Ekkamai Restaurants: 10 Places to Eat from Gateway to Ekkamai Soi 14

What Ekkamai is like to eat in (and how it differs from Thonglor)

The two sois run parallel a few hundred metres apart, and the side lanes are where some of the best kitchens on this list sit. The pattern on this list is restaurants in houses: Teppen in a wooden one, GOAT in a Sino-Portuguese townhouse, Popcup in a mid-century one. The Japanese residents of the area keep the izakayas busy; Time Out says Teppen has been feeding them highballs since 2013. The bars mid-soi mean there is always somewhere serving food until midnight, and one Thai kitchen on Soi 14 serves until 01:00.

The road divides into three stretches. The Sukhumvit end is Gateway, the bus terminal, Big C on Soi 6, and the first sois, where Fatboy (Soi 2), Popcup (Soi 4), Somtam Nua and Nowhere (Soi 6) sit, plus Joushitsu Sushi on Soi 2, which Grab says must be booked because seats are few. Across on Sukhumvit 61 are Teppen and Ruay Mitr near the Park Lane community mall. Mid-soi, Soi 8 to 14, is the dense part: GOAT, Khao and Mother May I Kitchen on Soi 10, with Cadence and ZAO further east on Soi Pridi Banomyong 25, which Ekkamai 10 Lane 6 leads into; Babyccino and Alexander’s German Eatery on Soi 12; and Heng Hoi Thod on Soi 14. The top end, toward Phetchaburi Road, is older and later: Arunwan on Soi 15, Nong Rim Khlong on Soi 23, Hereduan and Tuba on Soi 21, and the Ekkamai Complex between Soi 19 and 21 with the Playroom cocktail bar upstairs per KTC. The top-end places are covered here by name, hours and parking only, because their menus and prices are not published in the sources used for this page.

Best restaurants in Ekkamai for dinner

For a dinner that feels like Ekkamai, Teppen is the one. It is a wooden house on Sukhumvit 61 that calls itself ‘Entertainment Japanese Dining’, with a Kochi-style straw-grilling show in the middle of the room, rice bowls from the ebi don at 360 baht to the 990-baht premium bowls, and 3,309 Google reviews at 4.7. Its hours are not settled: KTC lists 11:00 to 23:00, Google shows 17:00 to midnight, and the restaurant’s own site gives none, so book on TableCheck or call first. Ruay Mitr, a short walk along the same soi, is the other crowd-pleaser: three floors of Thai-Chinese rice-soup supper with free refills, a retro cocktail bar, a DJ on Friday and Saturday from 20:00, and plates such as charcoal-grilled wagyu kalbi at 750 baht and ume-stewed minced pork at 290. The Standard put the budget from 160 baht.

For Thai, ZAO on Soi Pridi Banomyong 25 is the most distinctive kitchen in the area: an Ubon Ratchathani restaurant’s first Bangkok branch, run by a designer who sources shallots from Si Sa Ket and fish from the Mekong, with som tam at five chilli levels and a field-crab dip set at 300 baht. For the special night, GOAT on Ekkamai 10 Lane 2 holds one Michelin star in the 2025 and 2026 editions plus a 2026 Green Star, and runs a 13-course tasting menu at 4,590 baht with house-fermented soft drinks as pairing. Cadence by Dan Bark, on the same lane as ZAO, earned a star that a Michelin Guide article recorded in January 2021; the current guide still lists it, without a star. Its Saturday and Sunday six-course lunch is the value sitting according to Koktail. GOAT and Cadence both close on Monday and Tuesday and both sit in narrow lanes, so arrive by taxi. For the city’s starred tables, see Michelin restaurants in Bangkok.

Ekkamai breakfast and brunch

On the list, Popcup Ekkamai opens at 08:00 in a renovated house on Soi 4 with a homemade brunch menu: chilli and thick-bacon spaghetti 290 baht, an anchovy-vinaigrette salad 190, beetroot dip with Greek yogurt and pistachio on sourdough 230, a Coconut Matcha Cloud 160, two coffee blends, pets welcome and the owner on the floor. It is the earliest ranked kitchen on the soi.

