibes and hipster cafe scene. It’s one of Bangkok’s hottest neighbourhoods, but still relatively undiscovered by visitors.

If you’re currently rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself, Oh look, Lauren’s found a hipster neighbourhood she likes, then believe me — I’m rolling my eyes right alongside you.

Still, there’s so much to love about this little corner of Bangkok.

Ari is still fairly under-the-radar, but just at the point of developing into somewhere more hipster. There are cafes and dessert spots, and plenty of cool bars serving craft beer. There are a handful of tourists and expats wandering the streets but the vast majority of the local restaurants were void of foreigners.

There is so much to love about this neighbourhood.

The neighbourhood is filled with gorgeous cafes, from Lilou & Laliart to Porcupine Cafe to Aran Bicicletta, which had bicycles all over the wall. If you’re looking for coffee recommendations in the area, all three of them are great.

Its location, away from the main tourist activities, means that it is more calm than chaotic, and the eateries are filled with locals. The restaurant and bar scene are great, with cheap street food available at all times of the day, a fun night market to wander around, plenty of local options where you’ll pay $1-$2 for dinner each night, and some great international options for whenever you have a craving for some tacos.

Despite not attracting many tourists, the main attractions in Bangkok are still somewhat accessible, as Ari is on the BTS Skytrain. Chatuchak Weekend Market is just a couple of minutes away from Ari, and Dave and I walked into Siam one evening to check out the over-the-top luxurious Enigma experience at Paragon Cineplex. Was it worth spending $120 on two tickets? It almost was when you take into account that our seats were actually a comfortable double bed and our tickets included a meal, soft drink, a cocktail, popcorn, a massage, and a butler.

But, as you may have gathered from my already frequent mentions of the food, the restaurant scene is exactly why Ari is my favourite neighbourhood in Bangkok.

Something I’ve been wanting to add to my site is a more detailed look at the foods I eat when I travel. Sampling local food is the principle driving force behind my trips these days, and I know that I rarely write about it, aside from mentioning a meal that was truly life-changing. I hope that by sharing little round-up posts of my favourite meals in the cities I visit, you’ll be able to gain a greater insight into what it’s like to travel to a particular place.

Today, I’m excited to share where I recommend eating in Ari, Bangkok.

Thani Khao Mudaeng Knows Their Pork

If you want excellent pork, look no further than Thanee Khao Mudaeng — an iconic restaurant in Ari.

This small restaurant is absolutely jammed from breakfast until lunch, and their exceptional roast pork is the reason why. At just 50 THB ($1.50) for a plate of rice, pork belly, and a boiled egg, it offers exceptional value for money while also having some of the best pork I’ve eaten. I preferred the dish without the red sauce, as it was a little too sweet and rich for me, but either way — it’s totally worth visiting this place. The pork was so juicy, tender, and crispy!

There isn’t any English signage outside of the restaurant, so you’ll want to look out for the giant slabs of pork crackling dangling outside. If the tables are packed, you know you’re in the right place.

How to find it: search for Thanee Khao Moo Daeng Roasted & Bbq Pork Rice on Google Maps. The address is: QGGV+XC4, Phahonyothin Rd, Phaya Thai.

There’s a Night Market for Street Food Eats

You can’t come to Bangkok and not delve into its famous street food scene, and you especially can’t ignore the night markets.

I was thrilled to discover that not only was the main road in Ari lined with street food all day every day, but that there was a bustling night market to wander around in the evenings. With an enormous array of options for around 40 THB ($1.20), this is a place to get the most out of those inexpensive prices and sample as many dishes as possible. It’s the exact opposite experience to pad thai-filled Khao San Road.

Phan Zen Noodles (ร้าน 1000เส้น ซอยอารีย์): I Loved This Inventive Soup Place

Phan Zen may not have the most incredible soups I’ve ever tasted, but they were good and they offer a fun spin on their dishes. You get to build your own soup!

When you arrive, you’re handed a piece of paper that’s covered in checkboxes, and you work your way down, putting together your dream soup experience. You could choose your type of noodle, whether that’s a wide rice noodle, a flat egg noodle, or even a mung bean noodle.

Then it’s time to go for your three toppings, choosing between options like crispy pork belly, a soft boiled egg, steamed shredded chicken, fried wontons, and a seaweed-infused pork ball.

Next up: your broth! You can choose between stewed pork soup, tom yum with chilli paste, and a spicy sour soup.

