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Restaurants in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is all about the food, especially when it comes to fresh, cheap street eats. The street food in Chiang Mai is plentiful and accessible with numerous stalls set up across the city. The restaurant scene isn’t shabby either. Along with incredible Thai food, you can also find decent Japanese, Indian, Italian and other Western fare. Meal times are pretty flexible, with stalls and restaurants open almost all the time, and snacking comes highly encouraged.

The restaurants below have been handpicked by our guide author and are grouped into three different pricing categories: Expensive (over THB 200)
Moderate (THB 60 to THB 200)
Cheap (up to THB 60)

The prices above are for a single meal without drinks. A service charge isn’t usually included in the bill, except at higher-end restaurants. Rounding up a bill at a cheaper restaurant or leaving around 10% for good service is polite.

Expensive

Huan Soontaree Vechanont

Cuisine: Thai, Northern Thai

This riverside restaurant is owned by a famous northern Thai folk singer and hosts live shows every evening except Sundays. Appropriately, the menu includes plenty of northern Thai specialities including gang hung lay (a meaty curry made with pork belly), sai oua (spicy sausage) and various chilli dips served with steamed vegetables and pork crackling. It's a romantic spot (good for special occasions) that entices an even mix of locals and Westerners. Vegetarian dishes are also available.

Address: Patan, 208 Thanon Patan, Chiang Mai, 50300
Telephone: +66 53 872 707.
Website: http://www.huansoontaree.com

The Riverside

Cuisine: Thai, Western

With two locations situated across the street from each other along the Mae Ping River, The Riverside is a long time favourite that's popular with locals, expats and tourists alike, thanks to its good food, decent drinks and jovial atmosphere. It's best to order several plates to share before sticking around to listen to the live cover bands that play every night. Reservations recommended.

Address: , 9-11 Thanon Charoenrat, Chiang Mai, 50000
Telephone: +66 53 324 3239.
Website: http://www.theriversidechiangmai.com

The Service 1921

Cuisine: Pan-Asian

Part of the Anantara Resort Hotel, this elegant restaurant is set in a teak villa which was once the British Consulate. Themed around a fictitious reimagining of the consulate as the HQ of British secret intelligence in the 1920s, the restaurant's menu serves pan-Asian fare either in communal dining areas or a private dining room accessed through a secret entrance. Afternoon tea is served on the wrap-around terrace.

Address: Changklan Muang Chang Wat, Anantara Resort, 123 Thanon Charoen Prathet, Chiang Mai,
Telephone: +66 53 253 333.
Website: http://chiang-mai.anantara.com

Moderate

Dash!

Cuisine: Thai

It may take you a couple tries to find this charming restaurant, tucked away in a mess of little sois (alleys) in Chiang Mai’s old city, but it will be well worth it. Located in a traditional Thai two-story wooden house, Dash! offers traditional Thai dishes, including green curry and spring rolls, in a beautiful and intimate atmosphere. Guests can dine in the house or sit outside in the garden. Live music performances often take place.

Address: Phra Singh, 38/2 Thanon Moon Muang, Chiang Mai, 50200
Telephone: +66 85 347 7445.
Website: http://www.dashteakhouse.com

Free Bird Cafe

Cuisine: Burmese, Thai, Mediterranean, Western

At Free Bird Café, on the north side of the moat, you can eat for a cause. Run by Thai Freedom House, all proceeds go toward a non-profit, non-government organisation which operates a community language and arts learning centre for Burmese refugees. The café serves a range of organic vegan and vegetarian food with a sweet spot for Burmese dishes, such as green tea leaf salad and yellow Shan noodles. It's also a great place for breakfast, with many Western options.

Address: Sriphum, 116 Maneenoparat Road, Chiang Mai, 50300
Telephone: +66 81 028 5383.
Website: http://www.thaifreedomhouse.org

Tsunami Sushi Bar

Cuisine: Japanese

Good food and great prices mean this sushi bar is always buzzing. While the restaurant serves other Japanese dishes such as chicken katsu (breaded chicken) and bowls of udon (Japanese noodles), it’s better to stick with the fresh sashimi and delicious handmade rolls. Traditional salmon and tuna sashimi are always favourites here. Snag a seat out front so you can watch the master chefs at work.

