With its modern take on Thai cuisine, partnered with its excellent cocktails, Praça should become one of your regular places to hangout in Hua Hin.
Since its highly anticipated opening in December 2021, much has been talked and written about The Standard, Hua Hin.
And rightly so.
The opening of The Standard has not only brought an energy and buzz to Hua Hin’s hospitality scene, but has helped change the perception of Hua Hin as a destination.
The hotel, which is particularly popular with the younger weekend crowd from Bangkok, has a fun, easy going and relaxed atmosphere, while at the same time is stylish, trendy and anything but standard.
Aside from younger tourists, The Standard offers a lot for expats and people living in Hua Hin, especially when it comes to dining and cocktails.
From its beachside location, Praça is a wonderful hangout spot for relaxing or catching up with friends over some mouthwatering food and superb cocktails.
Offering both inside and outside dining, this stylish bar and restaurant spans the beautifully restored Heritage House, with its welcoming veranda and alfresco seating area.
Praça is perfect for golden hour or those late afternoons and early evenings where you just want to sip on cocktails and share a bite before nightfall.
Yet when it comes to nightfall, Praça gets a little more uptempo, especially at weekends, when there are live DJs and music.
The food
Praça’s food offering is really unique and unlike anything else available in Hua Hin.
Its menu is centered around the “Thai Izakaya” concept, with an emphasis on shareable bites of delicious Thai fusion dishes, packed full of flavour.
Think tapas style Thai street food and other classic dishes reinvented with a modern twist, which ensures the food is every bit as fun and interesting as the venue.
Particularly good is the Esarn Tuna, larb tuna served on a black rice cracker – it’s all the flavours you enjoy from larb, just on a whole different level.
The same can be said for the Moo Ping Bo Larn, grilled coconut brushed pork skewer, apple ajard, shallot and Praça chili sauce, inspired by the famous BBQ pork street food, just in a way you almost certainly won’t have experienced before.
The Nam Tok Nuae Yang, grilled beef, shallot, spring onion, mint and chili – tender, juicy and thinly sliced strips of beef – was another real highlight.
Other favorites included the Moo Krob Baan Nok, crispy pork belly, bai cha muang, ceylon spinach in kaffir lime and the Gaeng Kua Bai Cha Ploo Poo, Thai crab, betal leaf curry, also with kaffir Lime.
The cocktails
The cocktails at Praça are every bit as interesting and exciting as the food, where local flavours are mixed with premium ingredients.
Recommended is the Hua Gin, which mixes Four Pillar’s Bloody Shiraz Gin, pomelo, guava, lemon and chili, and has a warming kick for those feeling adventurous.
Born To Rum, Nusa Caña white rum, banana, coconut milk, makrut leaf and lime juice also had a real kick, while Holy Basil!, which includes The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, pineapple, holy basil, betel leaf, galangal and lemon was our favourite and is a must try.
The hotel
We visited the hotel hot on the heels of it being recognised as one of the region’s top properties and amongst the best places to stay in the world.
In July, The Standard, Hua Hin was ranked as the #1 Resort Hotel in Southeast Asia, #7 Resort Hotel in Asia and the #35 Hotel or Resort in the World at the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2022.
The awards, which were voted for by the discerning readers of what is widely regarded as the world’s leading luxury travel and lifestyle magazine saw The Standard, Hua Hin achieve an outstanding overall score of 97.38 out of 100.
Praça at The Standard, Hua Hin: Open daily from 4pm-11pm
For more information visit, https://www.facebook.com/pracahuahin
