Reports of Mizu’s demise may have been exaggerated

Bangkok’s oldest restaurant is being renovated.
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For more than half a century, Mizu’s Kitchen has been one of Bangkok’s culinary curiosities – a tiny restaurant tucked way rather innocuously at one end of Patpong Road that’s famed for its great value steaks served ‘sizzling’ on a heated late, and the ‘exotic’ smells that often permeate the premises.
 
It’s also the city’s oldest independent, non-Thai restaurant, though no one is exactly sure how old.
 
Right now, Mizu’s is closed for renovations. A sign dangling on its front door says as much, thus scotching rumours that it had closed for good. This will come as welcome news for its legion of fans, who include foreign correspondents and homesick expats, even though most admit they haven’t eaten there for ages.

Bangkok’s oldest restaurants
Other ‘old’ Bangkok restaurants that are not part of a hotel, include the following (some of which have changed ownership and location over time): 

1969
Neil’s Tavern
(Steakhouse)
Soi Ruam Rudee
1977
The Cedar
(Lebanese)
Sukhumvit 49
1980
The Cup
(English)
Rachadapisek
1983
Pan Pan
(Italian)
Sukhumvit 33

 1984
Bei Otto
(German)
Sukhumvit 20
 
1984
L’Opera
(Italian)
Sukhumvit 39
 
1986
Bourbon Street
(American and Cajun)
 
1989
Ratsstube
(German)
Soi Goethe,
Sathorn Soi 1

​1994
Witch’s Oyster Bar
(International)
Soi Ruam Rudee
 

1995
Gianni
(Italian)
Soi Tonson, Ploenchit
 
1995
Le Bouchon
(French)
Patpong 2
 
1996
Crepes & Co
(Mediterranean)
Soi Lang Suan, Soi Thonglor
 
1998
Philippe
(French)
Sukhumvit 39
 
2000
Indigo
(French)
Soi Convent

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How The BigChilli reported on Mizu’s in 2013

THE only person who really knows when Mizu’s Kitchen first opened in Patpong is its Japanese owner Mr Masakai, but since he’s now in his eighties and rarely around these days, you have to rely on the staff for the answer. And they’re not sure.
 
“Sixty years ago,” says Miss See, who’s worked for the restaurant for 35 years. “I think so anyway,” looking for confirmation  from a colleague who may have been with Mizu’s even longer. Her friend nods vaguely in agreement, not really knowing either. What is certainly true is that Mizu’s is Bangkok’s oldest independent non-Thai restaurant, a stalwart of the city’s naughtiest road and for a couple of decades the choice of advertising types, foreign correspondents and go-go bar owners.
 
It’s had its heydays but then, so has Patpong. A cubby hole of a place, Mizu’s is now quieter by far but it still serves some of the best value western and Japanese dishes in town. Where else can you get a five-course steak (“New York cut or Black Pepper”) dinner for B370? Or “Queue de boeuf braisee au vin rouge” for only B180?
 
And there aren’t many Bangkok restaurants that still stock Mateus Rose for B650 a bottle. Not available any longer, though, is Dubonnet at
B160 a glass. At least Miss See couldn’t find it. Probably Mizu’s most famous dish is the Special Sarika Steak, served sizzling on a hot plate with vegetables on the side. Just 220 baht. None of the Japanese dishes cost more than 160 baht, while international favorites like the
tasty Chicken Cordon Bleu are all priced 140- 160 baht. And there’s not a soup over 80 baht. Corkage is a steal at a mere 100 baht a bottle.
Apart from being the city’s oldest nonhotel restaurant, Mizu’s is also famed for the “exotic” smells and aromas that hover over the place. But after 60 years of daily cooking and dining, you wouldn’t expect anything less. Mizu’s Kitchen. 32 Patpong Road