Ethos

Address: 85/2 Tanao Road, Banglumpoo, Bangkok, 10200

Phone Number: 02 280 7549

Website: http://www.ethosnet.biz/

Opening Hours: 08:00 AM-11:00 PM

Cuisine: Thai, Western, International

Everyone who has been to Thailand must surely know the somewhat infamous Khao Sahn Road. It is the main tourist part of Bangkok and is a backpacker’s haven. Because of it’s convenience for ongoing travel, you are bound to end up here, whether you want to or not. It’s not the most appealing place because it is so over-run with tourism.

The upside to Khao Sahn Road is that just behind it, there is a little street that has several vegetarian restaurants. There is Mai Kaidee’s, which also has a branch in Chiang Mai, and the food there is very good but not so special for me because there is a branch in Chiang Mai. That’s why I prefer to come to Ethos. It is a place that is close to my heart since it was the first veggie restaurant that I ever came to when I first arrived in Thailand.

The food is amazing. They have a huge menu of Thai and Western food and my personal favourite is the hummus and falafel with pitta. They have so many interesting dishes that are made vegan such as a vegan lasagne. It’s delicious! Their portions are huge, too. In the menu they clearly state what is vegan or vegetarian or what can be made vegan, which is almost everything. We love that they have healthy western dishes like soups and salads as well. They also have delicious vegan desserts! I particularly like their translation page at the back of the menu which I think is such a nice touch and so useful for vegetarian travellers who are not familiar with the language.

The restaurant has a very nice ambiance with a low-lit and mellow design. It’s a lovely chilled out place to sit. You might just find yourself here a while. If you have a bus to wait for at one of the nearest offices, this is a nice place to pick to spend some time. They have great smoothies and plant-milk coffees for you too as well as beer and other alcohol if that’s your preference.

It all sounds like heaven but there a couple of things to warn you about. The restaurant is quite small, the seating is limited, and the place is popular. Expect to have to remove your shoes, sit at a floor table and possibly share with other diners if you go during lunch or dinner in the high season. Given that this a such a tourist area, I can understand how this encouragement can be beneficial to diners, whether this pleases you or not will depend on your personality.

Finally, we are disappointed that the Ethos menu contains a warning against drinking soy milk. We did not like this anti-vegan propaganda that is spread about the apparent dangers of soy which has in fact been proved to be untrue. We wish they would just use an alternative vegan milk instead, rather then to use soy milk with this warning.

With this said, it cannot be denied that Ethos really does serve up some of the best food that we have ever tasted in the whole of Thailand.