Phrom Phong –Worth Visiting or Staying Around The Area?

Phrom Phong has a BTS station located right outside not one but two of Bangkok’s finest designer malls. It provides direct access to both, and is an indication of what to expect from the area. 

Locals tend to regard the area as fairly ‘hi-so’ which is reflected in the number of drinking and eating establishments (and their prices compared to other areas). But there’s much more to consider when it comes to this area of Bangkok–so let’s take a closer look at the Phrom Phong region of Bangkok and you can decide for yourself if it’s worth visiting or staying around the area. 

The Main Soi’s of Phrom Phong 

As you make your way towards Phrom Phong from the previous BTS stop and transportation interchange hub of Asok, you’ll notice even numbered sois on the right side and uneven on the left. It’s a 10-minute walk from the Asok BTS to the Phrom Phong BTS and a good chance to check out some of the sois along the way. 

Soi 18 marks the point where Asok starts to merge into the Phrom Phong vicinity, eventually connecting with Soi 20, and there are a few hotels and restaurants worth checking out along the way.  

• Soi 19 is a bustling street which runs next to the massive Terminal 21 shopping mall and parallels Soi 21, also known as Asok Montri Road. This soi has a range of huge hotels and a few restaurants and spas, and Soi 21 is a huge road that contains mostly gridlocked traffic, hotels, and a few spas. 

• Things start to get a little more interesting when you come to sois 22 and 23. Soi 22 has undergone a fair few revamps in recent years and these days is a mix of hotels, bars, apartments, and restaurants. It used to contain Washington Square— a prime nightlife and  ‘entertainment’ zone very much on the sleazy side. This was demolished a few years back to make way for a new shopping centre.

• Soi 23 also has something of a reputation which largely comes from the fact that it contains the infamous Soi Cowboy (which has another entrance/exit point on said Soi 21) and a few massage joints that may offer more than just a standard massage ending. There are also sports bars, pubs, and proper spas along with a decent selection of eateries to be found down Soi 23.

• Soi 24 is next door to the Emporium Shopping Mall and BTS Phrom Phong. This is a long road that runs down to Rama IV and is chock a-block with hotels, apartments and restaurants. Opposite the Emporium on the other side of the station is the even more impressive Emquartier Mall.

• Soi 25 is next door to the Jasmine City Building which contains the Jasmine City Hotel and a bunch of interesting things like language schools, dance studios, and a ‘soft’ muaythai gym for beginners and tourists. This is a short soi before the Asok neighbourhood morphs into Phrom Phong, and there’s not much going on here aside from a couple of spas and a long-running Italian Pizzeria and restaurant.

• Soi 26 has a few decent restaurants, shops and cafes, along with a few other interesting features like kids’ learning zones and. There are a few seedy-looking massage parlours and karaoke joints geared towards the Japanese as you enter the soi but there’s a whole bunch of other aspects worth exploring further down. 

• Soi 31 has some of the best restaurants in the city including fine-dining Thai and Italian options along with a plethora of trendy little coffee shops. There are a few spa-type massage parlours down here too.

• Soi 33 is a slightly bizarre mix of bars (including the girly variety) and high-end condos. Massage parlours and hostess bars catering to Japanese, Koreans, and to a lesser extent older Westerners dominate the Sukhumvit Road end of this soi. If you can see past this though, you’ll find a handful of great restaurants, cafes and hotels more in line with the family-friendly aspects of Phrom Phong.

• Soi 33/1 is quite small and home to a couple of British pubs and a handful of Japanese restaurants. There are also a few massage spas, coffee shops, and a Japanese supermarket catering to local expats.

Attractions and Things to Do 

Phrom Phong is an area with many different avenues to explore. Some of the sois are more obvious than others in terms of eateries and entertainment etc., but this is an affluent and well-developed neighbourhood due to the high numbers of expats, and there is way more to it than is often immediately apparent. 

For starters there are the two huge and mega-modern hi-so malls by way of Emporium and Emquartier facing each other from opposite sides of the road with the BTS station between them in the middle, and providing direct access to both from the station. 

These two malls, which are owned by the same company, epitomise the city’s pre-occupation with designer shopping complexes that encompass everything from retail stores, to eateries, to kids entertainment zones, cinemas, and even a garden, to name just a few of the attractions. 

There is also an excellent park called Benchasiri Park on the same side as Emporium, which can offer some much-needed respite from the heat and concrete. There’s a small skatepark, basketball courts, a running perimeter, and a nice artificial pond in the middle that gets lit up at night . There’s even a swimming pool in there towards the far end which all makes the park worth checking out when you’ve had enough of pounding the concrete. 