As you can see from the photos above, Dave and I went for complete opposite options and ended up with two very different soups. Both of them were delicious, and the fun experience had us returning several times to see what other concoctions we could create!

How to find it: search for ร้าน 1000เส้น ซอยอารีย์ on Google Maps. The address is: Phahonyothin Rd, Phaya Thai.

Go to รสเด็ด ราชครู for the Best Stewed Beef Noodle Soup

รสเด็ด means delicious in Thai, and this tiny restaurant only offers beef noodle soup for hungry customers.

Ordering here was one of those restaurant experiences in Thailand that I live for. Dave and wandered inside and, with no English menus, simply held up two fingers to ask for two of whatever it was they were serving — the only clue we had as to what it could be was a sign pinned to the wall that simply said “Beef”. Still, when restaurants only focus on one dish, that’s an excellent sign that the food is going to have been perfected.

It was delicious, and one of my favourite soups to have for lunch. The beef was tender, the meatballs were rich and full of flavour, and the broth was just the right amount of spicy. This place has a reputation for offering some of the best beef noodle soup in the city, and though I have nowhere else to compare it to, I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed by what’s on offer.

The portion size was a little small, but at 50 THB ($1.50) for a portion, you could easily order two bowls for yourself!

How to find it: search for รสเด็ด ราชครู on Google Maps. Their address is: 1159 Phahonyothin Rd, Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai.

Ong Tong Khao Soi

If you love your spicy food and have spent any amount of time in northern Thailand, you’ve likely developed an obsession with khao soi — I know I did. It’s probably my favourite thing to eat in Thailand at the moment!

Khao soi is a Thai soup made with a mix of boiled egg noodles in the broth and crispy deep-fried egg noodles on top. The soup itself contains pickled mustard greens, shallots, lime, chillies, and coconut milk, and then you add in the meat or vegetable of your choice. I usually go for chicken, but the the mushroom and Northern Thai sausage options are excellent, too.

Ong Tong Khao Soi, in Ari, is a restaurant that’s dedicated to all things khao soi. And while I wouldn’t say it was quite as good as Khao Soi Nimman in Chiang Mai — my favourite khao soi restaurant — it was very close. The soup was creamy yet spicy, the fried noodles were perfectly crispy, and the chicken was so tender it fell off the bone.

I ate here several times while we were in Ari.

How to find it: search on Google Maps for Ongtong Khaosoi Ari Branch. The address is: 31 Phahonyothin Soi 7, Phaya Thai.

The first time I visited Bangkok, I was underwhelmed.

It came across as a crowded, chaotic capital city with little to offer but hassle. This uninformed opinion, of course, entirely my fault, as I rarely ventured away from the backpacker haunts of Khao San Road.

I knew there was more to Bangkok, and I suspected that if I just delved a little deeper, I’d fall in love with a city that has so much to offer. For a long time, though, I didn’t want to put in the effort. Bangkok was fine. I didn’t hate it; I didn’t love it; and I had little reason to spend more than a couple of days there during a layover. There were so many other cities I’d rather visit over Bangkok.

It turned out that spending time in Ari was just what I needed to finally click with Bangkok and discover areas of it I loved. I enjoyed Ari’s laidback vibe, had so much fun cafe-hopping across the neighbourhood, and, as evidenced by this post, couldn’t get enough of the delicious cheap eats.

After spending a week in Ari earlier this year, I can see myself returning for sporadic week-long stints in the future, spending my days checking out new restaurants, relaxing in coffee shops, and sampling inventive cocktails at the hottest bar of the moment.

If you’re planning a trip to Bangkok, I’d recommend giving chilled-out Ari a chance.

My Tips for Visiting Ari

How to get there: Fortunately, Ari is on the Skytrain, so getting there is easy. If you’re arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, jump on the rail link to Praya Thai station — it leaves every 10 minutes and takes 25 minutes to get there. From Phaya Thai, take the BTS Skytrain to Ari. This leg of the route takes 10 minutes. Easy!

Where to stay: We stayed in a condo in Ari, which we booked through Airbnb and paid $50 a night for it. We had a sofa and TV, powerful A/C, and a balcony with a decent view. The sound-proofing was excellent, so the street noise didn’t bother us, and it was within walking distance of all of the great restaurants.

If you’re on a budget, the Yard Hostel receives consistently amazing reviews and if I hadn’t been travelling with Dave, I would have 100% stayed there. It’s the best rated hostel in Bangkok (literally!) and looks so cool!

Does Ari sound like your kind of neighbourhood?