A personal selection of places where the city softens — design-minded cafés, quiet gardens, vintage finds and workshops where craft still leads. For moments when you step slightly off pace and let Bangkok reveal itself, slowly.
HANDS AND HEART COFFEE ROASTERS
A quiet design-minded coffee & newspaper shop (mostly European magazines) where Bangkok slows down, just enough.
If you take your morning coffee here you either live in the hood or want to dip in the world of coffee with a twist, watching the owner doing the brew.
A treasure trove of vintage eyewear, where every frame feels like a found object and you get excellent advice from the store owner about each frame, where it comes from and which piece best fits your face shape. There is a integrated coffee place you might want to stop by.
A hidden pocket of old Bangkok, where manicured gardens soften the city’s pace and you dive inside the life of entrepreneur & businessman Nai Lert. Book a tour and see how Bangkok life was in the olden days when the former family home and now ground of the Aman Hotel (next door and owned by the Lert family) was surrounded by canals and rice fields. A perfect place to take a break from the busy streets of the city.
A beautifully edited archive of vintage fashion, curated with a collector’s eye. Women and Menswear, nicely curated and specialized in accessories. The shop owner is very knowledgeable about her stock and has interesting stories to tell when it comes to vintage hunting.
A denim laboratory where vintage jeans & sportswear are restored, reworked, and revered.
Even when it is not your style it is interesting to see how designer Songwut Thongthou who established Renim Project in 2018, has earned recognition in sustainable fashion circles, including awards such as the Prime Minister’s Export Award for Best Design.
Coffee Bar. A quietly confident coffee bar, perfect for taking a break and watching people walk by. They have the best homemade cheesecake in town and the area of Yaowarat / Samphanthawong is at the heart of the city’s historic Chinatown district which has a nice mix of local artisan people.
Hand-thrown ceramics with visible traces of the maker. Less a shop and more a working studio you can visit or book a workshop when you are interested in ceramic art. You also find a great stock on pieces with a little mistake that unfold their beauty likewise.
Stay at the Capella when in Bangkok & hop on a boat ride directly from the hotel pier — a calm 10-minute glide along the river straight to Iconsiam department store. The boat trip is included in your stay and takes you day long on the other side of the river. A valuable point thinking about Bangkok travel.
it’s not just pizza — carefully chosen wines and seasonal menu highlights. A garage-turned-gathering spot with good music & friendly energy, Enjoy a classic Margarita Pizza with an Asian twist. The kitchen closes at 9 pm.
Handcrafted furniture, ceramics & selected art pieces, set inside Warehouse30 Bangkok’s Creative District where you find galleries, Interior places and cafés. The Belgium design studio is known for creating customized furniture, often made with ancient woods and materials.
Come for the art. A bamboo and wood installation, created by Thai artist Korakot Aromdee which is outstanding and when you are into artist`s collaborations with their signature Miss Dior Bag, you find them all lined up on a shelf, which is an installation by itself. Well curated and worth a visit to see how Bangkok is doing Mega Brands.
AMAN NAI LERT SPA & LONGEVITY CLINIC
At the Aman Nai Lert Bangkok spa and longevity clinic, wellness is approached with Aman’s signature restraint: clinically precise, quietly luxurious, and designed for those who see longevity not as a trend, but as a lifelong discipline. Take a dip in their pool swimming through the crown of a 100 years old tree.