Chiang Mai Restaurants

  1. Amazing Sandwich

    Three doors north of the Thai Airways International office, this small air-con place specialises in fresh baguettes with your choice of a dozen fillings, as well as lasagne, vegetable pie and quiche. Also has free internet service.

    Read more about Amazing Sandwich

  2. Antique House

    Set in a two-storey teak house filled with interesting antiques, the food here is beautifully presented and predominately northern Thai. There is also a garden seating area. There is no smoking allowed in the house.

    Read more about Antique House

  3. Anusan Night Market

    In Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, this buzzing food market is best known for its seafood, and its lively atmosphere. Stalls surround a large cluster of tables where each 'restaurant' has a section allocated with their own waiters - head to the parts that look most crowded. Most have English menus.

    Read more about Anusan Night Market

  4. Arabia

    This small restaurant does north Indian-Pakistani-Arab-style cuisine very well, perhaps better than any of the others in terms of the freshness of the flavours. Don't let the fact that it's often empty throw you off the trail; it has a steady and discerning, if small, clientele.

    Read more about Arabia

  5. Aroon (Rai) Restaurant

    Look for Chiang Mai specialities such as kaeng hang-leh, kaeng awm and kaeng khae . The latter two dishes are more like stews than curries, and rely on local roots and herbs for their distinctive, bitter-hot flavours. The spacious open-air dining area upstairs is favoured by night-time clientele, and in hot weather it's cooler than downstairs.

    Read more about Aroon (Rai) Restaurant

  7. Art Café

    Facing Pratu Tha Phae, this popular place has a huge menu including Thai, Italian, Mexican and American food. It is particularly good for breakfasts, and there are lots of vegetarian options. This is a non-smoking restaurant.

    Read more about Art Café

  8. AUM Vegetarian Food

    AUM at first appears to be a second-hand book shop. Go inside though and the all-veggie menu features a varied list of traditional Thai and Chinese dishes prepared without meat or eggs. There is an upstairs eating area with cushions on the floor and low tables.

    Read more about AUM Vegetarian Food

  9. Bake & Bite

    Bake & Bite prepare delicious European- and American-style pastries, pies and sandwiches on your choice of bread. They also offer more vegetarian options than most for breakfast, and have good chocolate cake. There's another branch at 183/8-9 Th Chang Klan.

    Read more about Bake & Bite

  10. Bierstube

    This cosy place, decorated with black-and-white photos of Thailand, has wooden benches and a bar. It's popular with German expatriates and visitors, and the menu is mainly German/European with some Thai.

    Read more about Bierstube

  11. Black Canyon Coffee

    This contemporary styled place is great for people watching, especially on Sunday's, when the Walking Street is on. Delicious ice coffee and teas, plus the usual Thai and Western food suspects are on offer here.

    Read more about Black Canyon Coffee

  12. Advertisement

  13. Cafe de Nimman

    Located at the front of the 'Room - boutique mall' (an open-air walkway with a row of shops and bars). Sit in the pleasant outside seating area or the small air-con section and choose from a large menu of Thai rice dishes, spicy salads and curries.

    Read more about Cafe de Nimman

  14. Café Souvannaphoum

    This new, Swiss-Thai run, hip looking café and wine bar stands out in this budget backpacker area. Real coffee, good breakfast, sandwiches and salads are served in a chic décor of rattan-and-cream easy chairs. Wine is a big focus of this place, with regular wine-tastings. Expect a bigger menu by the time this guide is published.

    Read more about Café Souvannaphoum

  15. Central Airport Plaza

    The food centre at Central Airport Plaza has vendors selling Thai and Chinese dishes at reasonable prices.

    Read more about Central Airport Plaza

  16. Chez John

    Chez John prepares moderately priced French cuisine and has a large selection of wines.

    Read more about Chez John

  17. Chiangmai Saloon

    Ignore the ersatz Wild West décor, and head straight for the huge steaks and Tex-Mex.

    Read more about Chiangmai Saloon

  19. Chinatown

    Chiang Mai's small Chinatown is located on Th Ratchawong, north of Th Chang Moi. Here you'll find a whole string of inexpensive Chinese rice and noodle shops, most of them offering variations on Tae Jiu (Chao Zhou) and Yunnanese cooking. Recommended is Aomngurn, next to the New Mitrapap Hotel. This funky looking place with blackboard signs outside serves fantastic grilled chicken and various Chinese/Thai dishes. There are English menus.

    Read more about Chinatown

  20. Da Stefano

    An intimate, well-decorated, air-con place, Da Stefano focuses on fresh Italian cuisine, with one of the better wine lists in town.

    Read more about Da Stefano

  21. Dai-Kichi

    This new, highly recommended place on the main road offers reasonably priced sushi and sashimi, plus a variety of nine-dish set menus.

    Read more about Dai-Kichi

  22. Dalaabaa Bar and Restaurant

    This trendy eatery, with subdued lighting washing over orange and red silks, brings a Bangkok-style sophistication to Chiang Mai dining with a clever Thai fusion menu.

    Read more about Dalaabaa Bar and Restaurant

  23. Galare Food Centre

    There's a big indoor/outdoor cluster of permanent vendors at Galare Food Centre, opposite the main Chiangmai Night Bazaar building. Free Thai classical dancing is featured nightly.

    Read more about Galare Food Centre

  24. Advertisement

  25. Gallery

    This elegant eatery, in a converted 100-year-old teak Chinese shophouse that's half gallery/shop, half restaurant, has a colonial feel. The quality of the food and service goes up and down, but the setting remains the primary attraction.

    Read more about Gallery

  26. Giorgio Italian Restaurant

    Chiang Mai's most ambitious, and some say best, Italian eatery features a full range of pasta, some of it homemade. The salads are particularly good, while the décor is classy and retro.

    Read more about Giorgio Italian Restaurant

  27. Good View

    Good View offers open-air areas in a contemporary setting. The huge menu covers everything Thai, and there's a Japanese sushi stand at the back. There's also live music.

    Read more about Good View

  28. Herb Garden

    This small and friendly place, run by a Thai-English couple, is one of those rare places where the Western food and Thai food is equally good. Thai dishes like néua deh dio (beef salad with sesame seeds and basil) are delicious. For something very English, choose the bangers and mash (with proper pork sausages) and the treacle tart. Breakfast is good here too.

    Read more about Herb Garden

  29. Heuan Phen

    Highly regarded for its northern Thai food, the house specialities include khâo sawy (egg noodles in a curried broth), lâap khûa (northern-style minced-meat salad), náam phrík nùm (a chilli dip made with roasted peppers) and kaeng hang-leh (very rich Burmese-style pork curry). Daytime meals are served in a large dining room out the front, while evening meals are served in an atmospheric antique-decorated house at the back.

    Read more about Heuan Phen