Beyond the list, KTC’s parking guide catalogues the morning places. Babyccino at 53 Soi Ekkamai 12 opens 08:00 to 18:30 with truffle brioche, French toast and yuzu hollandaise eggs Benedict, and has paid valet parking when the lot fills. Nong Rim Khlong at 51 Soi Ekkamai 23 opens 08:30 to 16:30 for crab egg custard and crab fried rice, and KTC warns of queues at peak times. Arunwan at 291 Soi Ekkamai 15 serves Teochew-style braised vegetable soup and crispy pork from 09:00 to 15:00 with parking in the Park X building. Hom Duan, a northern Thai pay-by-plate canteen opposite Park Lane, opens at 09:00. Kaizen Coffee on Ekkamai Road opens 07:30, Pinki’s Deli at Earth Ekamai opens 07:15 with a 250-baht tuna melt per Time Out, and Grab lists Le Café Phénix on Gateway’s G floor as 24 hours. These are listed for their hours rather than ranked, because full menus and prices are not published in the sources used here. The city-wide picture is in brunch in Bangkok, and coffee-first rooms on both sides of the road are in Thonglor cafes.

Japanese restaurants in Ekkamai

Teppen is the show-and-highballs end of Ekkamai’s Japanese food, and Time Out notes it has been a home from home for the area’s Japanese residents since 2013. Fatboy Izakaya on Soi 2 is the modern end: chef Arnie Marcella’s Japanese small plates with a twist, ramen cacio e pepe at 280 baht, the eight-piece Fatboy Roll at 650, crispy chicken skin at 120, and a lunch menu Friday to Sunday from noon with curried mushroom katsu at 300 and koji chicken leg at 400, all with miso soup. Its cocktails run 250 to 380 baht and the same crew opened Somsak, a modern Isan restaurant at Ekkamai Corner, according to BK Magazine.

Beyond the list, Grab and KTC name Joushitsu Sushi on Soi 2, an omakase-style counter that must be booked; Yurijin Izakaya at Earth Ekamai with mains from 199 baht and unlimited sides; Washoku Aji on the 3rd floor of Big C Ekkamai for bluefin and A5 wagyu; Gen Japanese Charcoal Grill at Vibes Ekkamai, opposite the Wattana Panich beef-noodle shop, with parking in the project; and Shakariki 432 on Sukhumvit 63 with karaoke rooms per Time Out. Gateway’s M floor has the chains. For Japanese tables across the city, see Japanese restaurants in Bangkok.

Thai food in Ekkamai and Thonglor-Ekkamai

The Thai kitchens on this list cover three price points. Heng Hoi Thod Chao Lay on Soi 14 is the cheap one: oyster omelettes with New Zealand oysters, mee krob, pad thai and tom yum from 10:00 to 01:00, in the same room as Kha Moo Kratathong’s stewed pork leg with braised beans, so one table can order from both menus. Somtam Nua on Soi 6 is the mid-range family one: a som tam brand with more than 23 years behind it, out of its mall branches into a wide stand-alone room with its own car park, roast duck larb and som tam with mangosteen, 251 to 500 baht a head. Its closing time differs by source (Google 22:00, Wongnai 21:00, Naewna midnight), so call before a late visit. ZAO is the one to cross town for.

Soi 10 is the serious Thai lane. Khao, chef Vichit Mukura’s dining room at number 15, has a page in the MICHELIN Guide, though not a star in the 2026 edition; KTC lists it open 11:30 to 14:00 and 17:30 to 22:00 with limited parking. Its menu and prices are not published in the sources used here, so it is not ranked. GOAT, on Lane 2 of the same soi, is Thai-Chinese-European and starred. Mother May I Kitchen on Lane 2 does cha-om sour curry and cha-om omelette with parking for about 20 cars per KTC, and Hereduan on Soi 21 is the late Thai seafood kitchen Grab records open to midnight. For the Thonglor side of the same cooking, see Thonglor restaurants.

