On Christmas Day this year, a Thai friend and I decided we needed to try a new restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand instead of going to our usual places. So, walking down Sukhumvit Soi 55, known as Soi Thonglor and Bangkok’s trendiest soi, we stumbled across Little Home Bakery. What drew us in was the delightful design of the restaurant – cream walls, down-home furniture, it looked like an upscale country restaurant in rural Tennessee. What kept us there was the extensive menu, the delicious looking baked goods and the Thai cuisine – all of which turned out to be spectacular.
What Is Little Home Bakery? – Much more than a bakery, Little Home Bakery is a small Thai chain restaurant that first opened in 1951. Beginning as a small bakery and cafe, In subsequent decades the restaurant’s owners opened several more locations and expanded into the restaurant business. Nowadays, there are five branches in various areas of Bangkok – either just a cafe and bakery or a restaurant combining both.
The Atmosphere at Little Home Bakery – What makes this Bangkok restaurant so special is it’s so unlike many other Bangkok eateries. With its American country-style design, large windows, cream walls and high ceilings, you feel immediately relaxed as soon as you walk through the door. Pair that with the comfy padded benches and chairs and kitchen-table style seating arrangements, and it’s kind of like eating at home. With a ton of friends.
The Food at Little Home Bakery – As soon as you walk into most of the branches, you’re faced with a large bakery counter stuffed full of bread, pastries and cakes. At the branch of Little Home Bakery on Sukhumvit Soi 55, to the immediate left of the counter is a large restaurant with seating also upstairs in a lovely loft area looking down into the main restaurant. You seat yourself and, as soon as you do, one of the waitresses arrives with a menu.
The menu is primarily Thai food with dishes like Tom Kha Gai (spicy coconut soup with chicken), Pad Thai, (Thai peanut noodles), Thai spaghetti, various pork, chicken and rice dishes and a variety of Thai appetizers. They also have several Thai salads (the prawn salad looked particularly tasty) and noodle dishes. Among the expat community though, they’re known for their American breakfasts, incredible fluffy pancakes and ice cream sundaes – just like being back home in America.
My friend and I decided on sharing an appetizer of corn and vegetables stuffed into small pastry cup cake shells (absolutely delicious). I then ordered Tom Kha Gai, my favorite spicy coconut soup with chicken, and my friend had a Thai soup of mushrooms and vegetables in a thick broth. We both ordered rice. For drinks, as it was so hot outside, we settled on Pepsi.
The food arrived, everything was piping hot, which is unusual in Thailand, perfectly spiced and flavored and with quite large portions. There was so much food, in fact, we only managed to eat half. And yes, everything was perfect.
When the bill arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to see, for a shared appetizer, two main courses, two orders of rice and two glasses of Pepsi (and don’t forget the portions were large), the charge was only 320 baht ($10.60) including the service charge. Five dollars each and not bad for a pleasant Christmas Eve lunch in lovely surroundings.
As we’re both watching our weight over Christmas, we didn’t pick up any of their baked goods but, while we were eating, we both remarked how many people kept arriving just to buy cakes or pastries – a sure sign they’re delicious – so I’ll be partaking of a couple the next time I eat at Little Home Bakery.
You’ll find the Little Home Bakery we ate at about a mile down Sukhumvit Soi 55 on the left hand side. There’s also another branch in Silom Center and one at Central Changwatana. But be warned you’ll be charmed – they really are lovely.
