Aksorn
David Thompson opened Nahm London in 2001 and won Thai cuisine's first Michelin star there; a quarter century later the Michelin Guide Thailand 2026 handed him the country's first-ever Mentor Chef Award while Aksorn, the restaurant he opened in Bangkok in 2020, held its own star for a fifth guide.
Why go
Aksorn sits on the fifth floor of Central: The Original Store, the 1950 Charoenkrung storefront where the Chirathivat family's empire began as an imported-book shop, and the location is the concept: Thompson cooks mid-century Thai dishes resurrected from vintage cookbooks of the 1940s through 70s. Time Out calls it a world resurrected from vintage cookbooks and served in cinematic, family-style tasting menus.
The star arrived with the Michelin Guide Thailand 2022 debut and has held through 2026, with head chef Patipan Pae
Jipromma, about five years under Thompson, running the pass day to day.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the set menu moves with the archive, from B4,150++. Michelin's inspectors name the smoked kingfish relish with wild ginger the highlight; BK Magazine's 2021 review flags Miang Mhark (prawns, wild ginger, coral leaves), the Song duck-egg wafer with pork and salted fish, and squid braised in sugar and soy.
- Avoid: expecting composed solo plates; service is family-style and the menu eats like a shared Thai table, so it suits a group better than a hushed date.
What locals & experts say
- BK Magazine (2021):
The flavors are bold and sometimes unusual—sour, umami, smoky, aromatic—and the dishes are probably unlike any you may have had before.
5 - Time Out Bangkok (2021, Marisa Marchitelli):
Set atop the original Central store on historic Charoenkrung Road, Aksorn is Chef David Thompson's homage to mid-century Thai cuisine.
1 - Michelin Guide Thailand 2026: One Star, and Thompson named the country's first Mentor Chef Award recipient as
Owner-Chef of Aksorn.
3 - Michelin, on the pedigree: Nahm London, opened 2001, was
the first Thai restaurant to earn a MICHELIN Star.
3
Good to know
- Timing: open daily, 6pm to 10pm.
- Booking: essential via SevenRooms on the venue site.
- Budget: set menus from B4,150++, roughly 50% above the B2,800 of the 2021 opening reviews.
- From voco Surawong: about 1.5km through Bang Rak, a 20-minute walk or a 5-minute ride; the 100 Mahaseth and Mahaniyom building is on the way home.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Ideal for sampling the latest fine dining venture from the ‘Godfather of Thai food’…"
Verdict
should-visit — David Thompson is the most credentialed foreigner in Thai food history, and his Nahm London won the cuisine's first Michelin star in 2002-era London. At Aksorn he cooks resurrected mid-century recipes above the 1950 storefront where Central began as a bookshop. A star held across five guides and Thailand's first Mentor Chef Award say the craft is current, and no other kitchen mines this archive. It stops short of must because the field above it (Sorn, Nusara, Potong) carries more firepower on today's lists; this is the detour for people who read menus as history.