Address: Chang Pheuak, 8/19 Thanon Huay Kaew, Chiang Mai, 50300
Telephone: +66 87 189 338.
Website: http://www.tsunami-chiangmai.com

Cheap

Chiang Mai Gate food stalls

Cuisine: Thai

Every evening, starting around 1700, Chiang Mai Gate is taken over with street stalls, food carts and tantalising tastes. Here you'll find made-to-order stir fries and noodle soups, fresh fruit shakes, hot curries bagged up to go and whole grilled fish just waiting to be devoured. Most carts have tables set up for seating and don't mind if you buy and bring food from different stalls, just don't linger too long if there are other people waiting to sit down.

Address: Phra Singh, Thanon Bumrung Buri at Chiang Mai Gate, Chiang Mai, 50200
Telephone:

Good Morning Chiang Mai

Cuisine: Thai, Western

There aren’t many places in town that do a decent Western-style breakfast, but luckily Good Morning Chiang Mai does. A favourite among expats, the funky restaurant set in a small guesthouse serves basic Thai dishes like phad thai, along with excellent breakfasts (including omelettes, pancakes, fruit salad and French toast), sandwiches and burgers. A great place for groups, diners can enjoy a range of coffee, tea and fruit shakes, while sitting in the comfortable garden or inside the quirky wooden house.

Address: Phra Singh, 29/5 Rachamanka Soi 6, Chiang Mai, 50200
Telephone: +66 52 002 424.
Website: http://www.goodmorningchiangmai.com

Pun Pun at Wat Suan Dok

Cuisine: Vegetarian Thai

Chiang Mai is home to many vegetarian and vegan restaurants, but this inviting garden spot, located at the Wat Suan Dok temple complex, is one of the best. Dishes range from Thai curries and stir-fried dishes to inventive fresh salads and desserts. Ingredients for the meals are sourced from a local organic farm and sustainable living centre. Be sure to try one of their refreshing herbal teas or fortifying fruit shakes. Pun Pun also has two other restaurants and markets around town.

Address: Suthep, Thanon Suthep at Wat Suan Dok, Chiang Mai, 50200
Telephone: +66 84 365 6581.
Website: http://www.punpunthailand.org
A digital image at https://illuminoto.com

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Galare Guest House

The riverside setting is the big draw at this long-established, family-run guesthouse. Upmarket, comfortable rooms with air conditioning and hot water overlook a shady, peaceful lawn that leads down to an appealing covered restaurant on the banks of the River Ping.

Mandarin Oriental Dhara Devi

A few kilometres east of the city centre, the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi is a stunning mock-up of a traditional Lanna village, with elegant stucco and mahogany villas and pavilions dotted around a vast garden of rice fields, palm trees and pools. Additional features include a spa, a themed swimming pool and three restaurants. One of the best hotels in Chiang Mai.

Gap's House

Centred on a leafy courtyard, this comfy hotel in Chiang Mai is crammed with antiques and northern Thai bric-a-brac, and the tasteful rooms have air conditioning and hot showers. The restaurant serves a popular evening vegetarian buffet, and the owners run a Thai cooking course in their village home. No advance reservations are taken.

Julie Guesthouse

The most popular backpacker haunt in Chiang Mai, this agreeable guesthouse has a relaxing garden full of exotic plants, a roof terrace full of hammocks, a popular travel agency offering adventure tours, and a terrace restaurant that is always full of travellers swapping stories.

Ping Nakara Boutique Hotel

This tranquil colonial-era hotel set in tropical gardens has just 19 rooms featuring elegant hand-crafted teak furniture, rain showers and a pillow menu; some have balconies overlooking the garden. Amenities include a swimming pool, a spa and a restaurant serving authentic Thai cuisine. A breakfast buffet is complimentary.

Riverside House

Spacious, air-conditioned and simply furnished rooms are set in three blocks, and there's a small swimming pool in the garden too. Breakfast is free, and there's also a small cafe serving meals. Set along the Ping River near Saphan Lek (Iron Bridge), the hotel is also five minutes' from the night market.