25 of the Best Restaurants in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Like Bangkok, Chiang Mai is one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations. It receives millions of visitors annually and is without a doubt the most visited city in northern Thailand. With so many tourists and digital nomads flocking to Chiang Mai every year, it isn’t surprising to find dozens of restaurants vying for your attention (and baht) at every turn.

As a food-loving couple of nearly 20 years, we know that bad food can be a dealbreaker so we scoured the streets of Chiang Mai for the best examples of northern Thai dishes like khao soi, kai yang, and sai oua. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, then you’ll be pleased to learn that Chiang Mai is one of the most vegan-friendly cities in Southeast Asia and offers a welcome range of plant-based options.

Eating well should be the least of your worries on any trip. If you’re heading up north and want to experience some of the most delicious food in Chiang Mai, then this list of 25 is an excellent place to start.

THE BEST CHIANG MAI RESTAURANTS

Like Ubud and Canggu in Bali, Chiang Mai is one of the most vegan-friendly cities not just in Southeast Asia, but in the world. Whether you’re a vegan or an omnivore, you won’t have any trouble finding amazing food in Chiang Mai.

Tap on the links to jump to either section of the guide. You can also refer to our location map to help you navigate to any restaurant featured here.

TRADITIONAL RESTAURANTS

1. Khao Soi Khun Yai

There’s no better way to start this list than with a restaurant long known for serving some of the best khao soi in Chiang Mai.

A core dish in northern Thai cuisine, khao soi is a type of noodle soup consisting of crispy and soft egg noodles served in a creamy, curry-like sauce made with coconut milk. It’s typically made with chicken or beef but some restaurants offer versions with pork, shrimp, or fish as well.

Khao soi is usually served with a side of chopped red onions, pickled cabbage, and a wedge of lime. If you like, you can mix a packet of pork rinds into your khao soi for extra crunch.

When I think of the best food in Chiang Mai, khao soi is the first dish I think of. It’s such an important northern Thai dish that every list of must-try Chiang Mai foods should begin with khao soi.

Restaurants and stalls serving khao soi are a dime a dozen in northern Thailand. We’ve enjoyed it many times in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and the version here at Khao Soi Khun Yai is by far our favorite. It’s delicious, rich, and creamy without being overly sweet.

I don’t think there are any signs for Khao Soi Khun Yai so look out for this humble, open-air eatery as soon as you exit and make a left from the Old City North Gate. It’ll be on your left through a small gate.

Khao Soi Khun Yai is popular and open only from 10AM-2PM, so try to arrive early to avoid running out of food.

Khao Soi Khun Yai

Address: QXWM+47J, Sri Poom 8 Alley, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 10AM-2PM, Mon-Sat
What They Offer: Khao soi

2. Pakorn’s Kitchen

As great as they are, Khun Yai specializes only in khao soi. If you want a traditional restaurant that offers a bible of traditional Thai dishes at local-friendly prices, then you need to visit Pakorn’s Kitchen. This popular eatery offers so many dishes on their menu that you could probably eat here everyday for a month and still not try everything.

Pakorn’s Kitchen heavily promotes their massaman curry but Mrs Traveleater was feeling the khao soi again today so that’s what she got. If a Thai restaurant in Chiang Mai were to be judged solely by the quality of their khao soi (which perhaps they should be), then this restaurant deserves all the attention it gets. For us, it wasn’t as good as Khun Yai but still one of the best we’ve tried.

You can’t tell from this picture but the servings at Pakorn’s Kitchen are humungous. Many dishes are offered in three sizes – small, medium, and large. This was the small and it was more than enough for my wife. Larger sizes can easily be shared between two or more people, which makes the food here an even better value.

I’ve transitioned to a more plant-based diet so I wanted to try one of the vegetarian options on their menu. This is Pakorn’s version of plant-based pad kra pao. It typically consists of ground meat (chicken, beef, or pork) stir-fried with Thai basil and garlic but this one was made with mushrooms instead. It was super tasty, though I did miss the texture of ground meat.

If you’re a superfan of pad kra pao like I am and want to try a vegan version made with that ground meat texture, then be sure to check out the Vegano Corner (#21).

Located about a 10-minute walk east of Chiang Mai Gate, Pakorn’s Kitchen is a humble eatery with no more than ten tables. Based on its reviews, waiting times can exceed over an hour at peak dinner time so it’s best to arrive early if you can. Plan on being there before 6PM.

Pakorn’s Kitchen

Address: 20 7 Sridonchai Rd, Tambon Chang Khlan, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Operating Hours: 2-10PM, Sun- Fri (closed Saturdays)
What They Offer: Traditional Thai food with some vegetarian options

3. Tong Tem Toh

I learned about Tong Tem Toh from eatingthaifood.com. It’s a popular restaurant in the Nimman area known for its extensive menu of northern Thai dishes.

With so many dishes to choose from, we weren’t sure what to order so we had a look around. Nearly every table had this beautiful platter of Northern Thai appetizers so that’s what we started with.

