Udon Thani’s Best Restaurants – The Bookhouse Coffee Shop and Restaurant
The Bookhouse Coffee Shop and Restaurant is one of the very best restaurants in Udon Thani and a favourite place for many of the city’s expats and tourists to wine, dine and socialize. Those kudos are a great tribute to restaurateurs Jeremy and Nok whose determination to offer Udon Thani’s foreign community and Thai locals fantastic food in a wonderful environment has been a huge success, but their accomplishment hasn’t been handed to them ‘on a plate’.
The Bookhouse first opened its doors to patrons as a book and coffee shop in Adulyadet Road in September 2009. Snacks were introduced and then a select range of meals…. finally a full blown menu completed the transformation from a book and coffee shop to a restaurant which swiftly gathered great food reviews.
In June last year a change to their lease agreement forced Jeremy and Nok to make the decision to move the Bookhouse Coffee Shop and Restaurant…. lock, stock and smoking wok…. to a new location overlooking the picturesque setting of Nong Sim Lake, and the sizzling slogan ‘Steak on the Lake’ was born.
The Bookhouse is a tastefully ornamented restaurant with a stylish interior design, a sun-kissed country club style frontage and a delightful courtyard garden dining area at the rear. The Bookhouse is three charming restaurants rolled out as one, with Nong Sim’s beautiful lake and park sat sublimely by its side.
You can enjoy a ‘Steak on the Lake’ from 305 baht (US$10) and the view is extremely therapeutic. A stroll around Nong Sim public park is also a pleasant way to work off those hang around calories you might just add from the restaurant’s renowned monster servings which are sometimes a bit too much for some folk.
Jeremy and his Thai wife Nok have fashioned the Bookhouse into one of the best places to eat in Udon Thani and their menu has many traditional and popular European, Thai and Oriental dishes, as well as spicy Mexican and Indian meals too. The restaurant serves a wide-range of imported beers, spirits, cocktails, wines, soft drinks, tea and of course as the label states on the can, a fine selection of coffee. Free internet is available to customers as well.
Everyday at the Bookhouse starts with a huge serving of breakfast. The Great British Breakfast… and we’re talking big… is a lip smacking 180 baht, and the early morning hours on the lake have an international flavour too. Swiss, Scottish, German and American breakfasts are all available and a New York style Jalapeño Creme Cheese Bagel with crispy bacon is a tasty 120 baht (US$4) . Theme days have also been introduced on certain days of the week.
Burritos, fajitas, enchiladas, tacos and nachos transform mid week into Mexican Wednesday, and you can start your weekend with a monster Bookhouse pie when Friday becomes Pie-Day on the lake. Sunday Roast is the theme to finish the weekend with beef, pork, lamb and turkey traditional Sunday roast dinners served from midday. Both Pie-Day Friday and Sunday Roast Specials come with a complimentary drink of your choice. A Sunday roast beef dinner is priced 195 baht…. and remember, that includes a free drink.
Jeremy and Nok have a large collection of books for sale at the restaurant, mainly in English, but other languages are in stock. War, crime, Thai language and travel are some of the genre of literature available in the Bookhouse library located at the back of the courtyard garden.
The restaurant’s quality food and big servings make it a great value place to eat, and its three separate dining areas, friendly staff, well stocked library and wonderful view, all help make the Bookhouse Coffee Shop and Restaurant one of the best restaurants in Udon Thani.
Enjoy a ‘Steak on the Lake’ in Udon Thani.
Further Information
Bookhouse Coffee Shop and Restaurant
Nong Sim Park, Udon Thani, Thailand, 41000
Open Monday to Sunday 08:30-22:00 (Kitchen closes 21:00)
Reservations: Tel 084 945 4690
Website: www.thebookhouseandcoffeeshop.com
Nice report on what looks like a very nice place. I have never been to that Lake and it looks like a place that my family and I would enjoy followed by a meal for everyone at the steak on the lake. Great to see a place that someone has obviously put a lot of time and energy into and I wish them all the best.
MeMock – Jeremy and Nok have put a lot of time, energy and money into the Bookhouse and I think they came up trumps with their choice of relocation. The restaurant sits very nicely on the edge of Nong Sim Public Park. The view is very nice indeed. Next time you hit Udon try and make a date with a ‘Steak on the Lake’.
What’s with the empty beer glass? The English breakfast looks pretty good, although the bacon is a bit undercooked for my taste.
Lawrence – The empty beer glass… I hadn’t drank from it, the glass was empty from the word go. It was about nine in the morning and I don’t touch a drop that early. That’s unless I’m at an airport. The reason for the glass was that I thought it might make a good picture against the backdrop of Nong Sim.
The breakfast at the Bookhouse is top drawer and well worth 180 baht.
Nice post and something that I can refer to when I crave for a good breakfast fry up with loads of bacon, baked beans, sunny side up and toast. OK I need to go to the convenience store to get my ingredients and maybe with some freezer to frying pan crinkle cut fries too. The owners have done a great job on building a nice restaurant at a fantastic location and the food looks great too.
How – I don’t mind the freezer to frying pan fries, and the crinkle cut ones are my favourites. I never used to like oven chips (fries) but they’re much better nowadays.
They have done a great job at the Bookhouse. They spent quite a few baht doing the place up. The location is fantastic and sitting out the front gives you a lovely view. Mind you, some of those early morning dogs in the park look like they could bite off a lot more than they could chew.
Martyn, a book slash coffee house is the perfect combo for me. Reading while tucking in is a pastime I enjoy often 🙂
Catherine – I’m not much of a book reader myself, when I do read it’s in spurts. Maybe three books in one month and then none for the next six.
I do like to read when I’m eating too, but with me it’s a newspaper turned to the sports pages.
If you’re ever in Udon then check out the Bookhouse.