Horsamut

From the menu

Kong Kang pork belly · ฿380

Slow-cooked on a mangrove-wood charcoal clay stove.

Khao Yam Horsamut · ฿550

The house rice salad with citrus zest, pork belly and blue crab.

Ayutthaya grilled river prawn · ฿1,200

The big-ticket dish, grilled over charcoal.

You come for the view and stay for the cooking. Wat Arun sits directly across the Chao Phraya, floodlit after dark, with boats sliding past while you eat. Horsamut is run by the Rongros Dining Group, the people behind Rongros a short walk along the river, and the menu is coastal Thai, with seafood bought from small fishing boats and a lot of it grilled over charcoal. Reviewers keep singling out the sour soup with crispy mangosteen and the grilled sun-dried squid.

Prices are upscale for Thai food. On the restaurant's own menu, the slow-cooked pork belly is ฿380, the house rice salad with blue crab ฿550, and the grilled Ayutthaya river prawn ฿1,200. Indoors it's high-ceilinged and warm-toned, elegant without being stiff, which makes it a good pick for a birthday or an anniversary. Staff have a habit of turning up with a song if they know it's your celebration, so mention it when you book.

It opens daily from 11:00 to 23:00, so lunch works, though the temple lighting after dark is the real draw. Book ahead for a river-facing table, especially at weekends, by phone, email or LINE. It's on Soi Tha Kham near Wat Pho, about three minutes on foot from MRT Sanam Chai and a short walk from Tha Tien pier on the river boats. There's a second branch on Sukhumvit Soi 26, but it doesn't have the view.