In a nutshell

  • Chiang Mai has an enormous range of great places to eat. We’ve tried a ton of spots and are sharing our 13 favorite restaurants — plus tips from our community.
  • For the best Thai specialties, hit up the night markets or a dedicated Khao Soi spot. Our top pick: the Cowboy Lady at the Chang Pueak food market — incredible food for just over a dollar.
  • Vegans and vegetarians are seriously well catered to in Chiang Mai — especially at the non-profit Freebird Café and the excellent Anchan.
  • Craving something international? Don’t miss the burgers at Beast Burger or the wood-fired pizza at Why Not — both are among the best in the city.

The Best Thai Restaurants in Chiang Mai

Night market in Chiang Mai
Grabbing a bite at the night market in Chiang Mai is always a good idea

Northern Thai cuisine has some seriously unique specialties you absolutely have to try while you’re here.

Very typical of the region is Khao Soi, a curry-based noodle soup topped with crispy noodles. Delicious. Also very typical of Northern Thailand is Larb, finely chopped meat with onions and cilantro, served with sticky rice.

Great Thai food is available on almost every corner in Chiang Mai. Here we share our personal picks for the best restaurants in Chiang Mai — along with tips from our community.

The Cowboy Lady at the Chang Puek Food Market

Our first pick isn’t a restaurant at all — it’s a stall at a food market in front of the North Gate of the Old City. When you’re there, keep an eye out for a woman wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots.

Her stall serves tender braised pork with an egg and a kind of cabbage on the side (already on the table when you sit down). It doesn’t sound all that special at first, and honestly it doesn’t look particularly appetizing either. But it’s incredibly good — and a serving costs the equivalent of just over a dollar!

Word has clearly gotten out that the food there is fantastic. At first the Cowboy Lady only had three small tables behind her stall; now there are easily 30.

DASH Teak House

DASH Teak House is a reader recommendation. Located in the southeast of Chiang Mai’s historic center, this is the place to try the classic dish Khao Soi — and it’s supposedly out of this world!

For Chiang Mai restaurants it’s on the pricier side, but by Western standards it’s still very affordable.

Khao Soi Lung Prakit Kad Kom

Another reader recommendation is Khao Soi Lung Prakit Kad Kom in the south of Chiang Mai.

It’s a super authentic spot that feels more like a street food stall. You’ll find delicious Khao Soi here at very reasonable prices — one of the best places to eat in Chiang Mai if you’re watching your budget.

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

Eating at a night market is always a great idea! You have a huge variety of different stalls and dishes to choose from and can just go with whatever catches your eye.

At the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar there are several areas with food trucks and tables and chairs set up in the middle.

This is especially great when you’re traveling with a group and everyone is craving something different. Everyone just grabs whatever they feel like and you all eat together at the table.

Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Chiang Mai

Restaurant Chiang Mai
Our top pick is the non-profit restaurant Freebird Café

Chiang Mai is an absolute paradise for vegans and vegetarians. Even though we don’t eat vegan or vegetarian ourselves, we love coming back to several of these places — the dishes are genuinely delicious for meat-eaters too. Here are our favorites.

By the way: Almost all the restaurants in this article also offer vegetarian options. The following three restaurants are exclusively vegetarian or vegan.

Anchan

  • Location: near Nimman Road (Google Maps location)
  • Hours: 11:30 AM – 8:00 PM (closed Tuesday & Wednesday)
  • Price level: €

We go to Anchan at least once a week whenever we’re in Chiang Mai. It serves excellent vegan Thai cuisine with a menu that changes regularly.

The curries, Pad Thai, and fried rice are all delicious. Make sure you also try the Cinnamon Ginger Iced Tea. It’s seriously fantastic.

One heads-up: the dishes at Anchan are very spicy. If that’s not your thing, just mention it when you order — you can get your food “little spicy” or “no spicy.”

Green Tiger House

Green Tiger is a fully vegan restaurant, part of the hotel of the same name in the old quarter.

It serves vegan Thai cuisine as well as really tasty, authentic pasta dishes. And the vegan desserts deserve a special mention — they’re absolutely wonderful!

Freebird Café

  • Location: Near Nimman Road (Google Maps location)
  • Hours: 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM or 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Price level: €€

The Freebird Café is a non-profit restaurant where refugees from Myanmar are trained and paid a fair wage — so eating here feels good in every sense.

They serve very good breakfast and vegan Burmese dishes. Be sure to try the chocolate brownie. It’s absolutely incredible!

Restaurants in Chiang Mai with Western Food

Need a break from Thai food? There are also plenty of top restaurants in Chiang Mai serving great Western food.

Best Burger in Chiang Mai

Beast Burger

Where do you find the best burger in Chiang Mai? No matter who you ask, the answer will almost certainly be either Beast Burger or Rock Me Burger.

We’ve obviously tried both, and we have a clear favorite: Beast Burger! A lot of people rave about Rock Me Burger, but honestly it let us down.

When we first visited Chiang Mai, Beast Burger was still a small food truck on Nimman Road — a few plastic chairs set out on the street and that was it. Its massive success has turned that food truck into a proper, attractive burger restaurant.

Our favorite is the classic “The Beast,” or its double version called the “Double Double.” For vegetarians, there’s also a burger with a beet-based patty. That one’s really good too!

Best Pizza in Chiang Mai

Why not?

When it comes to the best pizza in Chiang Mai, in our opinion there’s only one answer: “Why Not?” in the Nimman Road area.

The restaurant — with its charming garden — is run by an Italian with a whole lot of passion. The owner is there almost every evening in person, making sure his guests are well taken care of.

They serve outstanding pizza, pasta dishes, antipasti, and a great selection of wine, cheeses, and cured meats from Italy. It really doesn’t get better than this.

If you’re coming with a larger group, make a reservation in advance — “Why Not?” is always busy.

Best Sandwiches in Chiang Mai

Smoothie Blues

Smoothie Blues has been our favorite breakfast spot in Chiang Mai for years — and we often find ourselves coming back for lunch too.

Beyond a huge selection of delicious smoothies, they also serve outstanding sandwiches on really tasty baguette. One tip: specify that you want baguette when you order, otherwise you might end up with your sandwich on two slices of toast.

In addition to the Nimman Road location, there’s now also a branch in the historic district at Tha Phae Gate to the east.

Asian Restaurants in Chiang Mai

It doesn’t always have to be Thai or European — in Chiang Mai you can eat your way through all kinds of Asian cuisines.

Japanese: Ramen

Ninja Ramen

  • Location: Near Nimman Road (Google Maps location)
  • Hours: 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM and 5:00 – 9:30 PM (closed Thursday)
  • Price level: €€

Since our trip to Japan, we’ve loved Japanese cuisine even more than before. Chiang Mai has some really great Japanese spots that we visit often.

Ninja Ramen is a super authentic restaurant serving Japanese ramen noodle soup. The ramen here is definitely among the best we’ve had outside of Japan — and it’s incredibly affordable to boot.

Japanese: Sushi

Sushi Umai

  • Location: Near Nimman Road (Google Maps location)
  • Hours: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM and 5:00 – 9:30 PM
  • Price level: €€€

A step up in terms of quality — and price — is Sushi Umai. In addition to sushi, they also offer other Japanese specialties such as soba noodles. It’s not cheap, but it’s truly, truly excellent.

Indian

Accha

Want really good Indian food in Chiang Mai? We’ve got you covered.

Accha serves excellent Indian cuisine with subtle fusion elements. All the dishes are delicious, generally not too spicy, and vegetarians are really well taken care of here too. Nearly half the menu is vegetarian or vegan.