Where to Eat in Kuala Lumpur: 10 Best Restaurants

Kuala Lumpur is a true gastronomic paradise with a wide variety of delicious and delectable food. The city center and Bukit Bintang are home to many high-quality bars and restaurants that are very popular with local youth and foreign tourists. Well, if you are looking for the best Chinese cuisine in Kuala Lumpur, then the curbside tables along Jalan Alor Street will be your best choice. We’ve picked some of the finest dining spots and listed them below, but you should also explore the culinary scene on your own, as the best part of the Kuala Lumpur dining experience is hunting for these edible treasures.

Sri Ayutthaya

Sri Ayutthaya has earned its reputation as one of the finer Thai restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. With three branches in the capital, his flagship docked at Medan Damansara, across the street from Victoria Station.

In 2011, the restaurant was ranked among the Malaysian Tatler’s best lists, and although the menu is filled with dishes that are rare outside of Thailand, seasoned with fiery Asian herbs and spices, less adventurous customers can choose the more ripe versions of these dishes together before ordering their taste preferences. Although Sri Ayutthaya has a reputation for being a bit of an expensive restaurant, its willingness to please all diners makes this restaurant a favorite in Kuala Lumpur among the many ex-pats.

Opening hours: 11:30 – 24:00

Address: 3 Jalan Setiapuspa, Medan Damansara

Phone: +603 2094 2333

Cuisine: Thai

The Ming Room

A Cantonese restaurant for gourmet dining located in the upscale Bangsar Shopping Center. Offering authentic Cantonese cuisine that is not Muslim in any way, the menu features classic Chinese dishes with a modern twist. Opened in 2003, the restaurant is located just 15 minutes from the city center. Highly recommended and has received many positive reviews, Ming Room is hosted by the Oriental Group. The restaurant was recently refurbished and now shines with graceful furnishings and property, which also includes antique terracotta horse sculptures. For those wishing to dine in a “private office”, the restaurant has six exceptional banquet rooms that can accommodate up to 300 people. Despite the fact that The Ming Room is spacious enough, you will have to wait for free tables (unless of course, you have made advance reservations), since the restaurant is almost always full. The menu is extensive, although loyal customers who come here at lunchtime will tell you they are partial to Hong Kong Dim Sum. The selection is almost cardinally wide, with dishes that don’t have to wait long, and the locally produced sauces are especially rich and interesting.

Opening hours: 11:30 – 14:30 lunch; 18:30 – 22:00 dinner

Address: 3rd Floor, Bangsar Shopping Center, 285 Jalan Maarof, Bukit Bandaraya, 59000 Kuala Lumpur

Phone: +603 2284 8822

WIP Café & Restaurant

WIP has long been known to urban gourmets, treating its customers with a delicious mix of local, Western, and North Indian cuisines, and then offering them creative cocktails to wash down at their own bar. Located inside the Bangsar mall, the restaurant has a fun and sophisticated feel and is very popular with expatriates and middle-class clientele. The use of steel, glass, and dark woods dominates the interior, giving an avant-garde, industrial-chic vibe reminiscent of 1920s New York. Start your meal with Caesar salad: some regulars will tell you it’s the best in town. Also, espetadas, salmon with tomatoes, and mushroom portobello baked in pepper and garlic oil should take not the last place in your stomach. The dessert menu includes homemade biscuits, pastries, and chocolate cake. there is a wide array of Dominican and Cuban cigars for sale.

Opening hours: 12:00 – 15:00; 18:00 – until late

Address: Lot G111, Lower Level, Bangsar Mall, 285 Jalan Maarof

Phone: +603 2094 1789 or +604 2094 2789

Frangipani Restaurant & Bar

Opened in 2001, the restaurant is firmly nestled in Changkat Bukit Bintang, one of the city’s best places to eat, eat and have fun. Sleek and refurbished, the restaurant was the 2011 winner on the Malaysian Tatler rosters. In an effort to differentiate themselves from the rest, Frangipani is in the effervescent Changkakt, a true pioneer. Behind a heavy, steel front door leading downstairs, you’ll find one of the finest French restaurants in Kuala Lumpur for fine dining. Upstairs there is a sumptuous bar, a space that combines recliners with beautiful artwork adorning the walls. Local DJs play music all night long to suit a variety of tastes, from chill-out to trendy Latin American beats; unofficial Rainbow nights are held every Friday …

Opening hours: Tue – Sun 19:30 – until late; Closed Mondays

Address: 25 25 Changkat Bukit Bintang

Phone: (603) 21443001

Bijan

The award-winning restaurant opened in 2003 and was once featured on the list of Malaysia’s best restaurants by Tatler magazine and was also a Time Out KL’s winner in 2009. Tucked away in a quiet and shady location in central Kuala Lumpur, Bijan Restaurant & Bar offers traditional Malay food in a lush, homely setting.

