In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Three shops cover the question. Thipsamai on Maha Chai Road is the famous one: pad thai wrapped in a thin egg omelette, open 09:00 to midnight and shut every Tuesday, with a queue at dinner. Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu on Dinso Road is a Michelin Bib Gourmand that cooks over high heat until midnight and takes credit cards. Baan Phadthai is a sit-down restaurant near BTS Saphan Taksin that makes its pad thai with an 18-ingredient sauce. Pick Thipsamai for the name, Fai Ta Lu for a late, easy plate and Baan Phadthai for a table by the river boats. For the whole city, see where to eat in Bangkok. Or book a tour: the Chinatown food tour with a Michelin-recognised stallad (from ฿1,150, 4.8 stars from 446 reviews) has a guide pick the stalls for 10 or more tastings in about 3 hours.
Michelin status is from the Michelin Guide Thailand 2026; hours are each shop’s own. Updated November 2026. How the guides are made
The three shops compared
| Shop | Area | Open | Closed | Michelin | What to order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thipsamai | Old Town, Maha Chai Road | Daily 09:00-24:00 | Every Tuesday | Not in the 2026 Bib Gourmand list | Egg-wrapped pad thai, orange juice |
| Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu | Old Town, Dinso Road | Daily 10:00-24:00 | None | Bib Gourmand, 2026 | Pad thai with char-grilled pork loin, or with fresh prawns |
| Baan Phadthai | Charoen Krung Soi 44, near BTS Saphan Taksin | Daily 11:00-22:00 | None | Bib Gourmand 2018-2023 | Pad thai in the 18-ingredient sauce |
Thipsamai
Old Town · 313-315 Maha Chai Road, Samran Rat · daily 09:00-24:00, closed every Tuesday · the venue’s site
The reference shop. Pad thai was promoted as a national dish by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram during the Second World War, and Thipsamai says its small restaurant began then. Customers called it Pad Thai Pratu Phi, after the Ghost Gate junction beside it, and the name changed to Thipsamai in 1966 (thipsamai.com). The Chanthaburi rice noodles and a homemade prawn oil go into the wok, and the plate that made it famous, pad thai with prawn oil and fresh deep-sea prawns, comes wrapped in a thin egg omelette. Order that, and a glass of fresh orange juice.
The open kitchen at Thipsamai. Photo: LWYang from USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Pad thai with prawns at Thipsamai. Photo: Iudexvivorum, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
A queue forms at the door at dinner. A reviewer at Lady Iron Chef found the plain plate less good than its fame; the egg-wrapped one is the plate to order. There are branches at Sai 4, ICONSIAM and Siam Paragon, with the Maha Chai Road shop the original; the Sai 4 branch opens 11:00 to 20:00. The Old Town is covered by the Rattanakosin old city walk.
Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu
Old Town · 115/5 Dinso Road, Bowon Niwet · daily 10:00-24:00 · credit cards accepted · Michelin page
A Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Thailand 2026, by chef Andy Yang, in an air-conditioned shop on Dinso Road. The Michelin page opens with the smell of sizzling pork, and the signature plate is pad thai topped with char-grilled slices of pork loin. The other plate to order is the pad thai with fresh prawns stir-fried in their shells, which the guide says keeps the meat sweeter.
It is the easy one: it takes cards, it stays open until midnight, and it has no closed day. It takes no bookings, so the cost is whatever queue is at the door.
Baan Phadthai
Charoen Krung · 21-23 Soi Charoen Krung 44, North Sathorn, 3 minutes from BTS Saphan Taksin · daily 11:00-22:00 · the venue’s site
A sit-down restaurant that specialises in pad thai, in a house of about 50 years furnished with antique wood partitions from Ayutthaya. The sauce uses 18 ingredients, and the noodles are Sen Jan, the rice noodle from Chanthaburi. Order the pad thai; the menu also lists Thai dishes and desserts. By its own account it held a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide from 2018 to 2023.
It is a table and a menu rather than a counter and a wok, and it sits on the way to the river: Sathorn Pier is beside BTS Saphan Taksin, so it works as a lunch before a boat to the temples (Bangkok public transport).
Which to pick
- You want the famous plate: Thipsamai, any day but Tuesday. Go early in the evening.
- You want a late dinner or a card payment: Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu, until midnight.
- You want a sit-down lunch by the river boats: Baan Phadthai.
- You want it from a cart: the evening stalls on Yaowarat Road and at the night markets cook it to order; pay in cash.
Next
Where to eat in Bangkok has the Bib Gourmand noodle and congee shops, the Michelin stars and the rooftops. Bangkok food tours compares the guided options, and the Chinatown and Talat Noi walk ends on Yaowarat Road at dusk.
Common questions
Where is the most famous pad thai in Bangkok?
Thipsamai, at 313-315 Maha Chai Road in the Old Town, near the Pratu Phi (Ghost Gate) corner. It started as a small pad thai restaurant during the Second World War, took the name Thipsamai in 1966, and is known for the plate wrapped in a thin egg omelette. It is open daily from 09:00 to midnight and shut every Tuesday.
Which Bangkok pad thai shop has a Michelin listing?
Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu on Dinso Road is a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Thailand 2026. Baan Phadthai held a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide from 2018 to 2023, according to its own site.
Which pad thai shop takes credit cards?
Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu takes credit cards, according to its Michelin page. Carry cash for street carts and for Thipsamai's queue.
Which pad thai shops are open late?
Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu is open daily until midnight and Thipsamai until midnight every day except Tuesday. Baan Phadthai closes at 22:00.
What noodles go into pad thai?
Flat rice noodles stir-fried with egg, tofu, dried shrimp and a sauce built on tamarind and fish sauce, served with lime, peanuts and chilli. Thipsamai uses noodles from Chanthaburi province and a homemade prawn oil.