On it were the usual northern Thai staples like sai oua (northern Thai sausage), nam prik ong (chili-based dip), nam prik noom (roasted banana pepper chili sauce), pork rinds, eggs, and some raw vegetables for dipping.

We asked our server for suggestions and she recommended the barbecued meats as well. Their grill is set up right by the entrance so it was hard not to get caught up in all the delicious smells wafting from that grill!

If I remember correctly, we got an order of the pork shoulder. I’m not sure if we were just unlucky that day but ours was a little dry and tough from being overcooked. It wasn’t as enjoyable as the platter of northern Thai appetizers.

We arrived early for dinner at Tong Tem Toh and nearly every table was already taken. By the time we left at around 7PM, there was a big crowd of people waiting outside for a table. If you can, then I suggest coming here early to avoid a long wait.

Tong Tem Toh

Address: 11 13 Nimmanahaeminda Road, Suthep, อำเภอเ มือง, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 8AM-11PM, daily
What They Offer: Northern Thai dishes

4. Cherng Doi Roast Chicken

If you’re in the mood for kai yang (roast chicken), then Cherng Doi should be at the top of your list. It’s an Isan dish that’s popular throughout Thailand. A whole chicken is halved and pounded flat before being marinated and then slowly grilled over a low charcoal flame.

Being an Isan dish, kai yang (or gai yang) is commonly eaten with som tam (green papaya salad) and sticky rice. Cherng Doi’s chicken was tender and juicy with nicely crisped skin. It’s a little sweet from the marinade and goes exceptionally well with the acidity from the som tam and the chewiness of the sticky rice. Delicious!

Along with SP Chicken (#5), Cherng Doi Roast Chicken is often cited for being one of the best restaurants in Chiang Mai to try kai yang. Both were fantastic, but I preferred Cherng Doi.

Cherng Doi Roast Chicken is located in the Nimman area.

Cherng Doi Roast Chicken

Address: 2, 8 Suk Kasame Rd, Tambon Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 11AM-10PM, Tues-Sun (closed Mondays)
What They Offer: Kai yang, som tam, grilled meats

5. SP Chicken

As described, SP Chicken is known for being one of the best restaurants to try kai yang in Chiang Mai. One of the reasons their chicken is so good is that it’s roasted on vertical spits with the heat source coming from the side, instead of the bottom (pictured below).

This unique method eliminates the chance of oil dripping down onto hot coals and causing a grease fire to burn the chicken. Brilliant!

SP Chicken’s kai yang was delicious – moist and tender with crisp, flavorful skin. Their chickens are pretty small though so two people may want to share a whole bird.

Kai yang and som tam are a match made in heaven so we enjoyed our roast chicken with a tasty order of papaya salad as well.

Located in the Old City, SP Chicken is popular with both locals and tourists so be prepared for a long queue!

SP Chicken

Address: 9/1 ถนน สามล้าน ซอย 1 พระสิงห์ Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 10AM-5PM, daily
What They Offer: Kai yang, grilled meats, Thai salads

6. Khao Kha Moo Chang Phueak (Cowboy Hat Lady)

Khao soi may be Chiang Mai’s most famous dish but this next street food stall is arguably its most popular. Manning the stall is a lady boss wearing a 10-gallon cowboy hat.

Known as the “Cowboy Hat Lady”, she’s been described as a Chiang Mai institution with a reputation for serving some of the best khao kha moo in town. Khao kha moo refers to braised pork leg cooked in Chinese five spice and served over rice with a medium-boiled egg.

Here’s a small order of Cowboy Hat Lady’s famous khao kha moo. It’s a little sweet and incredibly tender – so tender that you could practically shake the meat off the bone just by smacking the table!

Here’s a picture of Cowboy Hat Lady who was kind enough to stop what she was doing and pose for my picture.

From the moment her stall opens at 5PM, it’s constantly flooded with people looking to get their khao kha moo fix. And not just people on foot either. Cars and motorbikes would stop by the side of the road and get her food to go!

If you like melt-in-your-mouth pork, then you need to visit her stall. It’s located at Chang Puak Gate Night Market, one of the most popular night markets in Chiang Mai.

Khao Kha Moo Chang Phueak

Address: ประตูเมือง Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 5PM-12MN, daily
What They Offer: Khao kha moo

7. Suki Koka

Also located at Chang Puak Gate Night Market is Suki Koka, a stall that specializes in Thai suki. It’s a delicious dish that’s basically a Thai version of Japanese shabu shabu or Chinese hot pot.

Served wet or dry, Suki Koka’s Thai suki consists of vegetables cooked with mung bean noodles and a mix of seafood or your choice of meat. They make their suki with heaps of cabbage cooked briefly in a wok at high heat, keeping it crunchy while giving it that wonderful smokey wok hei flavor.

Mrs Traveleater had this dry version with pork (suki haeng moo). It was absolutely delicious, especially when eaten with the suki sauce.

I had the suki soup (suki nam talay) made with different types of seafood like squid, shrimp, and fish balls. It was fantastic too.

