Somboon Seafood Sam Yan
315 Chamchuri Square Building, Phaya Thai Rd, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
Somboon Sam Yan is the founding location, reopened in 2008 inside Chamchuri Square, steps above MRT Sam Yan, making it the only branch open for both lunch and dinner. Order the Fried Curry Crab, the Roasted Fresh Water Prawns with Glass Noodle in clay pot, and the Deep-Fried Seabass with Sweet Fish Sauce. Those three dishes together represent the full Somboon story in a single table.
You step into Chamchuri Square and the history hits you before the food does. The original Somboon Seafood occupied a shophouse on this exact Sam Yan block in 1969, near Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, before the mall existed. When Chulalongkorn University reclaimed the land in 1991, the family relocated to Banthadthong. Then in 2008, when Chamchuri Square was built, the founders chose to return to the site of their beginning. That decision to come home matters. The Sam Yan branch carries the identity of a founding location while offering the practical advantage of being the only Somboon open at lunchtime. The dish that made the restaurant famous is the Fried Curry Crab, listed on the official website as the signature since 1969. Sea crabs from the Gulf of Thailand are stir-fried in a fragrant curry sauce finished with scallions and cayenne pepper. This version of the dish became so widely associated with Somboon that the Thailand Tourism Board recognised the brand as the restaurant that best represents fried curry crab in Bangkok. CNN has praised it among the best in Asia. The Michelin Guide Bangkok has listed Somboon continuously from 2018 through 2026. For guests who want to keep hands clean, the kitchen prepares the same curry sauce with peeled prawn meat, and this version travels just as well. The Roasted Fresh Water Prawns with Glass Noodle arrives in a hot clay pot, its glass noodles soaked through with garlic-prawn sauce. This dish carries its own Michelin Guide recognition, cited directly on the Somboon website. The Deep-Fried Seabass with Sweet Fish Sauce rounds out the essential order: whole fish fried at high heat until crisp to the bone, served with a honey-tinged fish sauce for dipping. The Sam Yan dining room is air-conditioned with a more contemporary fit-out than the older standalone branches. Lunch sets are available at 249 baht. The full menu runs from 340 to 860 baht per person, and reservations are accepted through the website or the call centre at 063-209-6969.