The buzz: A young hotelier starts a little side business with his girlfriend and a few friends that serves as their own after-work hangout, serving cocktails, simple Thai food and also attracting a small following of laid-back tourists and expats in the former site of Aalto Kitchen in Sun Square.

The décor: The small, two-story townhouse has a glass front and glows warm and yellow from the light. Furnishings are casual but elegant, with metal chairs and black tablecloths. The highlight is the outdoor terrace, offering a more refined version of street eating.

The food: Although the façade is a Western-style sidewalk café, there’s a sweet old auntie in the kitchen whipping up balanced, fresh Thai classics like pad krapao (B110-130), pong karee (B130) and tom kha kai (B130). Sure, the menu is catering to newcomers to Thai food, but the flavors are not all that watered down. They also plan to gradually include more Western dishes in the menu.

The drinks: They’re proud of their fruity mojitos (B150) though all their cocktails are in that price range. Other than beers and wines by the glass (B140), they also do fruit smoothies.

The crowd: A mix of Thais and expats, mostly young—definitely a casual crowd. Sometimes guys even go into the bathroom to change out of their work clothes.Mrigaa Sethi