Top 10 Pad Kra Pao in Bangkok: Where to Eat Holy Basil Stir-Fry
Ten Bangkok places where holy basil stir-fry is the main event, from fiery Sukhumvit specialists to a Michelin-starred wagyu version.
Pad kra pao is the plate Bangkok eats when nobody can decide what to have: meat stir-fried hard with garlic, fresh chillies and a fistful of holy basil, spooned over jasmine rice and topped with a fried egg whose yolk is still runny. Every made-to-order cook in the city can make it, which is exactly why the good versions stand out. The best ones are fiery but balanced, smell strongly of basil, and are cooked dry enough that the sauce clings to the meat rather than pooling on the plate.
This list covers ten places worth crossing town for, from specialist shops that serve almost nothing else to a Michelin-starred tasting menu that features the dish. Most are casual, cheap and quick. A few take kra pao upmarket with Thai wagyu, dry-aged beef or crispy sea bass. All of them make kra pao the reason to visit, not an afterthought on a long menu.
If you want to cook it at home afterwards, our pad kra pao moo sap recipe walks you through the classic minced pork version.
What to look for
- Holy basil, not sweet basil. Real kra pao uses bai kra pao (holy basil), which tastes peppery and slightly clove-like. Sweet Thai basil (horapa) makes a different, softer dish.
- A dry, glossy finish. The meat should be coated in sauce, not swimming in it. A puddle of gravy under the rice usually means too much oyster sauce or water.
- Real heat. Chillies and garlic are pounded or chopped and fried first, so the heat runs through the whole plate. Many specialist shops let you choose a spice level.
- The egg. Kai dao, a fried egg with crisp, lacy edges and a soft yolk, is the standard topping. Some shops use duck eggs, which are richer.
- Texture in the meat. Good cooks get a little caramelisation on minced pork, or keep crispy pork belly crisp by adding it at the last moment.
1. Phed Mark
Opened in 2019 by Bangkok-based food vlogger Mark Wiens, Phed Mark is a small shop just down the steps from BTS Ekkamai, and its name is a pun on phet mak, "very spicy". It serves only kra pao. The menu started with pork and beef and has since grown to include chicken, squid, sour fermented sausage, wagyu beef and a vegetarian version with tofu and mushrooms.
Each plate comes with a fried duck egg with a runny yolk and crisp edges, and you choose your spice level. Even the middle levels are properly hot. Space is limited and food can take a while at busy times, so it pays to arrive soon after opening.
Where: Sukhumvit Road, Phra Khanong, at the foot of BTS Ekkamai. Order: minced pork kra pao with a duck egg, at a spice level you are confident about.
2. Gapow Tapae
Gapow Tapae (also written Gapao Tapae) is a small specialist on Soi Sukhumvit 23, a few minutes on foot from MRT Sukhumvit and BTS Asok, with more seating inside than the frontage suggests. It is best known for its Carolina Reaper kra pao, made with one of the hottest chillies in the world. For everyone else there are several heat levels and a long list of versions, including crispy sea bass, Sichuan pepper, charcoal-grilled chicken and a 45-day dry-aged beef kra pao with a deeper, beefier flavour than the usual minced meat.
Where: Soi Sukhumvit 23, near MRT Sukhumvit and BTS Asok. Order: the dry-aged beef or the crispy sea bass; the Reaper only if you mean it.
3. Teawkapow
Teawkapow (เตี๋ยวกะเพรา) is a local shop near the junction of Phahonyothin Road and Lat Phrao Road that cooks almost nothing but kra pao, and it now has a second branch on Lat Phrao-Wang Hin Road. Its kra pao is fried with chives as well as holy basil, which makes it richer and more savoury than most, and you can choose pork, chicken, Thai beef or wagyu. It also sells its stir-fry sauce in bottles if you want to take the flavour home.
Where: near the Phahonyothin and Lat Phrao Road junction, Chatuchak, with a branch on Lat Phrao-Wang Hin Road. Order: minced pork kra pao with a fried egg.
4. Kapaotair
Kapaotair is a kra pao-only counter inside the Gourmet Market supermarket at MRT Lat Phrao. It takes the made-to-order shop formula a step upmarket while keeping prices reasonable. The two dishes people come for are crispy pork belly kra pao (kra pao moo krob), with thick slices and very crisp skin, and minced Thai wagyu beef, generous with basil and chilli and strongly beefy.
Where: Gourmet Market, MRT Lat Phrao. Order: the crispy pork belly and minced pork combination, or the Thai wagyu, with a fried egg.
