The best restaurants in Silom depend on which end of the neighborhood you are visiting and what kind of meal you want. Somtum Der is a strong choice for Isan dishes near Sala Daeng, Somboon suits a shared seafood dinner on Surawong Road, and Krua Aroy-Aroy offers home-style Thai cooking near the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. Pick the meal and location together.
Somtum Der: an Isan meal near the station
Somtum Der's Sala Daeng restaurant is at 5/5 Sala Daeng Road. Its official directions point to Sala Daeng BTS exit 4 or Silom MRT exit 2, and its listed service runs daily from 11am to 11pm, with last orders at 10:15pm. [1]
That location makes it the most straightforward option here for a meal before or after using the rail network. It is also useful when different members of a group are arriving separately: send the Sala Daeng branch address rather than simply "Somtum Der Bangkok," because the operator also has a Tha Tien restaurant.
The menu is more interesting than treating som tam as one standardized papaya salad. It includes a corn salad with salted egg, papaya salads with different seafood or sausage combinations, grilled coconut-milk-marinated pork skewers and the restaurant's fried chicken thigh. [2]
For two people trying the restaurant for the first time, a salad, one grilled or fried protein and sticky rice provide a sensible starting order. Choose contrasting textures rather than several versions of the same salad. A larger table can explore more of the menu without making every dish compete for attention.
Read ingredients carefully when preferences are specific. Some salads use fermented fish sauce, cockles or other seafood; a dish built around vegetables is not automatically vegetarian. The official menu names these ingredients rather than concealing them behind a broad category. [2]
Ask for the spice level you actually enjoy. There is no prize for ordering a meal you cannot comfortably eat, and asking for less heat does not require abandoning the restaurant's more distinctive dishes.
Somtum Der is best for a casual shared meal with enough variety to reward a group. It is less suited to someone wanting a very quiet, formal dinner or a single delicate course between appointments.
Somboon Surawong: make crab the centerpiece
Somboon's Surawong branch is at 169 and 169/7–12 Surawong Road. The official branch directory lists service from 11am to 10pm, with last orders at 9:30pm. It is not on Silom Road itself, so use the full address when arranging a taxi or meeting friends. [3]
The obvious reason to come is curry crab. The restaurant lists both the whole-crab preparation and a picked-crab-meat version. That is a meaningful choice, especially for a group: one requires more work at the table, while the other is easier to portion and eat. [4]
For a first meal, choose one version rather than ordering both. Add rice and something lighter or differently prepared, then decide whether the group needs another seafood dish. The point is to enjoy the crab, not bury it among several similarly rich plates.
Whole seafood requires a slightly different price conversation from a fixed individual meal. Confirm the size and total amount for the actual crab being ordered. A menu price for picked meat is not automatically the price of a whole crab, and a quotation by weight is not a complete bill.
Somboon works especially well when dinner is a group event. A solo traveler may find it harder to explore several dishes without over-ordering; Somtum Der or a simpler home-style meal can be a more adaptable choice.
There is no need to travel to another Somboon branch simply because a general Bangkok guide names it first. When staying in Silom, Surawong is the relevant location to assess.
Krua Aroy-Aroy: home-style cooking by the Hindu temple
Krua Aroy-Aroy identifies itself on Pan Road, opposite the Hindu temple commonly called Wat Khaek, in Silom. Its own social-links page confirms that location and connects to the restaurant's ordering and contact channels. [5]
Thai food publication Ryoii describes its home-style repertoire, including chicken massaman curry, chicken khao soi, fish cakes and green curry with rice noodles. These are useful examples of the cooking, not a guarantee that every item is available at every service. [6]
Choose it when you want a more focused meal rather than a seafood spread. A curry with rice or noodles is a different proposition from selecting a whole crab, and can fit more naturally into a day spent exploring this part of Silom.
The menu examples also make a practical point: "Thai food" is not one flavor profile. A coconut-rich massaman curry, a noodle dish and fish cakes provide different textures and levels of richness. Ask what is ready and appealing that day rather than arriving with an inflexible order based on an old photograph.
The temple is a helpful landmark for finding the restaurant, but do not assume that every nearby restaurant shares the temple's dietary practices. Discuss meat, seafood and other ingredients directly with the kitchen when that matters.
This is the least useful choice to build around an unverified late-night schedule. Plan it as a daytime meal and confirm service through the restaurant's own contact channel if your arrival time is critical. Current operator-confirmed opening hours were not available in the accessible material used for this guide.
Build a meal into Silom, not a detour across it
For a station-centered day, start with Somtum Der. For an evening with friends who specifically want seafood, make Somboon the destination. For exploring around Pan Road and the temple, Krua Aroy-Aroy gives the meal a natural place in that route.
Do not turn these three recommendations into a same-day checklist. The menus overlap enough in richness that sampling all three would be less enjoyable than giving one meal proper attention.
For mixed dietary needs, send the restaurant a specific question before booking: which dishes can be prepared without the ingredient concerned? "Vegetarian options?" can produce a less useful answer than asking about fish sauce, shrimp paste or stock in the particular dish you want.
Finally, leave some appetite for the food itself. A good Silom meal does not require ordering every famous item or crossing the neighborhood twice. Choose a restaurant for the kind of cooking it does well, order a coherent combination, and let the rest of the day stay flexible.
Source and editor notes
Selection is geographically focused on Silom and adjacent Surawong, not a generic Bangkok list. Operator sources confirm branch locations and menus. Krua Aroy-Aroy's dishes are supported by a Thai food publication; its current service hours could not be independently confirmed and are not presented as verified.
.jpg){kind=link}