Indian Express
70 55-56 Phetchaburi 31 Alley, Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400
Skip the à la carte on your first visit and order the thali. One plate gives you the whole arc of the kitchen: samosas, biryani, curry, rotis, papad, salad, and gulab jamun to finish. The bar, the DJ programming, and the private rooms push this past the quick-curry category. For groups of six or more, ask for Mr. Rathnakar by name when you call.
You turn off Phetchaburi Road into Soi 31, walk past the low-key entrance, and the open kitchen is the first thing you see: a live display tucked along the interior wall, the heat of the tandoor pulling you in before anyone hands you a menu.
Indian Express seats 120. That is the first surprise.
Founder Bandi Vivek Wardhan opened the room on 1 March 2022, and the menu runs the length of the subcontinent. North Indian tandoor work sits alongside South Indian preparations, available as either à la carte plates or as a full thali. The thali is the way in. It arrives as a proper spread: crisp samosas, fragrant biryani, a creamy curry, soft rotis, papad, a fresh salad, and gulab jamun at the end. The kitchen runs halal across the entire menu, which matters in a city where halal Indian fine dining is genuinely thin on the ground.
The room carries authentic Indian artwork and traditional design elements, the kind that signals considered choices rather than decoration by committee. Outdoor seating with ambient lighting handles the evening hours, the bar is well-stocked with premium beverages and cocktails, and a banquet hall plus private dining sections sit behind the main floor for celebrations or corporate meals that need a proper room. DJ nights and live music are part of the regular programming, which is why the kitchen stays on until midnight every day of the week.
Reservations go by phone or WhatsApp at +66 97 297 0305. Mr. Rathnakar is the contact for group bookings and event setups in the banquet hall.
Go with at least three people. The thali is built for sharing, the tandoor plates land better across a table than solo, and the bar list is more interesting once someone else is ordering the second round.