5. Nusara
At the other end of the scale, Nusara is chef Thitid "Ton" Tassanakajohn's intimate, Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant on Maha Rat Road, a few steps from Wat Pho. The Michelin Guide singles out its Thai wagyu stir-fried with holy basil as a highlight: a refined, small-plate take on kra pao within a longer meal.
Book well ahead, and expect a full tasting menu rather than a quick plate of rice.
Where: Maha Rat Road, Phra Nakhon, near Wat Pho. Order: the tasting menu, which features the wagyu holy basil stir-fry.
6. Kod Kaphrao
Kod Kaphrao (โคตรกะเพรา, roughly "seriously kra pao") is a specialist shop in a small food court on Soi Ari 1, just behind BTS Ari. It focuses on kra pao and is known for two things: a very tender stewed pork kra pao, which is softer and richer than the usual minced meat, and minced pork kra pao topped with a salted fried egg instead of a plain one. There are four spice levels, and you can swap the fried egg for an omelette.
Where: A One Ari, Soi Ari 1, Phaya Thai, near BTS Ari. Order: minced pork kra pao with the salted egg, or the stewed pork.
7. Original Pad Kra Pao 1993 (Kaprao Thae 1993)
Across the river in Khlong San, this compact shophouse on Soi Charoen Rat 4 serves fast, inexpensive kra pao. There are several meats to choose from, a seafood kra pao, and a spice scale that tops out at level 9 for those who want to test themselves. It is a useful stop if you are around Wongwian Yai or heading to Iconsiam.
Where: Soi Charoen Rat 4, Khlong San, near BTS Wongwian Yai. Order: classic minced pork, or the seafood version.
8. Kaprow Khun Phor
Kaprow Khun Phor (กะเพราคุณพ่อ) is a kra pao specialist on Silom Soi 20 with a café feel and a very long menu. Alongside the classic meats there are seafood, vegetarian, vegan and keto versions, and the heat runs across 15 levels. The best-known plates are the more upmarket ones: ground Thai wagyu served in a Japanese-style bowl, kurobuta pork and pepper shrimp.
Where: Silom Soi 20, Bang Rak. Order: the Thai wagyu kra pao, at a spice level from the lower half of the scale to start.
9. 55 Pochana
55 Pochana is a long-established made-to-order restaurant near BTS Thong Lo that is busiest from the evening until late at night. Its kra pao of choice is duck: fried duck tossed with a garlicky chilli sauce and topped with crispy fried basil, which gives a richer, crunchier plate than the usual minced meat. It is a good option if you are hungry after most specialist shops have closed.
Where: Sukhumvit, near BTS Thong Lo. Order: duck with chilli and basil, with rice.
10. Here Hai
Here Hai is a busy two-storey seafood restaurant on Soi Sukhumvit 63 (Ekkamai Road), listed in the Michelin Guide and best known for its crab fried rice. It earns a place here for its holy basil stir-fry made with scallops, a seafood take on kra pao built on good-quality shellfish. Dishes are made for sharing, so it suits a group who want kra pao alongside other plates.
Where: Soi Sukhumvit 63 (Ekkamai Road), Watthana, about 20 minutes on foot from BTS Ekkamai. Order: scallops with holy basil, plus the crab fried rice.
Tips for eating pad kra pao in Bangkok
- Order the egg. Ask for kai dao (fried egg) and, if you like it soft, mai suk (not fully cooked). Kai dao krob gets you crisp edges.
- Set the heat out loud. Phet nit noi means a little spicy, phet mak very spicy. Our guide to useful phrases for ordering food in Thailand has more.
- Use the condiments. A few drops of prik nam pla (fish sauce with sliced chillies) over the rice is how most Thais finish the plate.
- Go early. Popular specialists like Phed Mark and Gapow Tapae can mean a wait at lunchtime, so arriving soon after opening is the easiest fix.
- Pair up nearby shops. Teawkapow and Kapaotair are both in the Lat Phrao area, so you can try a neighbourhood specialist and a supermarket counter in one trip. Phed Mark and Here Hai are both around Ekkamai.
- Check before you travel. Small shops change hours, close for holidays or move. A quick look at the shop's Google Maps or social media page the same day saves a wasted trip.
Leonidas Georgiadis
Leonidas Georgiadis is the founder and writer of Aroy Mak Mak. He is from Greece, has been travelling in Thailand for almost twenty years and is married to a Thai wife, so Thai food is everyday family cooking in his home.