Like Khao Kha Moo Chang Phueak, Suki Koka is one of the most popular street food stalls at Chang Puak Gate Night Market. Try eating at both if you can.

Suki Koka

Address: QXWP+94F, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 6PM-12MN, daily
What They Offer: Thai suki

8. Kiat Ocha

Open since 1957, the Kiat Ocha restaurant in the Old City has been specializing in khao man kai and Thai satay for over 65 years now.

Khao man kai is the Thai version of Hainanese chicken rice – a delicious dish made with a whole poached chicken served with oily rice (cooked in chicken fat) and chicken broth soup. It’s usually enjoyed with a side of minced red chili and garlic, dark soy sauce, and freshly ground ginger.

Originally from Indonesia, satay refers to a family of seasoned, skewered, and grilled meat served with a sauce, most commonly peanut sauce. Like chicken rice, it’s a popular dish that’s enjoyed in many Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand.

We tried a small portion of the boiled chicken which was served with a chunk of congealed blood. I believe the larger servings come with different types of offal as well. The oily rice is served on the side along with some chicken broth soup, fresh ginger and chili, and a fermented soybean dipping sauce.

Chicken rice isn’t the most colorful dish around but it’s incredibly tasty, much tastier than it looks, especially when eaten with all the fixings. We enjoy boiled chicken the best but Kiat Ocha also makes it with crispy fried chicken or pork.

We paired our boiled chicken rice with an order of moo satay, which consisted of ten sticks of pork satay served with cucumber relish and a peanut sauce. Both dishes were delicious.

Kiat Ocha is another exceedingly popular restaurant in Chiang Mai so it was brimming with people when we were there. They’re only open until 3PM so it’s a great restaurant to have a nice chicken rice and pork satay lunch.

We already had lunch before coming here so we could only manage the small khao man kai set, but two people on empty stomachs can easily share the large, maybe even the jumbo.

Kiat Ocha

Address: 41, 43 Intrawarorot Rd, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 6AM-3PM, daily
What They Offer: Chicken rice, pork satay

9. Dan Chicken Rice

Dan Chicken Rice is another great chicken rice restaurant in Chiang Mai, this time in the Nimman area. It’s a simple, no-nonsense restaurant that offers plates of oily rice topped with boiled chicken, fried chicken, or a combination of the two.

We’re team boiled chicken but we wanted to try the fried chicken today so we got one combination plate. It was enjoyable – nice and crunchy – but in our opinion, oily rice truly is best when paired with boiled chicken. The combination is a match made in heaven.

Like Kiat Ocha, Dan Chicken Rice is open only for breakfast and dinner. It’s located on Siri Mangkalajarn Road, about a 10-15 minute walk from One Nimman Lifestyle Mall.

NOTE: This restaurant isn’t to be confused with the Dan Chicken Rice on Old San Sai Road, the Michelin Bib Gourmand awardee. They share the same name but it doesn’t look like these two restaurants are operated by the same people.

Dan Chicken Rice

Address: 51 Siri Mangkalajarn Rd, Tambon Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 7:30AM-2PM, daily
What They Offer: Chicken rice

10. Neighborhood Community

Most of the time, we have our restaurant list already mapped out even before stepping foot at the airport but sometimes, surprises happen. Tonight was one of those nights. We were having dinner at Downtown Vegan Garden (#17) when we were lucky enough to notice this fun food hall across the street.

Neighborhood Community is a small but well-designed food hall with around ten eateries, cafes, and bars across its three floors. Set in a contemporary space, it’s home to a pizzeria, a grillery, a fried food stall, a gourmet seafood bar, and more.

Like night markets, food halls or food courts are always fun because there’s something for everyone.

Not keen on any one stall? You can start with an appetizer from one eatery and then dig into a main course from another.

As its name suggests, Lua specializes in northern Thai dishes grilled over a wood fire like kai yang, pork neck, pork skewers, and ribs.

Here’s a shot from the second floor. Adirak (right) makes wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas while Mare (left) offers lobster rolls, oysters on the half shell, sashimi, and other seafood dishes.

The entire top floor of Neighborhood Community is occupied by this bar. There’s a bar and a cafe on the second floor as well.

The third floor looks like it could accommodate one or two more stalls so new concepts could open up here in the future.

For starters, we ordered these grilled skewers from Lua. On the left is Burmese chickpea tofu while on the right is their signature skewer made with pork. Both were delicious – smokey, a little sweet, and not too spicy.

Chickpea tofu isn’t something I’ve seen often so it’s something I’ll look for on every return trip to Neighborhood Community and Chiang Mai. It’s soft with a slightly grittier texture than soybean tofu, similar to polenta.

If you’re a vegetarian, then you’ll find a few plant-based options at Lua like these chickpea tofu skewers, grilled tofu salad, and grilled yanagi mushrooms.

For my main course, I had this fantastic kai yang with fresh greens and sticky rice. It was smokey and juicy and topped with a good amount of crispy fried garlic.

