Plakan Log Home

The food is the reason to come, but the river view does a lot of heavy lifting too. This is a big timber log-cabin place on the water in Ban Nuea, attached to a resort, and it draws families, couples and company groups in roughly equal measure. The menu is long and firmly Thai. Reviewers keep circling back to the same things: stir-fried vermicelli with cha-om, Chinese kale in oyster sauce, spicy pork rib soup, spicy stir-fried chicken with tree basil, grilled pork and the pork egg omelette. If you order the chilli-heavy dishes, the bowl of ice and fresh vegetables that arrives alongside is there for a reason. Use it.

Two honest caveats. Prices sit above what you'd pay for casual Thai cooking elsewhere in Kanchanaburi, so don't come expecting shophouse rates. And the building sits close enough to the road that some tables pick up traffic noise. Ask for something facing the water if you can. The owner tends to be around greeting guests, which people notice and like.