Japanese Chain/Franchise Restaurants in Bangkok, Thailand: Cheap, Delicious and Everywhere!
Bangkok, Thailand Has Many Delicious and Cheap Japanese Chain/franchise Restaurants
By Cassandra James
Thai’s love eating. Simple fact. They, of course, love Thai food but Japanese food is their next favorite thing. Bangkok, Thailand actually has many Japanese chain/franchise restaurants, so it’s very easy to get good, cheap Japanese food in Bangkok. Because they are chain/franchise restaurants, these Japanese restaurants are also in good locations, serve consistently excellent food, and often even offer discount cards. So, next time you’re feeling like eating Japanese food in Bangkok, check out these Japanese chain/franchise restaurants. Cheap, delicious and healthy too!
Fuji Japanese Restaurant – The first Japanese chain restaurant I ever visited in Bangkok was Fuji Restaurant. Fuji restaurant has around 50 locations in Bangkok and is one of the most popular restaurants in the city. Fuji serves Japanese food ranging from sashimi and sushi to tonkatsu and tsukadashi. Most of their menu items also come as a single item or as a ’set’. A set includes soup, several side dishes, rice and sometimes a dessert item or cut fresh fruit. You can eat at Fuji for as little as 100 baht (around $2.85) or as much as 500 baht (around $14.20). I eat at Fuji several times a month, usually order a set (tonkatsu or sushi set), and leave the restaurant very full and having only spent 240 baht ($6.75), including tip. Fuji’s food is very fresh, there are around 100 different choices, and all the food has photographs next to it so you can see what you’re going to order. Décor in the restaurants is also very pretty with lots of Japanese photos on the walls, bamboo walls and even some areas with traditional Japanese seating (on the floor on cushions). One thing I dislike about Fuji is they used to serve free fresh green tea, but now they only have bottled green tea and you have to pay for it. As green tea loses its healing properties about 15 minutes after it’s made, I never buy the bottled green tea at Fuji.
Ootoya Japanese Restaurant – I only discovered Ootoya Japanese restaurant this year, with a Thai friend who told me I just had to try it. Ootoya has been around for a few years, and is an extremely popular Japanese chain restaurant in Bangkok, with both Thais and foreigners alike. Ootoya has a smaller menu than Fuji, and prices are slightly higher for some items. Most of Ootoya’s menu though is much more ‘Japanese’ than Fuji’s, which tends to be a little less authentic in taste. Ootoya has a lot of noodle dishes, miso soups, tofu dishes, and dishes with rice topped with chicken, fish, pork, and then egg. The dishes at Ootoya are large, so you fill up easily, and if you order a set you’ll be very happy with your choices and the many flavors offered. The cost at Ootoya is around 200 baht (around $5.85), for most set dishes. I also like that they serve fresh green tea, and it’s free, with a choice of hot or cold. Ootoya is very busy, especially on the weekends, so expect at least a 15-20 minute wait at any of their branches. There are around 13 Ootoya branches in Bangkok right now, with more coming every month.
Zen Japanese Restaurant – Many Thais in Bangkok prefer Zen Japanese chain restaurant to others. I’ve only eaten at Zen three times and, while I enjoyed it, I didn’t really see much of a difference in selection or food, but the price was higher. Zen is a lovely restaurant, nice décor, friendly staff, delicious food, but at around 50 cents to $1 more per dish, I didn’t see much point. However, Zen also has several branches that do all-you-can-eat buffets and these are well worth the price. The Zen branch at Siam Discovery Centre in Bangkok is wonderful – enormous buffet, with every fresh Japanese food you can think of, and some you’ve never even heard of. Prices are quite high at between 450 and 700 baht ($12.75 and $20 – very high for Bangkok), but it is a great place for a special occasion. The good thing about Zen, because the prices are high, there’s not usually as much of a wait as there are at other Bangkok chain restaurants.
Oishi Japanese Restaurant – Oishi Japanese restaurant in Bangkok is popular, especially because of all the choices of restaurant. Oishi runs noodle shops, Japanese food chain restaurants (sushi, sashimi etc), Oishi Grand buffet restaurants, In and Out bakeries (awesome baked goods and lattes), a delivery service and a catering service. They’re famous for their large Oishi Grand Japanese buffet restaurants which also have some Chinese food and even seafood, so you get a nice variety. Depending on what time you eat, prices for this are around 250 to 500 baht ($7 to $14 – more expensive for dinner) – but the all-you-can-eat buffet at 500 baht is a good deal as it also includes soft drinks. Oishi also sells one of the most popular brands of bottled green tea at supermarkets all over Thailand.
As you can see, if you like inexpensive, delicious Japanese food, any one of these Bangkok Japanese chain restaurants would please you. With around 100 branches of Japanese chain/franchise restaurants to choose from in Bangkok, you really can’t go wrong.