I did some research and Adirak has a reputation for making some of the best wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas in Chiang Mai. They have a proper restaurant at the foothills of Doi Suthep but thankfully, they’ve opened up this outlet much closer to the Old City.

Mrs Traveleater went with the Italian sausage. Featuring a deliciously thin and crisp crust, it was topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, sweet green peppers, red onions, and black olives. Yummers!

Neighborhood Community

Address: 297 Chang Moi Rd, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Operating Hours: 10AM-12MN, daily

11. Yakitori Iyangwa

Japanese food is one of our favorite cuisines in the world so we were thrilled to find this highly-rated izakaya not too far from our Airbnb in the Nimman area. What drew us here was the yakitori but we were impressed by the diversity of Japanese dishes offered on the restaurant’s menu.

Aside from kushiyaki and typical Japanese bar chow like karaage, you’ll find a good selection of rice bowls, bento boxes, gyoza, sashimi, onigiri, and nabe at Yakitori Iyangwa. They even offer motsunabe, a delicious type of hot pot from Fukuoka made with beef or pork offal.

Pictured below are different types of skewered meat and vegetables, unagi, and a Japanese salad.

Quick trivia question, what’s the difference between kushiyaki and yakitori? Both refer to charcoal-grilled skewers of food, but technically speaking, the term “yakitori” should only be used for dishes made with chicken. “Kushiyaki” can be used to describe any type of skewered grilled food.

What you’re looking at here are sticks of yakitori made with chicken breast and chicken tail.

Onigiri are great, but yaki onigiri or grilled rice balls are even better. Smokey with a glazed outer layer of crisped rice, Yakitori Iyangwa offers yaki onigiri with two fillings – salmon or cod roe.

If you’re a fan of Japanese izakayas, then you can’t help but notice Yakitori Iyangwa from the street. It’s a cute little restaurant that offers morsels of Japanese pub life right here in the heart of the Nimman area.

Yakitori Iyangwa

Address: 70, 3 Huay Kaew Rd, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Operating Hours: 5:30-11:30PM, daily
What They Offer: Japanese izakaya food

12. The Bowl Spot

Who doesn’t love a good poke bowl? They’re pretty, they’re healthy, and they can often be customized to your liking.

The Bowl Spot is a highly-rated restaurant in the Nimman area that offers ready-made and DIY poke bowls. Their signature bowls feature salmon, tuna, shrimp, or chicken but you can get vegetarian bowls as well, like this Forest Spice made with mushrooms. No matter the bowl, you can choose from a base of either sushi rice, brown rice, salad, or a mix of all three.

NOTE: They label these as “vegan pokes” but they include buttered corn. You can tell them to hold the butter for a fully vegan version.

We visited this restaurant multiple times and on one visit, our server recommended the Super-bowl. It’s a bestseller featuring Mexican-style marinated chicken breast, tomato corn salsa, cucumber, red cabbage, and carrots served over your choice of base. ¡Muy rico!

Pictured here is the Mrs Traveleater Special. It’s a DIY poke bowl made with salmon sashimi as its key ingredient. Aside from the base, you get to choose a protein, a marinade, four toppings, and one side sauce.

One of our favorite things to do in the Nimman area was to walk aimlessly and explore its grid of residential streets. Hidden between houses are cute restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and massage parlors so you never know what you might find. That’s how we stumbled upon The Bowl Spot and a couple of other restaurants on this list.

The Bowl Spot

Address: Nimmanheamin soi 17 28/3 Nimman, Sai Nam Phueng Alley, Mueng, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 11AM-9:30PM, daily
What They Offer: Poke bowls

13. Lam-yai

Is there a more popular and beloved Thai dessert than mango sticky rice? Like many tourists, we can’t get enough of this simple but delicious sweet treat no matter where we are in Thailand.

Restaurants and food stalls selling mango sticky rice are a dime a dozen in Chiang Mai but in the trendy Nimman area, they can be pretty pricey. At the food court in One Nimman for example, an order of mango sticky rice goes for at least THB 60 or 80. At Lam-yai, this satisfying order went for just THB 30 (July 2024).

Can you tell from the orange-ness of that mango just how delicious this was? We had mango sticky rice many times in Chiang Mai and this was one of our favorites.

Lam-yai was another place we found when combing the Nimman neighborhood on foot. It’s a humble food stall that makes great mango sticky rice but unfortunately, they seem to keep erratic hours. I went here three times but found them open just once.

Lam-yai

Address: 17 Nimmana Haeminda Rd Lane 7, Suthep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
What They Offer: Mango sticky rice

VEGAN/VEGETARIAN RESTAURANTS

Chiang Mai has been described as the “digital nomad centre of the universe”, which may explain why there are so many plant-based restaurants here. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, then you shouldn’t have any trouble finding good food in Chiang Mai.

14. Reform Kafe

Reform Kafe is one of the most popular and highly-rated vegan restaurants in Chiang Mai. They offer a wide range of plant-based dishes like salad bowls, burgers, pasta dishes, and Thai food. We didn’t try any but they have a good selection of vegan cakes and desserts as well.

