Baan Khanitha - Over-rated

I am an expat living in Bkk. Having read about the positive reviews and awards Baan Khanitha has, I decided to treat some friends visiting Bkk to a family dinner. There were 15 of us, 11 adults and 4 children (12, 10, 8, & 4yrs). Food was average. The red duck curry with grapes and green curry (beef and chicken) turned out to be somewhat watery. The prawn salad was too spicy, even though we asked for less spicy. I like the pomelo salad though, just the right mix of spice, sweetness and fragrance. The old house setting and ambience was a nice touch. We had a slightly too much to eat, even though the waiter tried to convince us twice that we had not ordered enough. At the end only 4 of us had room to share 2 servings of mango stickly rice.

Overall, dinner was fine until I got the bill. Bt 12,600 (US$ 370) for the food and drinks (we only had 2 beers, 4 soft drinks/juices and the rest of us had mineral water).

Food : 7/10
Ambience : 8/10
Service : 4/10 (waiter didn't know how to estimate the what was enough for us)
Price : US$ 20-25 per person (without wines)

Having lived in Bkk the last half year, I felt that this place is definitely over-rated. If you are prepared to pay this price, Lemongrass on Soi 24 offers better food experience.

If you fancy dining in old Thai houses, there are other restaurants prices less than half of this and offering food just as good; eg. Ruen Mallika, Ban Chiang & Mango Tree (with live Thai music).

This is one of the most delightful restaurants I have experienced in Bkk. Having lived here as an expat for the last 6 months, we went there based on recommendation of locals. I was there with my young kids. We arrived at 6.30pm on a Saturday without a reservation. The staff was very nice to prepare seats for us to wait and took orders from us while the table was being prepared.

When table was ready, we sat down and within 5 minutes the food was served. That turned out to be one of the most delicious dinners we had.

The spicy Thai steamed omellete (don't know the exact name but picture is on their name card) was very delicious, with the right mix of spice. The salt baked fish with the chilli dip was a irresistible. So was the stir fried "8-treasures". The thick curry crab had good spices but mild enough for children to eat. We had 8 dishes in all for under Bt2000.

Ambience was above average. Very nice place for dinner with family/friends.

Price : Bt 300 per person including drinks (without wines)