Thai restaurants in Old Town & Khao San

Old Town and Khao San, Bangkok hold six Thai kitchens on Weavify, and the gap between the ends of the list is about as wide as Thai food gets. Jay Fai cooks crab omelette and drunken noodles over charcoal in Phra Nakhon and has held a Michelin star for nine consecutive years. Thipsamai, which took its name in 1966, is widely credited as the oldest pad thai kitchen in the country and still wraps the noodles in egg. Both are street kitchens; neither takes the whole week off, but both take part of it.

Nusara runs a one-star modern Thai menu nearby, tom yum goong consomme and Isaan tartare, and sits alone in the top price band here. Krua Apsorn was founded by a cook who spent more than twenty-five years in the household of the Princess Mother, and its stir-fried crab with yellow curry is the dish people come for.

Two entries stretch the definition usefully. Sala Rattanakosin, in restored shophouses at Tha Tien, is open around the clock and cooks Thai and international dishes side by side. Malar in Samsen puts Thai and Indian food on one menu. Watch the week: Jay Fai opens Wednesday to Saturday only, and Thipsamai closes on Tuesdays.

1 of the 6 stays open past midnight: Sala Rattanakosin. Not open every day: Jay Fai (Wed to Sat only), Thipsamai (closed Tue).