We started off with their version of som tam or green papaya salad. Vegan or not, it may have been one of the best we’ve ever had. We didn’t expect how good it would be considering it wasn’t made with any fish sauce or dried shrimp. Seriously delicious!

For my entree, I had this overflowing grilled tofu bowl. It was made with a generous amount of tofu served with different ingredients like avocado, quinoa, purple cabbage, fresh mango, pumpkin, potato salad, salsa, and fresh greens.

Mrs Traveleater went with this equally delicious and satisfying falafel avocado bowl. It was served with a colorful medley of ingredients like avocado, fresh tomato salsa, green peas, sauteed pumpkin, mango, red beans, bell peppers, and purple cabbage.

Located in the northern part of the Old City, Reform Kafe is the restaurant of the Green Tiger House hotel. We visited many vegan restaurants in Chiang Mai and this meal was easily one of our favorites.

Reform Kafe

Address: 1 4 Sri Poom Rd, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 8AM-10PM, daily
What They Offer: Smoothie bowls, salads, burgers, pasta dishes, Thai food

15. Pure Vegan Heaven

Pure Vegan Heaven is another great vegan restaurant in the Old City. They have similar offerings as Reform Kafe so you’ll find lots of salad bowls, sandwiches, and plant-based Thai dishes on their menu.

Aren’t these tempeh autumn rolls gorgeous? It’s similar to a Vietnamese summer roll but instead of being wrapped in rice paper, the fillings are bound together by a thin sliver of cucumber instead. It’s made with tempeh, red cabbage, grated carrot, coriander, and bell peppers served with a quartet of tasty sauces.

Salad bowls and wraps are common at vegan restaurants so it’s nice to find places serving plant-based versions of local dishes. What you’re looking at here is a vegan version of larb – a type of meat salad originally from Laos. Instead of meat, they use a variety of seasoned mushrooms served with black rice and quinoa.

Mrs Traveleater is a simple woman. If she sees falafel on a restaurant’s menu, then there’s a good chance she’ll order it.

We ate at Pure Vegan Heaven twice and both times, she enjoyed this lovely falafel bowl served with homemade beetroot hummus, turmeric tahini, quinoa, and wild rice. Instead of chickpeas or fava beans, they make their falafel with mung beans.

We lived in Mexico for most of 2022 so tacos are near and dear to our hearts. At Pure Vegan Heaven, you can get this trio of tacos made with tofu chorizo, red cabbage, pico de gallo, and crispy fried onions served in corn tortillas.

Pure Vegan Heaven is an excellent plant-based restaurant located in the heart of the Old City. Not only do they serve beautiful, lovingly made dishes, but the service is outstanding as well. Loved this place!

You can sit and enjoy your vegan meal on a table or stretch out on these triangular floor cushions Thai-style.

Pure Vegan Heaven

Address: 103 Rachadamnoen Soi 8, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 8:30AM-6PM, Thurs-Tue (closed Wednesdays)
What They Offer: Poke bowls, wraps, sandwiches, Thai dishes, smoothie bowls

16. Free Bird Cafe

Free Bird Cafe is one of the most interesting plant-based restaurants in Chiang Mai. It’s interesting because it’s owned and operated by the Thai Freedom House, a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities and aid to Shan refugees seeking shelter in Thailand. 100% of the profits at this restaurant are used to help fund the foundation’s various projects.

Because their mission is to provide support to displaced Shan people from Myanmar, it only makes sense for the menu at Free Bird Cafe to feature traditional Shan recipes, many of which are naturally plant-based to begin with, like this amazingly delicious lahpet thoke.

Known in English as green tea leaf salad, lahpet thoke is a Burmese delicacy consisting of soft pickled tea leaves mixed with a variety of different ingredients like toasted beans, cabbage, tomatoes, red onions, garlic, and lime.

Crunchy with an addictive blend of flavors and textures, lahpet thoke has been one of my favorite salads ever since I first tried it on a food tour in Yangon. For a complete meal, try pairing it with a bowl of jasmine or sticky rice.

Aside from Shan and Thai dishes, Free Bird Cafe also offers a few Western dishes like pancakes, smoothie bowls, and French toast. Pictured below is the chickpea tofu scramble. It’s made with Burmese tofu scrambled in coconut oil with garlic, turmeric, red onions, pennywort, and black salt.

These pan-fried Shan golden fritters are made with green papaya and mashed potatoes coated in chickpea flour. They’re light, crunchy, and delicious, especially when dipped into that tangy tamarind garlic sauce.

Free Bird Cafe is located in the Nimman area. If I understand correctly, it also serves as the headquarters of the Thai Freedom House where they provide Shan refugees with free language and arts classes, vocational training, mental health workshops, and more. You’ll find a shop here as well.

Here’s a look at the restaurant’s interior. Lovely and cheery right? It made us feel good to have lunch here.

