Mayrai Padthai | Winebar
Thitid "Ton" Tassanakajohn, whose Le Du would go on to rank No. 1 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2023, opened this pad thai and natural wine bar in January 2020 on the second floor of a 200-year-old building by Wat Pho, selling his grandmother's recipe from B79 a plate.
Why go
The concept is a single dish taken seriously: pad thai in ascending builds, from the B79 glass-noodle Mayrai version to a B690 giant-river-prawn plate, with a khao soi with wagyu beef as the outlier, all matched to natural wine chosen by Ton's brother, sommelier Chaisiri "Tam" Tassanakajohn. Tam's stated policy in Time Out: "We want natural wine to be accessible to the general public, so the bottles we've selected are not intimidating." Glasses start around B200, and the house ya dong runs on 12 medicinal herbs. The room sits alongside Nusara, Ton's tasting-menu flagship, so the same staircase covers a B79 lunch and one of Asia's most decorated dinners.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the pad thai goong mae nam with river prawn if you are eating, the B79 original if you are drinking; Jeff's note is simply that this is Chef Pam's pad thai rec. Time Out flags the ya dong and the khao soi with wagyu.
- Avoid: Tuesday, when it is closed, and mixing it up with Mayrai at Wireless, the Isaan-focused offshoot that BK covered inside Baan; the Old Town shophouse is the original.
What locals & experts say
- Time Out Bangkok (January 2020, Phavitch Theeraphong):
a chill vibe that makes you think you were in one of the hip bars along Soi Nana,
with the full price ladder documented.1 - Michelin Guide editorial: places Mayrai
on the second floor of a 200-year-old building at 22 Soi Tha Thian... alongside Nusara.
3 - The group's own line:
Chef Ton's renowned homemade Pad Thai, inspired by his grandmother's cherished and much-loved recipes.
4 - Local rec: Chef Pam, per Jeff's note; no published version of her rec found, so it rides on his list.
Good to know
- Timing: Wednesday to Monday, noon to midnight, closed Tuesday (Time Out, 2020); all press is opening-era, so confirm current hours on Instagram @mayraibkk.
- Booking: walk-in per opening coverage; MRT Sanam Chai or the Tha Tien river pier.
- Pairing: Wat Pho is across the road; Nusara and Thipsamai (the pad thai icon across town) frame an accidental pad thai crawl.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: Chef pam rec for pad thai
Verdict
could-visit — The chef whose Le Du topped Asia's 50 Best in 2023 selling his grandmother's pad thai from B79 with unintimidating natural wine, upstairs in a 200-year-old building next to his own Nusara. As a one-dish-plus-a-glass stop folded into an Old Town day around Wat Pho it is exactly right; the format is deliberately narrow and the critical record thin and dated, so it stays a bolt-on rather than a detour of its own.