Late Night Food in Bangkok and Beyond: Where to Eat

Mostly, yes, and it's some of the best food in the world. Choose busy stalls with a quick turnover, where food is cooked hot in front of you. Be more careful with raw seafood, salads and ice in very basic places, although most ice in Bangkok is factory-made. Carry some rehydration salts just in case.

Start with the dishes Thais eat every day: pad kra pao (stir-fried holy basil with minced meat and a fried egg over rice), khao man gai (chicken rice), noodle soups and grilled pork skewers. Som tam, the green papaya salad, is delicious but can be very spicy. Say 'mai phet' for not spicy, or 'phet nit noi' for a little. If you're unsure, point at what the locals are eating.

Yes. Grab Food and LINE MAN deliver across Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket, and many kitchens keep taking orders late into the night, especially around Sukhumvit. You can pay in the app or in cash. Most hotels won't let riders go upstairs, so meet them in the lobby. It's the easy answer after the bars close, and far cheaper than room service.

In Pattaya, the street stalls and small restaurants around Soi Buakhao, Second Road and the sois near Walking Street keep cooking late, and there's a 7-Eleven on almost every corner. In Phuket, the streets around Bangla Road in Patong have late kitchens and stalls, and food delivery apps cover the town. Night markets in both cities are best in the early evening, before you head out.

Pick somewhere comfortable, air-conditioned and not too formal, near your hotel. A good Thai restaurant, a riverside place or a mall with a view all work well, and many Thai women prefer somewhere relaxed over fine dining. VIP members get our picks for date-night restaurants in each city, with prices, so you can book with confidence.

Close by, so you don't lose the evening in traffic. The Sukhumvit side streets around Nana and Asok have stalls and small Thai restaurants serving into the night, and the Terminal 21 food court at Asok is cheap, clean and air-conditioned. Mall food courts usually work by loading money onto a card at a counter, paying stalls with it and cashing out the balance. Eat a proper meal: drinking on an empty stomach in the heat goes badly.

Something gentle and salty. Jok, a rice porridge with minced pork and ginger, and khao tom, its thinner, soupier cousin, are the classic late-night and morning-after meals, sold at stalls that open early or stay open late. A 7-Eleven toastie and a bottle of water will do in a pinch. Before bed, drink water with oral rehydration salts, sold at every 7-Eleven, and you'll wake up in much better shape.

Yes, though you have to ask, because fish sauce and meat stock go into many dishes. Look for yellow flags with red lettering, which mark jay food: Chinese-Buddhist vegan cooking with no meat, dairy, garlic or onion. The Thai word for vegetarian is mangsawirat, and saying 'mai sai nam pla' (no fish sauce) helps at ordinary stalls. Mall food courts give you the widest choice in one place.