If you’d prefer to lay out on a Thai floor cushion, then you can enjoy your meal in this al fresco dining space.

Aside from eating at Free Bird Cafe, you can also contribute to the foundation’s cause by shopping at their store. They sell a variety of different products here like handmade jewelry, body sprays, decorative items, and food products. You can even bring home a DIY lahpet thoke kit!

Thai Freedom House accepts donations of any kind – clothing, books, toys, etc. Items that aren’t suitable for donating to the Shan people directly are sold here at the shop.

Visit the Thai Freedom House website for more information about the foundation and how you can help.

Free Bird Cafe

Address: 14 ถนนศิริมังมังคลาจารย์ Mueang Chiang Mai District, 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 9AM-8PM, Wed-Sat / 9AM-5PM, Tue, Sun (closed Mondays)
What They Offer: Shan food, Thai dishes, smoothie bowls, Western breakfast dishes

17. Downtown Vegan Garden

Downtown Vegan Garden is a lovely plant-based restaurant located just outside the Old City. Like its sister restaurants – Reform Kafe (#14) and Goodsouls Kitchen (#19) – it offers a wide menu of vegan dishes like smoothie bowls, salad bowls, soups, Thai dishes, pasta, sandwiches, and plant-based steaks.

We started tonight’s dinner with these colorful fresh autumn rolls. A Vietnamese-inspired dish, they’re made with a variety of fresh ingredients like avocado, tomato, beetroot, mango, apple, and carrot wrapped in rice paper.

Speaking of Vietnamese dishes, how about sinking your teeth into one of the best sandwiches known to humankind – the banh mi? A Vietnamese national dish, this vegan version is made with baked tofu stuffed in a mini-baguette with cucumber, carrot, coriander, tomato, onion, and a spicy chili sauce. Ngon quá!

It’s never a bad time for fried rice, especially when it’s made with healthier grains like this brown rice and shiitake mushroom bowl.

Downtown Vegan Garden is located just east of the Old City, directly across the street from Neighborhood Community (#10).

When you first walk into the restaurant, you may be taken aback by its dark club-like interior. It’s not something you typically expect from a vegan restaurant so just keep walking until you reach the garden out back.

Now that’s more like it! We went to many vegan restaurants in Chiang Mai and this was easily one of the most beautiful. Such an unexpected concept though to have a club/bar and vegan garden restaurant in the same space.

Downtown Vegan Garden

Address: 282, 284 Chang Moi Rd, Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Operating Hours: 8AM-12MN, daily
What They Offer: Breakfast dishes, salad bowls, Thai food, pasta dishes, burgers, vegan steaks

18. Moreganic

As previously described, vegan restaurants that offer salad bowls and wraps are easy to find so it’s nice to come across places that serve creative plant-based versions of local food. A few restaurants offered meat-free renditions of popular Thai dishes like khao soi and pad kra pao, but Moreganic was the only place we went to that had vegan sai oua and kai yang on their menu.

What you’re looking at here is a platter of 100% plant-based northern Thai appetizers. It features sai oua, pork sausages, pork rinds, northern-style tofu, and nam prik noom.

This is Moreganic’s plant-based kai yang served with the usual accompaniments – som tam and sticky rice. Not only was it delicious, but it was impressive in its preparation as well. The grilled “chicken” even had a thin layer of “chicken skin”, probably made from tofu skin. Awesome!

Beautiful right? Moreganic is a modern traditional restaurant that serves delicious and well-executed vegan food. They don’t have as big a menu as some of the other restaurants on this list, but if these two dishes are any indication, then their other dishes are probably terrific as well.

Moreganic is the restaurant of Away Resort, a 4-star hotel located just a short walk east of Tha Phae Gate.

Moreganic

Address: Resort, Away, Tha Phae Road, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Operating Hours: 7AM-10PM, daily
What They Offer: Thai food, pasta dishes, sandwiches, pizza

19. Goodsouls Kitchen

From looking at its menu, you can tell right away that Goodsouls Kitchen is owned and operated by the same group as Reform Kafe (#14) and Downtown Vegan Garden (#17). You’ll find a similarly wide selection of delicious plant-based fare like burgers, vegan steaks, salad bowls, pasta dishes, and Thai/Burmese food.

Like the green papaya salad at Reform Kafe, the som tam at Goodsouls Kitchen was amazing as well.

Goodsouls Kitchen serves generous portions so we wound up overordering and bringing these fresh vegetable rolls home. Always satisfying, they’re basically Vietnamese summer rolls made with cucumber, avocado, carrot, lettuce, coriander, and mint served with a delicious sweet and sour tamarind dipping sauce.

This brown rice and mushroom bowl was incredibly delicious, so much so that we ordered it again via Grab a few days later! It’s made with stir-fried pulled shiitake mushrooms served with steamed brown rice, onions, tomatoes, and green onions.

We’re all about mushrooms so we tried this glass noodle mushroom ball salad as well. It’s made with glass noodles and mushroom balls served with vegetables, herbs, and mix of different mushrooms like shiitake, king oyster, wood ear, and shimeji.

