Chef Ian Kittichai opened Issaya Siamese Club in December 2011 inside a restored early-20th-century Thai villa on Soi Si Akson in Sathorn. Before launching his flagship, Kittichai had already made history as the first Thai national appointed Executive Chef of a five-star hotel, taking that role at Four Seasons Bangkok in 1998 at age 30. He later opened the acclaimed Kittichai restaurant at SIXTY Soho in New York, which Food & Wine named among the best new Asian restaurants in America. Issaya draws on that full arc of experience.
The menu reimagines regional Thai recipes through fine-dining technique. Kittichai and his team source produce locally and grow select herbs in the restaurant's own garden, a practice that shapes dishes season by season. The approach earned Issaya a place on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants from 2014 to 2018, reaching No. 21 in 2017. The Michelin Guide Thailand has also recognized the restaurant with a MICHELIN Plate designation. In 2015, the French Republic awarded Kittichai the Officier de l'Ordre du Merite Agricole for his contributions to gastronomy and agriculture.
As a modern Thai restaurant in Sathorn, Bangkok, Issaya Siamese Club seats roughly 120 guests across indoor rooms and garden terraces. Kittichai remains a prominent figure in Thai food media, serving as lead judge on MasterChef Thailand and MasterChef Junior Thailand, and his 2013 cookbook bearing the restaurant's name placed third globally at the 2014 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
You enter through a garden thick with tropical plants and frangipani trees before reaching the villa itself. Inside, the rooms mix vintage Thai architecture with bold wallpaper, antique furniture, and splashes of color that keep the space playful rather than stuffy. Several smaller alcoves and private corners create a sense of intimacy even on a full night. The upstairs lounge adds Thai textiles and reclaimed wood for a different feel.
Service is warm and unhurried. Staff walk through the menu with genuine familiarity, and courses arrive at a pace that lets you settle into the setting. Lunch draws a mix of local professionals and visitors; dinner skews toward couples and small groups celebrating. The garden terrace fills first on cooler evenings, so request it early if that matters to you.
The Miang of Betel Leaf opens most meals on the right note: individual leaves wrapped around toasted coconut, ginger, lime, dried shrimp, and a tamarind-palm sugar sauce, each bite delivering the full range of Thai flavor in miniature. Slow-Braised Pork Belly arrives glazed and fork-tender after hours of cooking, served with a sauce that balances sweetness with enough heat to cut through the richness. Massaman Gae is the most talked-about main course at Issaya, a whole braised lamb shank in a deep, spice-heavy Massaman curry that collapses at the touch of a spoon. Lighter by design, the Issaya Garden Salad puts the on-site garden front and center, combining fresh herbs, edible flowers, and seasonal greens tossed in a citrus dressing. For dessert, the jasmine flower flan uses blooms picked from the property, translating the garden's fragrance into a clean, floral finish.
Issaya Siamese Club sits on Soi Si Akson off Chua Ploeng Road in the Sathorn district, roughly a ten-minute walk from BTS Chong Nonsi station. The villa is set back from the street behind its garden, easy to miss if you are not watching for the signage.
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