Cabbages and Condoms, Bangkok

This atmostpheric restaurant is tucked away in an alley and unless you know it is there you would never stumble across it. But it is definitely one of the hidden gems of Bangkok.

Not only does this restaurant offer great food at good prices, but the money you pay goes towards supporting the work of the Population and Community Development Association.

The founder of Condoms and Cabbages Senator Mechai Viravaidya apparently opened this first restaurant to support the spread of knowledge and understanding of contraception through Thailand. He theorised that cabbages are a common food in Thailand, in fact they are a staple part of the diet, grown in all villages and everybody uses them. If only condoms could be as common and cheap as cabbages, then some of the population and health problems facing Thailand could be overcome!

Now, years later, condoms are indeed as easy to find and cheap as cabbages, and the impact of this restaurant on the Thai population and HIV statistics is proof of the effectiveness of this one idea. Now there are Cabbages and Condoms restaurants scattered around Thailand, and even a few Resorts!

Some things are common to all of them. Great food, great prices, a great sense of humour and condoms instead of after dinner mints..

Favorite Dish: One of the Thais in our party just ordered random dishes to be sent and everything was just exquisite. The fish dishes in particular were spectacular, and they happily catered for the vegetarians in our group.

The atmostphere of this open air restaurant is lovely, with fairy lights hung all around in the trees. Have a drink at the vasectomy bar, after dinner do a bit of shopping in the attached shop, and above all, tip generously as all money goes to a truly worthy cause. Believe me you will want to tip well anyway because the food is just wonderful.

The only restauarnt I've been to where you are given a condom with your bill. Profits from the restaurant go to the Population and Community Development Association which aims at educating people in the benfits of safe sex and birth control.
The food here was very good on my first visit and at a reasonable price(can't remember exactly how much) and the service impeccable. No rubbery taste to any of the food unless you think the condom is an after dinner mint.
On my second visit I thought the food was a bit boring - definitely nothing special. However the general atmosphere was still very nice
You have a choice of either sitting outside in the gardens or inside. However beware of sitting too close to the ornamental ponds and fountains as in the evenings they attract some biting insects. I found the best place to sit was upstairs, which is undercover in case it rains and if you have a seat around the edge you get a nice view of the diners below.

Great theme and decor but the furniture is checxp and nasty. Food is excellent but high price and the service is a mess.
Having been served our main course at the same time as the starter on our last visit we insisted we did not want to order mains until we had finished our starters. This was not allowed and the waitress insisted we order eveything at the same time and she would ensure we get the meals at the correct time. We had to returnthe main courses TWICE as they came along while we were eating the starter. When we finally got the main course it was cold :(
Never again C&C

Favorite Dish: Shrimp cakes are fantastic!

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The name gets your attention right away. I did not know what to expect. I was not disappointed. The restaurant supports population control projects in villages, hence the condoms. The first thing you see when you enter is the condom blossom tree, and Santa condom, And the other art works based on condoms. You also see a beautiful garden restaurant.

When you check out, they deliver the receipt along with a brochure and two brightly colored condoms. Best of all, the brochure claims that their food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy.

Favorite Dish: I had the softshell crab in the thai style. Everything here was good, and the spice level was not too hot.

A restaurant that is an absolute must in Bangkok is "Cabbages and Condoms".
Despite the somewhat strange name, it really is a restaurant with a mission. The profits of the restaurant go to projects concerning safe sex and aids-awareness in Thailand.

The food is great, the atmosphere is fantastic ! The tropical setting of the restaurant is very inviting to sit outside, but for those who find that too hot, there is also an AC-section inside.
This also is the only restaurant that gives you condoms with your bill instead of the classic mints.

On our last Thailand trip, we had several one night stopovers in Bangkok and we had dinner here each time ! We didn't even bother to look for something else, just straight to C&C !

Favorite Dish: They serve traditional Thai dishes (with the known spicyness), but you can also order traditional dishes that are more "western-spicy".
I can't really give one specific dish, we liked everything we tasted there.

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This restaurant is run by Thailand's Population and Community Development Association, believes "birth control should be as cheap as vegetables"—hence the restaurant's name! There is plenty of room, inside and outside in the garden, which is nice if the weather permits. An extensive variety of cocktails and other drinks is available at the "Vasectomy Bar," and the service is friendly and efficient. This is a great choice for good quality Thai food, albeit in slightly surreal surroundings (especially the walls covered with condoms from across the globe!). (Information by Wcities)

Favorite Dish: roast young chicken with honey & crispy duck with mango salad

Despite the silly name, Cabbages and Condoms has a very serious mission. Started in 1974, this chain of restaurants and beach resorts are run by PDA, Population and Community Development Association, Thailand's largest non-governmental organisation. The aim is to help bring financial aid and public awareness to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that Thailand is currently struggling to contain. Still, the restaurants maintain a fun and relaxed atmosphere, with moderately priced food, a gift shop, and free condoms in place of mints at the end of the meal. This method of injecting some playful humor into a serious cause has proved quite effective, and the chain has been wildly successful.

Favorite Dish: My wife and I visited the original restaurant off Sukhimvit Road in Bangkok for lunch. Though fairly empty at the time, they still served up some pretty decent Thai food. All the standard favorites are there. They probably had western food as well, but that didn't interest me. Though more expensive than most Thai restaurants, we were happy that the money went to a good cause.

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We were told to try this restaurant by a friend, so could not resisit as it was within walking distance from our hotel.
We walked about ten mins down the road turned down a side road and it was a few min walk from there. I recgonised the signs when walking up to it and as we walked in it was all very romantic really. It was all lit up with lights and we sat outside to eat, as it was so warm. We had a lovely dinner there and the service was very good.
After we had eaten we had a wonder around. We so wanted a foot massage as you can get one of these there, unfortunalty we were a bit too late. The ladies go home at 10pm. We had a wonder around and the theme of this place is trying to get safe sex across to everyone and it's all done in a very tasteful way. When we first walked in we came face to face with a santa all made out of condoms!!
They have a nice little gift shop on the way out so had to buy some glasses with the restaurants name on!