Soul Food Mahanakorn

Soul Food Mahanakorn is an assuming place for all of the international press coverage it’s received since opening. A nicely appointed dining room/bar is nestled snugly into an otherwise ordinary shophouse and the seating, although comfy, is very limited.

This only serves to add to the calm atmosphere the restaurant’s proprietor has endeavored to create and it’s hard not to slip into easy and engaged conversation over the uniquely contrived and brilliantly paired cocktails and the unpretentious and affordable food they’re paired off with.

This was sort of the owner, Jarret Wrisley, was trying to accomplish when he opened the place. Thai food from the top to the bottom of the long ladder of formality of service and setting is delicious, but some of the very best and most soothing and comforting is usually found along the bottom. On Lilliputian plastic stools along the sidewalk baked by the subtropical sun, and this glaringly less than opulent setting does not lend itself to the true enjoyment of what are in fact amazing dishes.

So that’s basically what Soul Food Mahanakorn is – it’s street food on nice plates enjoyed in a cool and amply cushioned dining room, with really unique and tasty cocktails. I can’t stress that one point enough – the drinks rock and aren’t too expensive.

It would fit in perfectly with the other trendy stuff on Thonglor, and does, except for that it isn’t cripplingly expensive. Using local and freshly sourced foods, liquors and everything else and keeping things free from unnecessary and costly culinary showboating makes it possible for them to serve great meals in an upscale atmosphere that even the fiscally challenged among us can afford to go hang out anytime without checking our bank balances first.

We include this restaurant on our food tour as well, because of the variety on the menu. While most of the menu is standard Thai, there are dishes from Burmese, Laos, Malaysian, and many of the other cuisines in South East Asia, and it is a great place to see how all of these foods are interrelated and have evolved together. And everyone there is easy to communicate with too.

Soul Food Mahanakorn has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, CNN and many other massive international news organizations, and has received a generally warm reception by most food critics. Might not be the fanciest place in town, but it’s definitely worth popping in for a bite next time you’re in town; but call in advance or you’ll be sitting at the bar, seating is VERY limited!