The Thai Dining Experience

With the exception of dining on street food, or for that matter in a local Thai sit-down restaurant, it might seem on first glance that dining in Bangkok is no different from dining in a restaurant in any other cosmopolitan city.

The Thai Dining Experience

Bangkok restaurants serving international cuisine typically look, smell, and feel similar to their counterparts in Europe or North America. However, while the atmosphere and menu may make the dining experience familiar, there are certain distinctions to Bangkok dining that make the experience somewhat different from what you may be accustomed to back home.

Reservations: While it is standard practice in many parts of the world to make reservations prior to dining at a fine restaurant this is not always the case in Bangkok restaurants. While reservations are certainly necessary on popular holidays such as Valentines Day or New Years Eve, Bangkokians typically don’t make reservations when dining out. That said, if you want to guarantee yourself a table at a popular restaurant or you have a large party it is best to book ahead and it may be helpful to enlist the services of your hotel concierge or a competent Thai speaker to ensure the correct reservation date and details.

Language Barriers: One challenge that foreign diners deal with in Bangkok restaurants is the language barrier, which can cause uncomfortable situations and may interfere with the capability of your server to provide expected service. While there certainly are many restaurants with English speaking staff, western diners frequently experience some level of frustration with Thai staff not being able to communicate well in English. While certainly gracious, Thai waiters are typically not trained to provide the same service that foreigners are accustomed to in their home countries and they may get confused when confronted with a unfamiliar request in English. Consequently, drink orders may be forgotten or incorrect and complicated requests to amend dishes are often met with silence and confused stares. The best strategy is to remain patient; Thai people are typically willing to serve you appropriately, they simply are unaccustomed to our level of expectation in regards to dining service and occasionally lack the language skills to understand your request.

Check Please: While people of different countries may have different hand gestures for signaling to wait-staff that they wish to receive the bill, Thai waiters recognize a variety of indicators from patrons, having served diners from all corners of the Earth. That said, when verbally asking for the bill, Thai waiters expect diners to ask for a “Check Bin” which, while seemingly odd, is actually just “Check Bill”, as the Thai pronounce words ending in ‘l’ as ending in an ‘n’! After accepting payment on your bill, many restaurants will not provide a receipt unless you specifically ask for one. The Thai word for receipt is “bai-set.”

Tipping: World travelers often have difficulty with tipping in various countries as the practice varies greatly between nations. In Thailand, some restaurants include 10% service automatically while others do not. As many restaurants do not provide a receipt it is therefore necessary to examine the check for the inclusion of service prior to paying. If service is not included it is naturally at the diner’s discretion to leave a tip. Typically, Thai patrons leave a small tip: perhaps the remaining coins plus an additional 20-100 baht, depending on the amount of the check. Being aware that your waiter may make as little as 200 baht per day for a salary, you may wish to provide up to 10 percent tip even if the service is not included.