You’ll also find a long-established Villa Market on the main road–another sign of the affluence and international flavours of Phrom Phong. The area is in fact quite highly-populated by Japanese expats and visitors and this is why you’ll see so many Japanese eateries, drinking dens, and even massage parlours with signs in Japanese. 

While we’re on the subject we might mention that there is a fairly high concentration of all types of massage shops in and around the Phrom Phong area. These encompass all avenues from high-end spas and treatment centres to the more ‘entertainment-oriented’ establishments. Many of these are tailored specifically towards Japanese and Korean clientele and have signs exclusively in those languages. 

There are also plenty of leisure-driven places like gyms and fitness and the excellent Yogatique on Soi 23 is worth a look if you fancy dropping a few asanas.  

Drinking & Nightlife 

This entire district really encompasses all the different types of drinking establishments likely to be found in the city. This includes the smaller, more open-type bars popular with Westerners which start at around Soi 22. 

There is also a mixture of various other types of bars and pubs catering to various clientele like Japanese, Westerners, and locals. If you don’t much fancy the neon of Soi Cowboy, there’s still a great selection of pubs, bars, and sports bars down Soi 23 and some of the established ones include: 

• The Clubhouse
• Bradman’s Bistro
• The Crossbar 

There are also a couple of more than decent beer gardens on Soi 23, with Craft and Whisgars being a couple of prime examples.

Club fans will be delighted to learn of the ‘underground’ club style of Glow across from the Japanese Karaoke bars on Soi 23. This is a popular and well-situated spot that has been in operation since 2005 and regularly hosts international guest DJs.

Soi 30 is pretty good for bars and pubs, and then there’s The Robin Hood on the corner of Soi 33/1 which for many is one of Bangkok’s best British pubs. You’ll find yourself at home in this place if you enjoy a ‘proper’ pub complete with classic furniture, a pool table,  and activities like weekly quiz nights.

Just a bit further along on the same soi is another Bangkok British pub institution by way of The Royal Oak. Like the Robin Hood, this establishment is always packed with customers enjoying the drinks, the menu, and the events and activities like the weekly quiz night, Ladies’ Night, and even live comedy on weekends at the Bangkok Comedy Club upstairs.

Restaurants and Places to Eat 

There are more options than you can shake a stick at when it comes to eateries in the Phrom Phong district. This means lots of different flavours catering to different tastes, again with a large Japanese contingent and plenty of international options.

It goes without saying that it wouldn’t be wise to try and include them all here, so we’ll settle for an overview on this occasion and include a few options to cover different tastes.   

Soi 22 has a few decent eateries including a few good international options, without having to venture too far into the soi. 

If it’s plant-based cuisine that interests you then the Veganerie is a vegan bakery and cafe at the start of Sukhumvit Soi 24, right behind Benchasiri Park. Here you’ll find everything from cakes to smoothies to special vegan breakfasts.  

Soi 30 is good for authentic Japanese restaurants-a-plenty, and there’s the popular and elegant Italian restaurant Appia on Soi 31. Fine-dining Thai cuisine is also available on Soi 32 by way of Siam Wisdom. 

On the corner of Soi 33/1 as previously mentioned is The Robin Hood pub which offers a great early-bird breakfast as well as a popular Sunday roast.

Where To Stay–Hotels and Accommodation 

Again there are so many options across a broad spectrum of styles and budgets when it comes to staying in the area that just an overview is possible here. That means you can find the big name, 5-star mega hotels, slightly more mid-range options, and more recently a few smaller boutique-type residences and even hostels. 

So here’s a selection of options catering to slightly different tastes and budgets that should provide some insights as to what is available in this area. 

• The Rembrandt on Soi 18
• The Holiday Inn on Soi 22
• The Sleepbox on Soi 22
• Jasmine City Hotel on Soi 23
• The Emporium Suites on Soi 24 (overlooking Benchasiri Park)
• Hilton Sukhumvit on Soi 24
• Marriott Executive Apartments also on Soi 24
• Arize Hotel Sukhumvit on Soi 26
• Hotel Mermaid on Soi 29
• The Bless Hotel on Soi 30

The Bottom Line 

Phrom Phong is undoubtedly one of the best areas along the main Sukhumvit Road stretch in Bangkok’s inner regions. This is definitely the spot for any local or visiting Japanese, although there are many more international flavours to savour here. 

The food and accommodation prices are obviously going to be a little higher than other regions a bit further out and even somewhere like Nana, for instance (generally regarded as more of a ‘lo-so’ region). But if you have budgeted for it you possibly won’t notice too much of a difference and will enjoy the wider range of food, drink, and entertainment options here, along with easy access to the other attractions in the city via the BTS.