Authors' Lounge

Afternoon tea in the original wing of the Mandarin Oriental, the hotel founded on this riverbank in 1876, in the room named for the writers the house has hosted since the age of Conrad and Maugham.

Why go

The lounge sits on the ground floor of the historic Authors' Wing, all white wicker, palms, and hand-painted fabrics, with framed photographs of the hotel's literary guests on the walls. The service is a traditional afternoon tea of finger sandwiches, pastries, freshly baked scones, and homemade jams, with a choice between the Western set and a Thai set that swaps in local sweets. Jeff's note is a television citation: Phil Rosenthal took his cup of Marco Polo tea here in the Bangkok episode of Somebody Feed Phil's first season, in the same hour he ate Jay Fai's crab omelet and Gaggan's tasting menu.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the afternoon tea; take the Thai set if you have done the Western ritual elsewhere, and the Marco Polo tea for the Phil of it.
• Avoid: showing up underdressed. The smart-casual code is enforced for all guests including children: long trousers and closed shoes for men, no sleeveless shirts. Weekends without a booking are a gamble.

What locals & experts say

• Mandarin Oriental (venue): "traditional afternoon tea of delicate finger sandwiches, pastries, freshly-baked scones and home-made jams" in the wing the hotel dates to 1876. ref
• Somebody Feed Phil, season 1 (show channel): the lounge appears as "a place where writers would come to work, collaborate and draw inspiration." ref

Good to know

• Timing: afternoons only; tea service ends by early evening.
• Booking: reserve ahead through the hotel's SevenRooms page, especially weekends; budget roughly B2,000 a head.
• Getting there: 48 Oriental Ave off Charoen Krung, a short taxi from the Surawong base or the river route via BTS Saphan Taksin and the hotel shuttle boat; Prachak's roast duck is ten minutes up the same road for the high-low double.

Jeff's take (his words)

• The note: Tea room. Somebody feed Phil.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

should-visit — The oldest dining room in Bangkok that still takes bookings: the Oriental's original wing, hotel founded 1876, where the house kept rooms for Maugham-era writers and now pours afternoon tea under the palms. You go for the room and the ritual, and the Thai set keeps it from being a colonial museum piece. Price and dress code make it an occasion rather than a stop, which is exactly how to use it.