Design boutiques and Japanese izakayas on Bangkok's long, stylish soi
Thong Lo is a long, fashionable soi that both Bangkok locals and long-term expats love, lined with fashion boutiques, designer select shops and cocktail bars. Comparing it to Siam Square (the downtown shopping strip where young Bangkokians hang out) isn't an exaggeration. Quite a few Japanese expats live in this area, so the soi has plenty of Japanese restaurants, izakayas, bakeries and Japanese specialty shops to match. Soi 13 alone, known as the "Japan Village," has gathered more than ten Japanese restaurants. The whole soi runs from BTS Thong Lo station down to the Saen Saep canal.
There are two community malls along the middle stretch of the soi — the one at the mouth of Soi 15 is Market Place Thonglor. The Commons on Soi 17 was designed from the start to be the "backyard" of the Thong Lo neighbourhood. Based on our street photos, Thong Lo ranks first among the three neighbourhoods for greenery. It also ranks first for healthcare — tucked deep in the soi is Camillian Hospital, founded by a Catholic religious order. Walk to the canal at the end of the soi and you can catch a boat west into the city centre.
As trendy as it is, the whole neighbourhood only has one BTS station — Thong Lo — so transport here ranks last among the three neighbourhoods. The soi is also long: walking from the station to the malls and hospital deep inside can be about a kilometre and a half. Everyday convenience likewise ranks last among the three neighbourhoods, so you might need to walk a bit further for small errands.
The soi is named after a person — one story says it was landowner Thonglo Khamhiran, who took part in the 1932 revolution that turned Thailand into a constitutional monarchy. Another version says it was named after a property developer active around the same era. When it was first laid out around 1958, it was just a small road flanked by canals on both sides, and by around 1960 it was only 5 metres wide. Later on, the soi was mostly filled with car showrooms and unremarkable little shops. Between 1997 and 2002, many homes were converted into storefronts, and with the BTS opening in 1999, the commercial strip gradually took shape. By the early 2000s, boutiques, restaurants and cocktail bars had moved in one after another, and Thong Lo kept getting trendier from there.
Compared with the 3 Bangkok neighbourhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
Hospitals with inpatient beds (2020 data), public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area, high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, and parks of 1 ha or more. Many Tokyo junior high students attend private schools, so junior high catchments are only a guide.
225 blocks · Curated boundary · Data version 2026-10-06
Compared against the Bangkok neighbourhoods in this guide; metrics without enough data are not ranked. Shopping counts convenience stores plus the nearer of a supermarket or a traditional market (public and private retail markets); night markets, vendor zones and shopping-street shops are not counted. Transit is rail-first with a lower weight for buses.
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