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Heuan Soontharee
Rustic dining areas built on several levels open onto the west bank of the river. The owner, famous northern Thai singer Soontaree Vechanont, performs at the restaurant on weekends; other local musicians perform during the week. The menu is a pleasant blend of northern, northeastern and central Thai specialities.
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Hong Tauw Inn
This intimate, charming place has got an old-fashioned feel, with 1940s pendulum clocks, scattered antiques and traditional tablecloths. Particularly good are the northern Thai dishes, like the intense phanaeng curry and the yummy banana flower salad. The set menu is for two people, and includes seven dishes.
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House
This ambitious restaurant occupies a mid 20th-century house that once belonged to an exiled Burmese prince. The menu successfully fuses Thai and European elements, complemented by an excellent wine list and attentive service. For a more relaxed setting, lounge in the separate and sumptuous, Morrocanesque area for delicious tapas and drinks.
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Indian Restaurant Vegetarian Food
A very friendly, family-owned place that serves cheap and adequate vegetarian thalis as well as individual Indian dishes. The owners also offer Indian cooking lessons.
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Jerusalem Falafel
This brightly coloured restaurant serves a selection of Middle Eastern food, as well as salads and sandwiches. Choose from a list of side dishes like falafels, shashlik, hummus, and tabbouleh or have mains like beef kebab or moussaka. The meze for two or four people is a good deal. Yogurt, haloumi and feta cheese are homemade here.
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Juicy 4U
This cute café serves fantastic organic breakfasts, sandwiches, salads, juices and smoothies. Choose your own sandwich fillings and bread type from a list, and they will rustle up your concoction. The Thai owner studies nutrition and can advise on the best juices for ailments ranging from a killer hangover to insomnia.
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Just Khao Soi
This is the gourmet version of khâo sawy . Served on a wooden artist's palette you can create your own noodle broth with several condiments, including coconut milk, to thicken it at will. Two different noodle shapes are offered, Chiang Mai style and Mae Salong style.
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Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Centre
The food centre at Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Centre has vendors selling Thai and Chinese dishes at reasonable prices.
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Khao Soi Lam Duan
This place serves large bowls of beef, pork or chicken khâo sawy . Also on the menu are kao-lǎo (soup without noodles), mǔu sà-té (grilled spiced pork on bamboo skewers) and khànǒm rang phêung (literally beehive pastry - a coconut-flavoured waffle).
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Khao Soi Prince
This is regarded by many locals as their favourite spot for authentic khâo sawy . The khâo mòk kài (Thai-style chicken briyani) is also well worth trying.
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Khrua Phuket Laikhram
Khrua Phuket Laikhram, a small family-run restaurant near Chiang Mai University, is worth hunting down for its delicious, cheap, authentic homestyle southern Thai cooking. It has an upstairs dining room. There are no English menus so you may have to improvise with your phrasebook.
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Khun Churn
This new place, in a pleasant covered outdoor setting, has more interesting vegetable choices than most. Start with crispy rice with coconut dip or try the pomelo salad with deep fried coconut, limejuice and chilli. Lots of tofu and fresh veg are used.
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Kuaytiaw Kai Tun Coke
A small food stall directly opposite the main entrance to the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel prepares a simpler version of kǔaytǐaw kài tǔn yaa jiin but substitutes Coca-Cola for the Chinese herbs. Here the chicken is marinated in cola and spices overnight, then steamed and served with rice noodles. It's actually quite good and has become famous as far away as Bangkok.
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La Gondola
Fresh pasta, salads and vegetarian options are offered in an atmospheric, under-the-stars setting on a grassy area by the river.
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La Villa Pizzeria
Set in and around a large, old Thai house, La Villa serves pizza baked in a wood-fired oven, and the rest of the Italian food on the menu is tops.
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Le Grand Lanna
Part of the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi complex, Le Grand Lanna is a 4000-sq-metre complex of restored northern Thai buildings filled with antique furniture, high-end art and handicrafts. The cuisine can be wonderful, especially the upmarket versions of northern Thai specialities.
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Libernard Café
Libernard serves fresh Arabica coffee grown in Thailand and roasted daily on the premises. The array of pancakes and other breakfast specialities also deserve acclaim, and Thai food is available as well. This is a good place to buy coffee to take home.
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Love at First Bite
It's almost too good to be true: the cheesecakes, layer cakes, pies and blintzes stocked in the glass-fronted refrigerators taste as delicious as they look. There are tables where you can sit and drink coffee or tea while sampling the fruits of the Thai owners' 27-year sojourn in the USA.
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Mangsawirat Kangreuanjam
Look for the difficult-to-see English sign that reads 'Vegetarian Food'. The cooks put out 15 to 20 pots of fresh, 100% Thai vegetarian dishes daily. The dishes feature lots of tofu, squash, peas, pineapple, sprouts and potato, and the desserts are good.
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Mike's Burgers
Grab a stool for a dose of après-clubbing handmade burgers and chilli fries. Considered the best burgers outside the US by ex-pats, there is also a branch on Th Nimmanhaemin.
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Mitmai Restaurant
A clean, simple and spacious Yunnanese place specialising in delicious vegetable soups made with pumpkin, taro, snowpeas, mushrooms or other vegetables. Try the tôm sôm plaa yâwt máphráo (hot-and-sour fish soup with coconut shoots). The bilingual menu also includes yam (tangy, Thai-style salad) made with Chinese vegetables, as well as Yunnanese steamed ham, and many vegetarian dishes. No MSG is used in the cooking.
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Moxie
This achingly hip restaurant has a sleek and ultra-modern décor in orange, cream and dark wood. The interesting lunch and dinner menu offers Thai, Japanese and Italian choices.
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Palaad Tawanron
Set by a waterfall, this buzzing new restaurant draws in Thais and foreigners alike for the fantastic Thai food and the spectacular views over twinkly Chiang Mai. Try the fiery tôm yam (spicy and sour soup) or any of the delicious fish dishes. Entry is via rear gate to Chiang Mai Zoo; go to the end of Th Suthep, then at the zoo follow the signs.
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Pum Pui Italian Restaurant
This casual place features a low-key garden setting and moderate prices. The menu includes olive pâté and other antipasto, along with salads, lots of vegetarian options, ice cream, breakfast, Italian wines and espressos.
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Rachamankha
Tucked away behind Wat Phra Singh, in the sumptuous grounds of the boutique hotel of the same name, one dines at the Ratchamankha to enjoy the antique-laden atmosphere as much as the food. The menu is Thai-centred, with hints of Myanmar, Yunnan and Europe floating at the periphery. On Friday to Sunday evening there's traditional Thai music.
