To eat this dish, there's a 6-hour queue (though there's a trick to skip it). Yet, customers come from all over the world

Jeh O Chula seems like a diner. But for its noodles, people are willing to queue for up to 6 hours. The Bangkok spot is listed in the Michelin Bib Gourmand guide.

One of Bangkok's most beloved casual eateries is Jeh O Chula, included by Michelin in the Bib Gourmand guide, denoting restaurants with a full menu and excellent value for money. The establishment, famous for its Mama Tom Yum Noodles, is located near Chulalongkorn University. Steel tables, plastic stools, neon lights, and TVs airing Thai soap operas.

To eat the famous noodles, some people wait in line for up to 6 hours

The queue at Jeh O Chula is notoriously long, with eternal wait times during peak hours. Someone in the office has been there and can testify, "I got my number at 5 PM, came back two and a half hours later, and still had to wait; I ate after an hour." The restaurant is huge, with seating indoors with air conditioning and extending several meters onto the sidewalk with many outdoor seats. The system is well-tested: there's a station right outside the restaurant where you leave your name and take a number. Then it's just a matter of patience.

What to Eat at Jeh O Chula

The restaurant is open every day from 4:30 PM to midnight. Here, people come mainly for the Mama Tom Yum, the famous spicy noodle soup with assorted seafood (shrimp and squid), raw egg yolks, crispy pork belly, and pork balls, but the menu also includes other specialties like the Thai-style spicy-sour salad with salmon sashimi and stir-fried Morning Glory, a vegetable commonly used in Asian cuisine with a slightly earthy and sweet taste.

Tips to Skip the Queue at Jeh O Chula

Equal to the quality of the noodles, Jeh O Chula is famous for its queue, but there are some tricks to avoid the long waits.
One of them is to book through Klook, an App offering packages and deals. By purchasing a package on the platform, you can choose from a menu available in two "sizes," small for 4 people or large for 8 people. The bonus is that this formula gives access to the fast-track queue skip. The menus include the famous Mama Tom Yum noodles, along with other typical dishes like crispy pork belly. The cost of the dishes is slightly higher than ordering directly at the restaurant. Although the vouchers guarantee fast access, there will still be a wait of 15-20 minutes before being seated. Just present your voucher to be added to the priority lane queue.

Another way to avoid the long queue, in the humid heat of Thai nights, is to order delivery and have the noodles delivered directly to your hotel (if the hotel is within the delivery area) by the GrabFood platform. The home delivery of Jeh O Chula's food allows you to skip the queue, but you cannot enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant.

You can order delivery by contacting the restaurant directly, sending a message via LINE, the Asian equivalent of WhatsApp. Although LINE is not as commonly used worldwide as other messaging apps, it is probably the most popular messaging app in Thailand. Download the App, create an account using your mobile number or email address, and add the restaurant to your contacts using the QR code available on their Instagram account. Then you can send a message with your details and order. The automatic response messages are in Thai, but messages in English are also accepted. Once the order is confirmed, the driver notifies when they are nearby. For this purpose, it is useful to have a local SIM card and wait for delivery at the reception. For orders placed via LINE, payment is cash only. The cost for a complete menu is around 440 baht, equivalent to $17 USD.

Finally, the most insider trick to skip the queue at Jeh O Chula is to know how the secret phone booking system works. The restaurant only accepts reservations for the same day and only for a few seats. You can book a table without queuing by calling the phone number and booking the time slot and number of guests. The key is to call only between 1 PM and 2 PM when the restaurant is still closed. Seats run out quickly, and the rotation at a certain point in the evening is skipped, so it's best to book off-peak hours and be super punctual. Otherwise, you wait.

Jeh O Chula - 113 ซอย จรัสเมือง Rong Muang, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailandia - Tel. +66 641 185 888