Gateway Ekkamai and restaurants near the BTS

Gateway Ekkamai plugs straight into BTS exit 2 and sits beside the bus terminal, which makes it the easiest first stop on a wet evening. It is Japanese-themed. The M floor is the main food level, with Tenjo Sushi & Yakiniku buffet and a row of ramen and izakaya chains according to the hotel guides; the G floor has the food court, Ryoshi sushi per Klook, Salad Factory per KTC, and Le Café Phénix, which Grab lists as open 24 hours; the 4th floor had a cheaper food court in older guides. Tenants change often, so check the mall’s page before relying on any one of them. Parking at Gateway is free for three hours, which is why many drivers to Ekkamai start here and take a motorbike taxi up the soi.

Outside the mall and close to the station: Fatboy on Soi 2, Popcup on Soi 4, Somtam Nua and the Nowhere rooftop on Soi 6, and on Sukhumvit 61, Teppen and Ruay Mitr near Park Lane, where KTC also places Le Paris Ekamai, a croissant-and-steak cafe that validates parking in the Park Lane car park. Big C Ekkamai on Soi 6 has Washoku Aji on its 3rd floor and its own car park. One stop east is Phra Khanong, and two stops east is On Nut, covered in On Nut restaurants; two stops west, where EmQuartier takes over, is in Phrom Phong restaurants.

Ekkamai bars and late-night food

The line between bar and restaurant in Ekkamai is thin. Ruay Mitr is a supper house with a DJ and jelly beer; Fatboy is a bar where the chef matters; Nowhere on the 6th floor of the THA City Loft is the casual rooftop, open Tuesday to Sunday to midnight, with cocktails at 350 baht when it opened in 2017 and a pulled pork and mango quesadilla on its current Chope listing; Teppen is where Japanese residents drink highballs. Ruay Mitr, Fatboy and Nowhere close at midnight, and Teppen at 23:00 or midnight depending on the source. For a skyline with more height, the city list is in rooftop bars in Bangkok.

After midnight, Heng Hoi Thod on Soi 14 is the ranked answer until 01:00. Beyond the list, KTC records Tuba at 34 Soi Ekkamai 21, an Italian-Thai restaurant inside a vintage furniture showroom, open 09:00 to 02:00 with free parking from 10:00 to 17:00 and valet at 100 baht after; Time Out confirms the laab moo tod and strong cocktails. The Playroom cocktail bar on the 2nd floor of the Ekkamai Complex runs 18:00 to midnight, and Gokfayuen, the Hong Kong noodle shop on Thonglor Soi 9, serves to 02:30 per KTC. The BTS stops around midnight; the easiest taxi is outside Gateway.

Getting there and moving along the soi

BTS Ekkamai (E7) is on the Sukhumvit line, one stop east of Thong Lo and one west of Phra Khanong. Exit 2 connects to Gateway Ekkamai and the bus terminal side of Sukhumvit Road. Motorbike taxis queue at the soi mouth for the longer rides up the soi. There is no MRT on the soi, though the Phetchaburi end is a short ride from MRT Phetchaburi. To walk to Thonglor, take the lane from Ekkamai Soi 5, which comes out on Thonglor Soi 10.

Parking is the problem on a road of old houses in narrow lanes. Of the ranked restaurants, Somtam Nua on Soi 6 has its own lot per Wongnai; ZAO’s parking is on Soi Ekkamai 24 per KTC; Ruay Mitr allows street parking on Sukhumvit 61 after 20:00 and points to Park Lane or Major Ekkamai before that; Teppen has none and uses Park Lane too; GOAT and Cadence are in lanes you should not take a car into. The public options are Gateway (free three hours), Big C Ekkamai on Soi 6, and the Ekkamai Complex between Soi 19 and 21. If you are still deciding which side of the pair to eat on, Thonglor restaurants uses the same method.