Warm and comfortable, Bijan’s interior is reminiscent of the presence of friends in the house, rather than in a city restaurant. The lush foliage and secluded location make you feel cut off from the rest of the city. During the evening, the place becomes decidedly romantic, with soft lighting and tea lanterns dotted across the tables. The restaurant is a favorite with corporate clientele and is busiest during weekday lunches.

Opening Hours: Mon-Sat [Day] 12:00 – 14:30 [Evening] 18:30 – 10:30

Sunday 16:30 – 22:30.

Phone: (603) 2031 3575/6568

Cuisine: Malay

Tamarind Springs

Tamarind Springs is a gourmet dining restaurant nestled amidst the lush rainforest. The culinary trend is classic Indochinese cuisine, inspired by spicy dishes. Blending seamlessly into the jungle, Tamarind Springs has an imposing environment, from the candlelit entrance dividing the tropical garden to the romantic setting. Below the restaurant’s thatched roof, the interior is rather rustic, with comfortable Balinese furnishings, Asian sculptures, and pleasant lighting. The views of the garden create a romantic mood and the food sets the mood for a typical fine dining experience with good service. Tamarind Springs offers popular grilled yet healthy food: the dishes are prepared in a typical oriental style, with minimal cooking, and the menu is composed of traditional dishes such as Khmer Krom (grilled crab, grilled beef, deep-fried sea bass with spicy tamarind sauce, sweet and sour Asian salads, asparagus and crab soup). An award-winning restaurant, Tamarind Springs was listed by Malaysian Tatler as one of the Best Restaurants in Malaysia in 2011, 2009, and 2010.

Opening hours: 12:30 – 14:30; 18:30 – 22:30

Address: Jalan 1 Taman T.A.R. 68000 Ampang, Selangor

Phone: +603 4256 9300

Enak Kl

Enak KL, one of the city’s most renowned high-quality Malaysian restaurants that use no pork and specialize in spicy Malay dishes, is located at Starhill Gallery. One of the best restaurants in Malaysian Tatler (2011), it was founded in 2001 and mainly serves an international clientele.

working hours: 12:00 – 01:00

address: LG2, banquet floor, t / c Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang

Phone: +603 2141 8973

The 39

A chic bistro serving fine Asian and Western cuisine. Offering an upscale yet unpretentious environment, the restaurant has its own cigar room, several private lounges, and a live entertainment scene featuring DJs giving great music to the cheering crowds.

Opening Hours: Daily 12:00 – 02:00

Address: 61 – 63 Jalan Telawi 3

Phone: (603) 2283 1573

Kampachi EQ

Kamapachi is one of the best Japanese restaurants for fine dining in Kuala Lumpur. Apart from great food that lacks pork, Kampachi also deserves two thumbs up for its excellent service.

The restaurant, which has many branches, both in the city and throughout the country, in 2011 was listed by Tatler as one of the Best Restaurants in Malaysia. The menu includes traditional Japanese dishes + some delicacies and seafood. There is an extensive wine list.

Opening hours: 12:00 – 14:30; 18:30 – 22:30

Address: Hotel Equatorial, Jalan Sultan Ismail

Phone: +603 2161 7777

Cafe Cafe

Café Café is one of the most amazing items on the list of the best restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. A French-Italian establishment for fine dining, Café Café has won multiple awards and honors.

The highly recommended, grandiose yet unpretentious Café Café will actually take you to Paris. Perfect for couples, the romantic interior filled with candlelit tables; French background music, chandeliers, and shimmering crystal decorations. The service, however, could be better, but the menu and food overshadow all the cons.

working hours: 18:00 – 24:00

Address: 175, Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur

Phone: +603 2145 8141