Chef Vishnu “Bank” Prempuk broke our little hearts in 2024 when he shut down Aromkwan, the unpretentious eatery that blew Bangkok away with some of the best meat in town. Since then, the charismatic chef has been doing collabs and had a few false starts on the resto scene, but now he’s officially back with Arloy in Silom. 

 

The theme is based around Uncle Loy, a fictional American named Dickson Loyd who—via the photos on the wall—lived the American dream for the majority of his life and in his dotage came to Thailand and, well, started to really live, as they say. 

 

 

There you have the concept: Asian meets Americana. Chef Bank doesn’t do things by half measures; you’ll find a full biography in the menu and a fake New York Times article on the wall. 

 

Opening last Friday, Arloy gives off diner vibes at first. Photos on the wall (albeit of a fictional American transplant), neon above, and diner booths. But consider those booths again; they’re tuktuk chairs—going so far as to cover them in plastic. After 9pm, the red lights come down and this place turns it up. 

 

 

The menu is broken down into “Loy’s Wife” for more traditional Thai fare and “Loy” for the Americana mashup. This means you can get something very Thai like the full red snapper (B459) with grilled herbs, which comes off delightfully tender, or classic bar food like sun-dried pork (B189). 

 

Over on Loy’s menu, though, things get exciting. The signature tako sai oua (389) features the northern Thai sausage covered in a topping of octopus. With that sort of flavor profile, when Chef Bank told us the sauce is prepared like a bolognese, we thought, “Oh, that’s sad. He’s lost his mind.” But it works. 

 

 

Even the garlic bread (B89) is extra—smothered in butter and soaked in vinegar to give it a little Thai-ness. The beef tartare (B349) similarly takes a classic dish and mixes it up—literally. You are given a bowl with your meat, raw egg, and Thai ingredients, and you smash it altogether. Similarly, the shrimp in fish sauce is another do-it-yourself mashup with a spicy house-made sauce. 

 

For fans of Aromkwan, you’ll find ghosts of that spot here in the butter chicken roti (B289), featuring perfectly cooked chicken on a bed of butter chicken cashew curry you’ll remember. 

 

 

As for drinks, it’s early days but you can find the usual tipples here alongside some signature cocktails from their bartender—on the night serving a very Thai-tasting passionfruit and lychee drink. 

 

This space’s dinner service is open from 5pm-10pm, but they’re partying until 2am. That means folks who are setting the bar on fire at Revolucion around the corner or any of the other nightlife spots in the area can pop around the Arloy for good bites and drinks until the early hours. 

 

The menu is extensive, and if we don’t miss our guess, not done changing by a long shot. Chef Bank is a man who delivers, and it’s refreshing to see him in his element—unpretentious food served creatively and well.