Sorn

Review Highlights

Alexander almost doesn't make it to Sorn. Food poisoning in Bangkok, the restaurant closed when he first arrives, and even getting the reservation took enormous effort. After flying to Singapore, he debates whether to come back at all — but everyone keeps telling him this place is incredible. He returns. Sorn is Thailand's first and only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, housed in a restored 90-year-old building off Sukhumvit 26, where Chef Supaksorn 'Ice' Jongsiri serves a 24-course journey through the 14 provinces of southern Thailand. The interior is inspired by southern rainforest — lush, detailed, and stunning — and the menu runs $215 per person. Despite his earlier vow to skip wine, Chef Ice's assurance that 'fresh spicy' pairs beautifully with the right wines changes his mind.

• ·"Let's Eat Rice" — the opening course sets the tone: a sago cracker with fat prawn, jasmine rice, and Tapi river prawn, introducing the "fresh spicy" warmth that Chef Ice describes as the soul of southern Thai cuisine
• ·Abalone with sweet and spicy salad — gently steamed for five hours, paired with green mango juice, ginger, mint, Thai seaweed, and salak (snake fruit); "the flavors are magical, nicely sweet with a bit of acidity"
• ·Silver sillago — a local fish from Phuket marinated in dark southern turmeric and served with a scallop sauce of coconut milk, garlic, coriander roots, and curry paste, finished with crispy garlic; "it felt like eating pork cracklings, and the crispiness was perfect"
• ·"The Ocean" — a three-part course: blue crab pickled in soy sauce, ginger, bergamot, and local rum on kumquat granita; Phuket rainbow lobster with cilantro, mango, and watermelon sauce; and spotted Babylon with chili oil, fermented soybean paste, shallots, and lime; "exciting, fresh, and very flavorful, presented beautifully"
• ·"Sto" (meaning 'great' in Yawi) — squid stuffed with burnt eggplant, stir-fried with lobster pieces, brushed with squid ink sauce, and topped with pickled chili, reflecting the southern fisherman's tradition of cooking fresh catch on the boat; "my mouth is burning, but in a good way — I suffer, but I enjoy it"; a rare local orange sorbet arrives as a perfectly timed palate cooler
• ·Crab stick — a signature dish on the menu since day one, made with crab from Surat Thani province, coated in yellow chili paste and mud crab roe; served with a warning and immediately followed by a melinjo soup with hand-squeezed coconut, dried shrimp, and dried squid as the 'med kit' to calm the heat
• ·Daikosin — the grand main course: perfectly steamed rice as the centerpiece, surrounded by four key dishes — rat tail catfish with sting beans and southern curry, a Thai-family-comfort omelette with tiger prawns and sweet basil, morning glory stir-fry with abalone liver, and roti with a deep, aromatic beef green curry, plus fish and chicken broth with pickled plum; "every element on the plates was fantastic, and I have never had anything quite like this before"
• ·Canned fruits by Sorn — a creative dessert telling the story of Chef Ice's time as a student in America, where he could only find Thai fruits in canned form: seasonal fruits featuring mangosteen with fresh fruit on the bottom, a sorbet, and caramel on top; "this is real creativity"

Sorn was "one of the most outstanding culinary experiences I had in my life." Despite food poisoning, extra flights from Singapore, and a hard-won reservation, the night proved worth every obstacle. The service was "exceptional — not the overly formal kind you sometimes get in Michelin-starred places, but honest, natural, and effortless." Chef Ice radiated strength and confidence, and the wine pairing changed Alexander's perspective on drinking wine with spicy food entirely. He reflects that Michelin and French gastronomy often narrow the vision of restaurants, suppressing local traditions — Sorn is the rare place where Thai culture connects beautifully with fine dining. Desserts continue with a longan sorbet and sago, black sticky rice with young coconut ice cream and cashews, and a trolley of traditional Thai sweets. "Sorn isn't just the best Thai restaurant I have ever been to. It's one of the best restaurants I have been to."

About

Sorn is Thailand's first and only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, housed in a beautifully restored 90-year-old building on a quiet side street off Sukhumvit 26 in Bangkok. Opened in 2018 by self-taught chef Supaksorn 'Ice' Jongsiri — who learned to cook in his grandmother's kitchen in Nakhon Si Thammarat — Sorn earned its first Michelin star within months, a second in 2019, and made history with its third in 2024. The 24-course tasting menu is a deep dive into the 14 southern Thai provinces, built on ultra-local sourcing from specific farmers and fishermen, with a philosophy Chef Ice describes as 'honest, Thai, and fulfilling.'