The Best Crab Restaurants in Bangkok, from Curry Crab to Crab Omelette

The best crab restaurant in Bangkok depends on the dish you are after. For fried curry crab, the classic is Somboon Seafood, which has served it since 1969. For a crab omelette, it is Jay Fai, the street-food kitchen with a MICHELIN star. For crab steamed with glass noodles, it is Somsak Pu Ob, a Bib Gourmand cart in Khlong San.

Every restaurant below is either recognized in the current MICHELIN Guide Thailand or names its crab dish on its own official pages, and each description comes from those sources rather than from our own meals. Opening days, booking rules and prices are in the questions at the end.

Fried curry crab: Somboon Seafood

Somboon Seafood began in 1969 in a single shophouse beside Chulalongkorn University and calls its fried curry crab the original signature: whole crab fried in a curry sauce with scallions and chilli, eaten with jasmine rice. If you would rather not crack shells, order the curry crab meat version, and the black pepper crab is the sharper alternative.

Somboon now runs eight branches, all in Bangkok. The MICHELIN Guide lists the Surawong branch on Surawong Road in Bang Rak, which it calls the best and the largest, seating up to 200. The Bantadthong branch on Soi Chulalongkorn 8 carries on the original restaurant, which moved there in 1991, and sits between MRT Sam Yan and BTS National Stadium stations. Both suit groups, since the menu is built for sharing: add roasted freshwater prawns with glass noodles or deep-fried sea bass with sweet fish sauce.

Crab omelette: Jay Fai and Krua Apsorn

Jay Fai is a shophouse kitchen on Maha Chai Road in the old city with one MICHELIN star, and the dish most people queue for is the crab omelette, which the MICHELIN Guide describes as crispy and golden-brown. It takes no reservations and is cash only, so treat it as the main event of a half day.

For a calmer version, Krua Apsorn on Samsen Road, a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, lists a fluffy crab omelette packed with crab meat among its own favorites. It is family-style central Thai cooking at moderate prices, and a relaxed alternative to the queue at Jay Fai.

Crab steamed with glass noodles: Somsak Pu Ob

Somsak Pu Ob (Charoen Rat) is a humble cart that has served the neighborhood for more than three decades and holds a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand. It is known for crab and prawns steamed on glass noodles, and the MICHELIN Guide advises stirring the juices at the bottom of the pot through the noodles. It is on Soi Charoen Rat 1 in Khlong San, and the MICHELIN Guide says it is easy to reach from BTS Wongwian Yai.

In Taling Chan district, in western Bangkok, Mae Khlong Hua Pla Mo Fai, a MICHELIN-selected restaurant, serves a stir-fried crab with glass noodles, spicy chilli and crunchy water mimosa.

Seafood restaurants for groups

• Here Hai (Vadhana): a Bib Gourmand on Soi Sukhumvit 63 whose seafood is shipped in from Surat Thani and served in large sharing portions. The MICHELIN Guide singles out the crab meat fried rice, cooked for a smoky aroma. You can ask for less spice.
• Lucky Seafood: a Bib Gourmand in Taling Chan with house-made curry and chilli pastes. The MICHELIN Guide recommends the stir-fried crab with bird's eye chilli and suggests ordering ahead or calling to check availability.
• Sang Thatien: a MICHELIN-selected restaurant in a former ice factory on Maha Rat Road in the old city, where the Guide calls the crab meat with fresh herbs and spicy sauce unmissable.

Crab for a special occasion

Several of Bangkok's refined dining rooms build a signature dish around crab. Phra Nakhon, the Thai restaurant at Capella Bangkok, focuses on southern Thai cooking, and the MICHELIN Guide highlights its crab and betel-leaf curry with vermicelli. K by Vicky Cheng, on the 56th floor of The Empire on South Sathon Road, serves Cantonese and Teochew cooking with a mud crab with olive leaf and garlic that the Guide describes as hands-on dining.

At Restaurant POTONG in Chinatown, which holds one MICHELIN star, the progressive Thai-Chinese tasting menu changes with the seasons; the restaurant says that from June to mid-November it features the roe of young mud crabs from Ranong. For a casual option in Phra Nakhon, The Island Bangkok lists a stir-fried crab curry with salted egg on its Thai menu. More ideas are on our Bangkok restaurants page.

Tips for a crab dinner in Bangkok

• Book where you can. Somboon takes online reservations at least 24 hours ahead. Jay Fai and many street-food kitchens do not take bookings, so expect to queue.
• Bring cash for the smaller places. The MICHELIN Guide lists Jay Fai as cash only.
• Order to share. Seafood restaurants such as Here Hai and Somboon serve large platters, so a group can try curry crab, crab fried rice and prawns in one meal.
• Check the day. Several of these restaurants close one or more days a week, and seasonal dishes come and go.

Sources: Somboon Seafood, Somboon Seafood history, Somboon Seafood locations, MICHELIN Guide, Somboon Seafood (Bang Rak), MICHELIN Guide, Jay Fai, MICHELIN Guide, Krua Apsorn, MICHELIN Guide, Somsak Pu Ob, MICHELIN Guide, Mae Khlong Hua Pla Mo Fai, MICHELIN Guide, Here Hai, MICHELIN Guide, Lucky Seafood, MICHELIN Guide, Sang Thatien, MICHELIN Guide, Phra Nakhon, MICHELIN Guide, K by Vicky Cheng, MICHELIN Guide, POTONG, The Island Bangkok. Checked September 26, 2026.