It was 1972 or 2515 in the Buddhist calendar. Bangkok had just two traffic lights, six major hotels, and Thai Airways flew Caravelles to a handful of regional airports. The Vietnam War was in full swing, and there were barely a dozen Western restaurants in the city. Taksin hadn’t been heard of yet…but Choice Foods had just been born.

From the very beginning, our mission was simple to deliver quality and fair value to the people of Thailand. We believed good food should be honest, accessible, and full of integrity...principles that still guide everything we do today.

Long before “Grab delivery” was an app, we ran our own home service called Handy Hamper, Bangkok’s original gourmet delivery, decades ahead of its time (and cheekily renamed by a few local wags).

Back then, there wasn’t a single dedicated steakhouse in Bangkok. So I decided to build one, The Beefeater. A little ambitious, perhaps, but proudly ahead of its time. I’m delighted to say it’s still standing today on Soi Thaniya, a three-level restaurant built inside a one-level shop house, as stubbornly determined as I was.

Over the years, I travelled the world from the UK and Ireland to Spain, Scandinavia, France, Canada, the US, and, of course, Australia and New Zealand forming connections and sourcing the best produce I could find.

To come from the Kingdom of Thailand was to some, a little exotic, so that at one time I was at a food event in Seattle, a lady yelled out “It’s Bangkok, Bangkok Bob!”

The name stuck, and so did the spirit behind it, a passion for bringing the world’s finest meat to your table, cooked to perfection in the Josper oven but, at affordable prices. I want you to enjoy what you eat and there's no better way than charcoal grilled.

More than 50 years later, that same passion remains at the heart of everything we do.

At Bangkok Bob’s, the only thing that enters our doors is quality which means the only thing that leaves our kitchen is excellence. Enjoy the experience.

— Bob Coombes
Founder, Bangkok Bob’s