Thonglor
Overview
Thonglor (also spelled Thong Lor and Thong Lo) is one of Bangkok’s most popular and hip areas. In’s an upscale fashionable district, where you will find world-class restaurants, great bars, plentiful shopping and some of the best nightlife in Bangkok.
It’s located along soi Sukhumvit 55 (also known as, unsurprisingly, soi Thonglor) and adjacent streets (soi Sukhumvit 49-59, as well as soi 32-40 on the even side). It’s a highly walkable area, buzzing with activity day or night.
So, what’s so special about Thonglor?
- The location is just right. It’s central enough so you are close to everything, and it’s also far enough from touristy areas so that cool crowds could feel at home, and proper chefs, baristas and artisans could fully take over the street.
- Great dining, cocktail, coffee and club scenes. This is probably what’s Thonglor is most famous for. From Micheline-star fine dining restaurants, third-wave independent coffee shops and experimental cocktail bars - to homemade Thai food, hole-in-the-wall bubble tea kiosks and dive pubs - you are in no danger of getting bored. An honorable mention goes to Thonglor’s many izakayas, ramen shops and sashimi eateries - like its neighbors Ekkamai and Phrom Phong, Thonglor became a popular area for Japanese expats in 2000s. It diversified over time, but many of the old haunts are still there. Thonglor’s club scene is more mature than RCA, less sleazy than Nana, and more expensive than both. There is good selection of clubs and places for an afterparty, however the nightlife is not intrusive or in-your-face.
- Great shopping. Arguably no city mastered the art of the shopping mall like Bangkok. However huge malls have drawbacks too. They take up a lot of land, they are bad for small business in immediate vicinity, they are bad for traffic and so on. So Thonglor eschews that in favor of many smaller lifestyle- or community malls, including J Avenue, The Commons, The Maze, Ei8ht Thonglor, Fifty-Fifth Thonglor and more. These are focused on indy and local shops, and normally include several restaurants and cafes, a coffee shop or two, several boutique stores, maybe a (hip) food court. These are spread through the area and give it a more livable, local feel.
- Variety. And we are not just talking about the number of cuisines you can find around the area (although there is plenty of those) or number of IPAs available on tap in your favorite local bar (again, solid variety). Most importantly, while we keep calling Thonglor an upscale neighborhood, and Bangkokians will definitely agree, it’s not overgentrified or sterilized either. For every 2-Michelin star R-Haan there is plenty of street food stalls, for every luxury boutique there is a local market.
Real estate market
Thonglor hs long been one of the most sought-after areas in Bangkok. Originally a residential neighborhood for wealthy Bangkok families, today it’s become a popular choice with affluent Thais and expats alike.
Due to high demand, Thonglor is one of the most expensive areas in Bangkok. This reflected both in market segmentation (most of the new launches are in premium, luxury or ultra-luxury segments) and in pricing. New launches in the premium range in the middle of the street are priced around 300,000 THB/sqm, luxury - 400,000 THB/sqm and higher.
Most of new launches in recent years have been luxury high-rises, or small scale boutique housing developments. Developers are competing to get the buyer attention with sophisticated facilities, collaborations with famous brands and lifestyle bonuses, however the core of the value offer is still the location. We expect to see more projects launched on the even side of Thonglor (soi Sukhumvit 32-40) in the next several years, as supply of land on the main Thonglor road dwindles.
Despite Thonglor being well established area, it still has new infrastructure development projects coming up. New monorail Grey line will run along soi Thonglor and will interchange with BTS Sukhumvit at BTS Thonglor station. Grey line is scheduled to launch in 2023.