Le Du
“One star and Thai ingredients only: Ton's river prawn justifies the trip. Book it for value nobody else at this level offers.”
About Le Du
Thitid Tassanakajohn, known to everyone as Ton, came home from New York kitchens including Eleven Madison Park and The Modern and opened Le Du in 2014 with a single constraint: every ingredient on the menu is Thai. The name is not French but Thai, a rendering of the word for season. A decade on, the small Silom room holds a Michelin star, kept again in the 2026 guide, and a place in history as the restaurant that topped Asia's 50 Best in 2023.
The signature is the southern river prawn, grilled until the head fat runs, served over rice with shrimp paste sauce; it has stayed on the menu for years because guests revolt when it leaves. Around it, the four course menu at ฿3,900 and six course at ฿4,500 change with the seasons, drawing organic rice from the north, crab from the gulf and vegetables from small growers the menu credits by name. The cooking is Thai in flavour and New York in discipline.
The value case is unusual at this level. With the wine pairing at ฿2,500, a full six course evening lands near ฿7,000, roughly half what Bangkok's other starred tasting rooms ask, and you book directly on the restaurant's site with a card guarantee rather than fighting a monthly release. Chef Ton now runs several rooms across the city, Nusara among them, but Le Du remains the thesis statement: Thai produce, stated plainly, cooked with conviction.
The Room
A compact, informal room off Silom Soi 7: bare tables, an open pass, wine bottles as decor and a noise level that welcomes actual conversation. It is the least intimidating starred room in Bangkok, and that is a feature rather than a compromise. Dress smart casual; nobody will blink at clean sneakers here.
Why book it, occasion by occasion
The room decides half the evening before a plate lands. Here is where that works in your favour.
For a first date with substance and an exit ramp
The four course menu is the smart first date format: serious enough to signal intent, short enough that a middling evening ends gracefully inside two hours. The room's informality removes the performance anxiety a grand dining room injects, and the ฿3,900 ticket means generosity without spectacle. Order the river prawn for the table; it is a shared moment built into the menu, and it gives the conversation somewhere to go.
For business where the bill is part of the message
Some negotiations need a room that says the relationship will be profitable, not extravagant. Le Du delivers a starred meal at roughly half the cost of its peers, which lets a host order the six courses and pairing without the guest feeling leveraged. Booking direct on the website means dates can move when schedules slip. Take an early table, keep the party to four, and let the kitchen's pacing set the agenda.
For a solo benchmark meal at fair money
If you eat alone to study kitchens, Le Du is the best syllabus in Bangkok: a menu built entirely on Thai produce, a room that treats one cover as a normal booking, and staff who answer sourcing questions in real detail. Four courses with the pairing keeps the evening near ฿6,500 and about two hours, leaving room in a trip for the city's other tables. Book a weeknight and take the longer menu if the produce list excites you.
What to order
The menu changes with the seasons, so treat these as standing instructions rather than a fixed list.
- The charcoal grilled river prawn
A giant river prawn, head fat spilling into shrimp paste rice. The signature. If you order nothing else deliberately, order this.
- Six courses over four
The ฿600 difference is the cheapest upgrade in fine dining Bangkok. The extra courses are usually where the kitchen experiments.
- The wine pairing at ฿2,500
Priced like a bistro pairing, chosen like a sommelier's argument. It is the best value line on the page.
- Whatever names a province
When a dish credits a grower or a region, take it over the safer sounding option. The sourcing is the restaurant's whole point.
Practical
- Address
- 399/3 Silom Soi 7, Bang Rak, Bangkok
- Reservations
- Direct on the restaurant's site · card guarantee required
- Menus
- Four courses ฿3,900 · six courses ฿4,500
- Pairing
- Wine pairing ฿2,500 · river prawn supplement ฿1,400
- Dress
- Smart casual, relaxed
- Seats
- A compact shophouse room; book ahead for weekends
- Dietary
- Menus adapt with notice; the prawn has no equal substitute
- Getting there
- Chong Nonsi BTS, five minutes on foot
Questions diners ask
Is Le Du worth it?
Yes, and it is the best value equation in starred Bangkok. One Michelin star, held in the 2026 guide, a history topping Asia's 50 Best in 2023, and a six course menu at ฿4,500 that peers price at double. The room is modest; the produce is not. For diners who care about cooking over chandeliers it is essential.
How much does Le Du cost?
Four courses run ฿3,900 and six courses ฿4,500 before drinks, with the wine pairing at ฿2,500 and a river prawn supplement at ฿1,400. A full evening for two lands around ฿14,000 to ฿16,000, which in Bangkok's starred tier qualifies as restraint rather than extravagance.
How do I book Le Du?
Directly through the reservation page on the restaurant's website: pick a date, hold it with a card, done. No monthly release rituals apply. Weekends fill a few weeks out and weeknights are gettable on shorter notice, which makes Le Du the flexible anchor around which to plan a Bangkok eating trip.
What should I order at Le Du?
Take the six course menu, add the wine pairing, and make sure the charcoal grilled river prawn is on your table by menu or by supplement. Beyond that, follow the provinces: the menu credits growers and regions by name, and the dishes carrying those credits are where the kitchen is proudest.