Other restaurants in Thailand
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Baan Benjarong
This converted house serving central Thai dishes is where the locals come for a ‘nice’ Thai meal. Dishes like stewed, salted crabs in coconut milk, and spicy banana flower salad are delectable. Out the back are tables with views of the rice paddies.
reviewed
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Drunken Sailors
This hip, ultra-relaxed, octagonal pad is smothered with beanbags. The coffee drinks are top-notch and go well with interesting bites like the chicken green curry sandwich.
reviewed
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Maew Hot Pan BBQ
The island’s best do-it-yourself dinner joint, Maew is an all-you-can-eat affair where diners cook their meats, veggies and quail eggs (a local fave) over a gurgling hot pot. Maew can be easy to miss; it is located on the ocean side of Ban Tai’s main road near the 7-Eleven.
reviewed
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All About Coffee
This tiny wooden place was probably the first business to do the cutesy ‘bohemian’ style that now dominates much of Pai. Come here for eye-opening coffee drinks and the best French toast in town. Yummy open sandwiches are made with homemade bread.
reviewed
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Tonsai
Settle down on the funky cushions in this tree house/restaurant built in a sturdy banyan tree ( đôn sai in Thai). There’s a good selection of Thai and Western eats amid a nicely relaxed ambience. Make an afternoon of it.
reviewed
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Bar Kantiang
Excellent Thai food comes out of this ramshackle kitchen near Ao Kantiang. It’s exceptionally popular with the local expat crowd, who secretly come for the karaoke.
reviewed
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Sabay Dee
Stick around long enough, and it seems like just about everybody in Chiang Khong stops by this family-run cart for a bag of curry or chili dip to take home. For those who don’t live here, the owners are more than happy to provide dishes and seating. Prepared by natives of Chiang Khong, you’re at the mercy of whatever local dishes they’ve made that day, but if you’re lucky you’ll get to try the delicious gaang hŏoa Ъlee, banana flower soup, or a spicy northern-style lâhp made from pork, buffalo or fish (raw or cooked – your call). Regardless, make it an early dinner, as choices become slimmer the darker it gets. Sabay Dee has no English sign, but is located di…
reviewed
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Talat Thanin
Market aficionados would be impressed by this efficient and clean covered market, one of the tidiest seen in Thailand. The meat vendors are segregated into their own glass-enclosed area preventing an accidental tour by sensitive stomachs. The fruit and vegetable section is a beautiful display of tropical bounty. In the prepared food section you’ll find Chiang Mai’s recent food trends: sushi and fahin salad (a Thai-style salad bar with 1950s options, like tapioca and jello). You could continue deeper to the covered food centre for made-to-order noodles and stir-fries.
reviewed
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Baan Phleng
A branch of the excellent Mae Hong Son restaurant of the same name, this popular place does a mix of northern Thai and Mae Hong Son–specific dishes. To go truly local, try the ‘fern salad Maehongson style’, tender ferns par-boiled and mixed with a dressing combining sesame oil, dried chili and garlic, or ‘pork and tomato chili paste’, the Shan dish known locally as nám prík òrng. There’s an English-language menu with photos if you feel you’re treading in unfamiliar waters.
reviewed
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Sala Bua & Lo Spuntino
Located deep within the bustle of ‘Seafood Street’, this excellent ocean-facing restaurant serves the best of both worlds – East and West – accompanied by a long list of wines. A resident Italian chef and a Thai chef whip up traditional masterpieces in the steamy kitchen while diners coddle their chardonnay and watch the sunset. Simple pleasures, like vegetable rice, are cooked to perfection, as are the big ticket items: seafood ‘baskets’ (for two) and Florentine sirloins.
reviewed
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Sai Ua Gao Makham
Chiang Mai reveals its Chinese heritage with its devotion to pork products, most obvious in the northern Thai speciality of sâi òo·a (pork sausage). Good quality sâi òo·a should be zesty and spicy with discernible flavours of lemongrass, ginger and turmeric. One of the famous sausage makers is Sai Ua Gao Makham, a small stall in Talat Mae Huay (Mae Huay market), which is a few kilometres south of the Night Safari on the way to Hang Dong.
reviewed
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Kulap
Located at the far north end of town on the left-hand side, this tired-looking restaurant serves some truly excellent Thai food that has earned it a reputation among both visitors and locals. Spice addicts will love the gaang Ъàh (‘jungle curry’), served with your choice of local fish, boar, frog or shrimp. For something more savoury try Ъoo lŏn, a mild ‘dip’ of crab, minced pork, coconut milk and fresh herbs, served with fresh vegetables.
reviewed
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Pa Pawng
If you happen to be in town on a weekend, be sure to stop by this popular local haunt serving kà·nŏm jeen (fresh rice noodles topped with various curries). You can’t miss it (simply look for a row of bubbling curries in earthenware pots), and ordering is a snap (simply point to whatever looks good). Auntie Pawng’s speciality is kà·nŏm jeen nám ngée·o, a delicious northern-style broth of pork and tomato.
