Khaosan Lane

Khaosan Road is one of Bangkok’s busiest streets. The infamous backpacker haven and nightlife hotspot’s tiers of neon signage, live music, raucous bars and footpath dining make it a destination any time of day.

CBD eatery Khaosan Lane tries to channel the energy of the infamous hub. Set within the GPO’s Postal Lane, it’s strewn with colourful string lights, metal stools and photo collages of Khaosan Road – plus there’s live music some nights of the week and a midnight licence.

Although you can find a wide variety of foods on Khaosan Road, Khaosan Lane is a celebration of one particular dish: mu kratha (or moo kata), a style of Thai barbeque cooked on a dome-shaped grill surrounded by a moat of hotpot for choose-your-own-adventure tabletop cooking.

Literally translated to “skillet pig”, mu kratha tends to favour pork. Khaosan Lane’s barbeque platter comes with two kinds (marinated pork and pork belly) plus marinated beef, prawns, squid and mixed vegetables. There’s also a whole egg that diners can crack directly onto the grill, and glass noodles for them to cook in the broth, which collects all the flavour that pools down from the grilled meat.

There are also bubbling bowls of fragrant bone broth or tom yum-based hotpot; small plates of grilled or fried proteins and spicy, marinated seafood; plus a few harder-to-find dishes – namely, deep-fried duck beaks.

To accompany them, there’s Singha on tap and Thai-inspired cocktails available by the glass, pitcher or bucket. Be sure to come early, as the restaurant starts pulling a queue the moment it opens.