AL FRESCO DINING

A restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating, whether in a garden or on a terrace, is a special pleasure. In Bangkok there are a surprisingly large number of these, and we have been looking around at venues that offer extensive outdoor seating areas.

Issaya Siamese Club, the flagship of superstar chef Ian Kittichai, has a lovely garden area, and it is rather surprising to find this gracious old house in the grim industrial hinterland of Klong Toie.

Also surprising is to find that the distinctly un-exotic neighbourhood between Thonglor and Ekkamai is home to a royal palace, and The Gardens houses a suitably classy European-style restaurant that offers food at very reasonable prices.

We went further out into the wilds of Chaeng Wattana to visit Hidden Backyard Café and Hang Out, a hidden gem with its own garden and large pond, with waterside tables.

Back into the inner urban setting we came for Nadimos, a Lebanese restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 24 that has a very pleasant terrace fronting onto the street and shaded by big trees.

We went into Ekkamai Soi 12 for the extensive outdoor terrace at Ash Kickers Brisket & Bourbon, a totally authentic American BBQ smokehouse.

With a bit of luck the rain will hold off when you visit, but if not, each of these venues has very attractive indoor seating.