Goodsouls Kitchen is located in the Old City, about a 5-minute walk from Reform Kafe. The branding at these three restaurants feels a bit cookie-cutter and generic but don’t let that deter you – this group really knows how to make great plant-based food.

Goodsouls Kitchen

Address: 52 Sinharat Rd Lane 3, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 8AM-10PM, daily
What They Offer: Breakfast dishes, Thai/Burmese food, sandwiches, vegan steaks, desserts

20. Vegan Society

Vegan Society is the plant-based restaurant of the V Society Guest House in the Old City. They offer a focused menu of homecooked Thai classics like pad thai, pad see ew, khao soi, and massaman curry. Pictured here is their version of Burmese lahpet thoke.

What you’re looking at here is Vegan Society’s plant-based version of pad kra pao made with tofu and mushrooms. Like Pakorn’s Kitchen (#2), it was tasty though it lacked the texture I look for in meat-based pad kra pao.

If you prefer noodles over rice, then you may want to try their version of pad see ew, a tasty stir-fried noodle dish that’s basically the Thai version of Malaysian char koay teow.

Restaurants like Reform Kafe and Downtown Vegan Garden are well-oiled machines but if you want plant-based food that’s a little more rustic, then Vegan Society is a good place to consider.

Vegan Society

Address: 30 Ratchamanka Rd Soi 7, Tambon Phra Sing, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 11AM-9:30PM, Fri-Wed / 4-9:30PM, Thurs
What They Offer: Thai dishes

21. The Vegano Corner

We stayed for a month in the Nimman area so these next three restaurants were my go-to spots for vegan food on our most recent trip to Chiang Mai. They aren’t true restaurants, but food stalls located at the One Nimman and MAYA shopping centers.

The Vegano Corner was the very first plant-based restaurant we went to in Chiang Mai. They offer a small menu of vegan appetizers, salads, pasta, and Thai dishes – my favorite being a pad kra pao that was by far the best plant-based version I had in Chiang Mai.

Pictured here is their fried calamari made with deep-fried king oyster mushrooms. If no one told you, then you’d probably think these were made with real squid.

If you’re a fan of king oyster mushrooms but prefer grilled over fried, then you may want to go for this mushroom teriyaki salad instead.

Seriously, who doesn’t like pad thai? This vegan version of the popular Thai national dish is made with rice noodles stir-fried in tamarind sauce with tofu, leeks, bean sprouts, and caramelized onions.

We tried many dishes at the Vegano Corner but this plant-based pad kra pao was easily my favorite. It was the only one I had in Chiang Mai that mimicked that delicious ground meat texture that I’ve come to associate with and look for in every pad kra pao. For a little extra, you can even get it with a vegan fried egg!

This pad kra pao was delicious and something I’ll definitely look for on every return trip to Chiang Mai. I miss it already!

The Vegano Corner is one of the many food stalls you’ll find at the bright and cheery One Nimman food court.

The Vegano Corner

Address: Street Food @ One Nimman, เลขที่ 1 วันมาร์​เก็ต บล็อก F14 1-1/5 ถ.นิมมานเหมินทร์ Tambon Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 11AM-8:30PM, daily
What They Offer: Thai food, salads, pasta dishes

22. Namon Kitchen

Also located at the One Nimman food court, Namon Kitchen was one of my favorite vegan eateries in Chiang Mai. It’s a simple food stall that specializes in plant-based versions of popular Thai noodle dishes, like this spicy dry tom yum.

If you love that magical concoction known as tom yum and have a tolerance for spicy food, then you need to try this vegan version. It’s absolutely delicious and something I enjoyed many times in Chiang Mai.

Equally delicious was this vegan version of yen ta fo, a non-spicy noodle soup that gets its characteristic pink color from fermented soybean paste. Mrs Traveleater doesn’t like spicy food so this was one of the few dishes she could order from Namon Kitchen.

If you prefer noodles over rice, then you need to check out Namon Kitchen. Their noodle dishes are amazing.

Namon Kitchen

Address: Street Food @ One Nimman, 1Nimmanhaemin Raod Suthep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 11AM-8:30PM, daily
What They Offer: Thai noodle dishes

23. Imjai

Imjai is another great food stall you can visit in the Nimman area that offers cheap but delicious vegan food. It’s a popular family-owned eatery located in the basement food court of the MAYA Lifestyle Shopping Centre.

For just a few baht, you can enjoy a delicious and nutritious homecooked vegan meal. Imjai’s meal combos – where you can choose from one to three dishes served with or without rice (THB 35-65, July 2024) – are especially popular.

Their homemade sweet potato burgers and rice noodle rolls are tasty as well and something we enjoyed many times in Chiang Mai.

There are many food stalls at the MAYA basement food court but Imjai is the only place that offers 100% vegan food. I observed the rapport between the owners and customers and Imjai seems to have a loyal client base of both locals and foreigners.