reviewed
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Ban Kaew Heuan Kam
Outside of town on the klorng road, this pretty teak building is a thoroughly Thai affair (even the menu is written in Thai) and it’s a lovely spot to invite a Thai speaker to dinner. Without a translator, the first two pages of the menu are mainly northern Thai dishes (such as #1008 frog salad, #1014 steamed chicken in pandanus leaf, #2003 Burmese-style curry and #2012 fish curry with forest vegetables).
reviewed
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Fuang Fa
Pretend you’re a local in the know and stop by this riverside restaurant specialising in Sukhothai’s abundant and delicious freshwater fish. Try the Ъlah néua òrn tôrt grà·teeam, small freshwater fish deep-fried with garlic and served with ripe starfruit, or any of the numerous and delicious đôm yam–style soups. The English-language menu is limited, so be sure to ask about recommended dishes.
reviewed
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Riverside Restaurant
About 200m before Bao Phradit, this popular spot offers great views from a garden terrace and has tanks filled with examples of the kinds of Mekong River fish it has in the kitchen: if you don’t want to eat the fish, it’s almost worth just coming here for a biology lesson. The menu lists the many styles in which the chefs can cook it up for you, plus some nonfish dishes including wild boar. Free wi-fi, too.
reviewed
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Khao Soi Islam
This friendly Muslim restaurant serves the usual beef and chicken versions of the eponymous noodle dish; for something a bit different try Ъah·Ъah soy,kôw soy served with thick noodles made from brown rice. They do several other Muslim dishes as well, and dining entertainment involves listening to the staff converse in a mixture of Chinese, northern Thai, central Thai and Burmese.
reviewed
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Mengrai Sai Ua
Chiang Mai reveals its Chinese heritage with its devotion to pork products, most obvious in the northern Thai speciality of sâi òo·a (pork sausage). Good quality sâi òo·a should be zesty and spicy with discernible flavours of lemongrass, ginger and turmeric. One of the famous sausage makers is Mengrai Sai Ua, near the Holiday Inn on the east bank of the river.
reviewed
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Lady Restaurant
One of several garden restaurants in this part of town, Lady serves some exquisite Thai food. Unfortunately, there’s no English menu, but you can’t go wrong with đôm yam gài bâhn (Isan-style spicy and sour soup with free-range chicken), Ъlah tábtim râht prík (deep-fried red tilapia with sweet-and-sour chilli sauce) or pàt gà rèe gûng (shrimp with Indian curry sauce).
reviewed
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Jay Tiw
A block away from Kok Kaat towards the city centre, Jay Tiw boasts only 19 dishes, but emphasises quality over quantity. To reach both restaurants, hop on any sŏrng · tăa·ou heading south along Th Saengchuto and ask to get off at săh·lah glahng jang·wàt (City Hall). The restaurants are more or less across the street –just look for the rows of stainless-steel pots.
reviewed
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Loong It
To eat like a local, look no further than this rustic but delicious northern-style food shack. There’s an English-language menu on the wall, but don’t miss the sublime lâhp gài, minced chicken fried with herbs and topped with crispy deep-fried shallots and garlic. The restaurant is on Th Phranorn near the intersection with the Superhighway; look for a sign that says ‘Local Food’.
reviewed
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Talat Pratu Chiang Mai
In the early morning, this market is Chiang Mai’s communal larder, selling foodstuffs and ready-made dishes. If you want to make merit to the monks, come early and find the woman who sells pre-assembled food donations (20B); she’ll explain the ritual to you. Things quiet down by lunch-time, but the burners are re-ignited for a large and popular night market that sets up across the road.
reviewed
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Khaao Chae Naang Ram
Khaao Chae Naang RamKôw châa (camphor-scented chilled rice served with sweet/savoury titbits) is a dish associated with Phetburi, and this roadside stall in front of a noodle restaurant is considered one of the best places to try it (it’s an odd flavour and icy texture, but worth a go). There’s no English sign; look for the cart under the old blue awning).
reviewed
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Favola
Le Meridien’s showcase Italian restaurant features a flamboyant chef who has transformed mama’s cooking into a high-tech affair using molecular gastronomy techniques to prepare foams, infused oils and savoury ice creams. Hints of vanilla and pumpkin oil add dramatic character to fettuccini, but the best bets are the surprisingly affordable pizzas with wood oven–crisped crusts.
reviewed
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Farang Connection
Also behind the bus station, this aptly named, British-owned place meets many travellers’ needs. The menu is a thick list of foreign favourites like chicken tikka masala, Wiener schnitzel and BLTs, and the liquor list is just as global. The Thai food is pretty good too. There’s an internet cafe upstairs and a small book exchange in the pub across the road. Wi-fi is free.
reviewed
