Best Restaurants & Food in Chiang Mai

Khao Soi Khun Yai serves what many consider Chiang Mai's definitive bowl of khao soi from a garden shack beside the old-city moat near Wat Kuan Kama.

Free Bird Cafe is Chiang Mai's feel-good vegan institution — a bright café whose profits fund Thai Freedom House, a language and arts centre for refugees from Myanmar and hill-tribe families.

Pun Pun is the vegetarian institution in the garden of Wat Suan Dok — an open-air restaurant run by a sustainable-farming collective, serving Thai standards built on organic vegetables, house-made tofu, and seeds saved from its own farm.

Anchan Vegetarian Restaurant turned a tiny Nimman-side kitchen into one of Chiang Mai's most loved meat-free tables — a daily-changing blackboard of Thai dishes cooked vegetarian by default and vegan on request, from butterfly-pea-flower rice to herb-heavy curries and som tam.

Imm Aim Vegetarian and Bike Café pairs two Chiang Mai obsessions — plant-based Thai food and slow travel — in a leafy Santitham house where the khao soi is vegan, the fruit shakes are enormous, and bicycles hang from the walls.

Tong Tem Toh is Chiang Mai's most famous northern-Thai table — a teak-house restaurant on Nimmanhaemin soi 13 where office workers, students, and food pilgrims queue together for laab kua, gaeng hang lay pork curry, herb-stuffed grilled pork neck, and the full northern repertoire.

Huen Phen has been the old city's benchmark for northern Thai cooking for decades — an antique-crammed house near Wat Phra Singh serving khao soi and curries in the casual front room by day, and a fuller Lanna menu in the atmospheric main house at night.

A beloved Chiang Mai home cooking spot serving authentic Thai evening meals on Sridonchai Rd.

A no-frills local street food spot in Chiang Mai's Si Phum area, open weekday mornings only.

A hidden gem café and rooftop restaurant serving South African cuisine in the heart of Chiang Mai.

A spotless western-style hostel and restaurant in central Chiang Mai, known for Alsatian cuisine and rooftop pool.

A creative Western-Japanese fusion dining experience in Chiang Mai, built around an ever-changing chef's tasting menu.

A family-run northern Thai kitchen in Hai Ya, beloved for its khao soi and warm, unhurried atmosphere.

An intimate fine-dining restaurant in Chiang Mai blending Thai and Western flavours, open evenings only.

A well-regarded daytime eatery on Jhaban Road serving authentic Thai food in a casual, unpretentious setting.

Authentic North and South Indian restaurant in Nimman, serving halal, vegan, and gluten-free options daily.

Farm-to-table dining in Chiang Mai's old city, with fresh local produce and budget-friendly prices.

A reservation-only fine dining experience in Chiang Mai's Hang Dong area, serving creative multi-course menus in an intimate woodland setting.

An evening dining destination in Chiang Mai's Old City, open nightly from 6pm to midnight.

A laid-back cannabis dispensary and lounge in Chiang Mai's Old Town with a rooftop, PS5, and friendly staff.

Beloved home-style Thai eatery in Chiang Mai's Hai Ya neighbourhood, open six days a week.

Upscale all-day dining lounge inside Chiang Mai's InterContinental hotel, open daily from breakfast to late evening.

Refined Thai dining in Chiang Mai's Old City, blending Lanna-inspired flavours with attentive, personalised service.

Charming Northern Thai café on Prapokklao Road serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch with authentic local flavour.