This is what a typical spread at Imjai looks like. You just point to whatever dishes you want and they heap them onto a plate for you. The family that runs it is lovely and patiently answered all of my questions.

Be sure to check out all the side dishes as well. As described, those veggie spring rolls are especially tasty.

If you want plant-based food witn a more meat-like texture, then you can choose from side dishes like seasoned mushroom stems, mushroom balls, vegan sausages, fried tofu, and more.

Imjai

Address: MAYA Lifestyle Shopping Center, 55, ตําบล, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Operating Hours: 10:30AM-7PM, daily
What They Offer: Homecooked Thai food

24. V Secret

V Secret is a plant-based food stall located at the Phaploen Night Market, our favorite night market in Chiang Mai. They offer a selection of almost twenty homemade vegan dishes like cabbage rolls, pad kra pow, tom yum, and shirataki drunken noodles.

Pictured below is the mushroom tofu sushi. Instead of being served with soy sauce and wasabi, they douse it in coconut milk so it’s creamier and sweeter than the typical sushi you’d expect.

You can never have enough lahpet thoke in Chiang Mai! I could seriously eat this salad everyday.

Phaploen is a fun night market that’s home to dozens of food stalls. At the time of our visit (June 2024), V Secret was one of two stalls that offered plant-based food.

V Secret

Address: Phaploen Night Market, 28/3-4 Changklan Rd, Tambon Chang Moi, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Operating Hours: 5:30-11PM, Mon-Sat (closed Sundays)
What They Offer: Thai/Burmese food

25. Aeeen

Last but not least on this list is Aeeen, an interesting plant-based Japanese restaurant recommended by the Michelin Guide. It’s interesting for several reasons.

One, it’s owned by a Japanese couple who migrated to Chiang Mai from Osaka. Two, it’s located in a quieter, more residential part of town that you’d probably never visit otherwise. Three, a big focus of their menu is on fermented food and seasonal ingredients. And four, it’s open only on weekends from Friday to Sunday. I think it’s safe to say you won’t find another restaurant like this in Chiang Mai!

To start, we had this appetizer typically found at many Japanese restaurants – hiya yakko or chilled tofu topped with scallions.

Because Aeeen is known for their fermented dishes, I had to go with this hakko don for my main course. Served with miso soup, it’s made with Thai riceberry topped with a variety of different ingredients like natto, kimchi, daikon radish, seaweed, and more. It was an interesting dish, though a bit disappointing in portion size considering the price (THB 350, June 2024).

This was the dish we were most excited to try at Aeeen. Called the obanzai set, it’s an attractive-looking spread of several small dishes served with bowls of riceberry and miso soup.

Components may change depending on the season but our set included soft tofu, natto, shirataki noodles, fried lotus root, seasoned avocados, and more.

Aeeen is located in a simple but charming two-story wooden building that took us right back to Japan. It’s about 7 km (4.3 miles) west of the Old City so you’ll need to book a Grab to get there.

We enjoyed the experience of having lunch at Aeeen but personally, we probably wouldn’t go back. The food is interesting and unique though it’s also fairly pricey for what you get, especially since you have to pay for a Grab going to the restaurant and back.

But if you’re staying long enough in Chiang Mai and don’t mind the cost, then you may want to check out Aeeen over a weekend. I’d love to explore the area more just to see what other hidden gems are waiting to be discovered here.

You can enjoy your meal on the second floor or in this al fresco space like we did. At the time, there were two tables of customers sitting outside, all of whom were Japanese!

I was surprised to learn about the population of Japanese immigrants currently living in Thailand, over 2,000 of which are here in Chiang Mai. After lunch, we went to a cute Japanese cafe nearby so I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them live in this area. Cool!

This is the first floor of the restaurant. Isn’t it cute? It made me feel like I had randomly walked into some obscure shop in Yufuin or Hida Takayama.

If you enjoyed the food, then you can bring home a few of the products they use in their dishes.

Aeeen

Address: Unnamed Road, Tambon Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Operating Hours: 11AM-5PM, Fri-Sun (closed Mon-Thurs)
What They Offer: Fermented Japanese dishes

LOCATION MAP

To help you find the restaurants featured in this Chiang Mai restaurant guide, I’ve pinned them all on the map below. Tap on the link for a live version of the map.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you’re staying for a limited time in Chiang Mai and can only visit a few restaurants, then Khao Soi Khun Yai (#1), Pakorn’s Kitchen (#2), and Cherng Doi Roast Chicken (#4) would be my top recommendations for traditional northern Thai food. For plant-based restaurants, I’d probably go to Downtown Vegan Garden (#17), The Vegano Corner (#21), and Namon Kitchen (#22) first.

With Chiang Mai being such a popular tourist destination (and digital nomad hub), you’ll have hundreds of restaurants to sift through so I hope this guide helps put you on the right track. Personally, we prefer staying in the Nimman area but you shouldn’t have any trouble finding delicious food no matter where you are in Chiang Mai.

Thanks for reading and have an incredible time eating your way through Chiang Mai and northern Thailand!

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