Where to Eat and Drink in Chiang Mai

I first arrived in Chiang Mai in May of 1992. I came to visit a high school buddy who had married a local – a professor at Chiang Mai University. They introduced me to the local cuisine and to their friends and family members who took me under their collective wing.

I was hooked. I returned every year until I opened the first Pok Pok restaurant in Portland, Oregon, in 2005. Over the following years, I opened and closed a series of restaurants, wrote a few cookbooks and traveled the world evangelizing about the food culture of Thailand – especially that of Chiang Mai and the surrounding countryside.

Over the last 30 years, a lot has changed in the land of Lanna (this historical name for the Chiang Mai region), but one thing has remained constant: Chiang Mai is one of the great eating destinations of the world. Here are my top places to eat and drink in northern Thailand's most captivating city.

Old City

If you need a recharge while seeing the sights, there are some great dining options in the old city, bound by traces of Chiang Mai's medieval walls and moat.

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Yok Fa Pochana

In the heart of the old city is Yok Fa Pochana on Ratchapakhinai Road near Wat Chiang Man, where the tastiest plate of phat si ew (stir-fried noodles) in town is prepared in a giant wok over a roaring fire, to a formula unchanged in 50 years.

Kafe 1985

Located in the heart of the tourist mayhem across from the moat, Kafe 1985 is a casual old-school pub where backpackers, expats, locals, refugees and in-the-know foodies gather at sundown for cold beers, people watching and killer drinking snacks such as neua daet diaw (sun-dried beef jerky) and naem sii khrong muu (pork ribs cured with sour fermented rice), which are fried and served with fresh chilis, ginger and peanuts.

Akha Ama

My go-to for coffee is Akha Ama in the center of the old town, where highly trained baristas crank out the best espresso drinks in the city, made with Direct Trade coffee produced by the Akha people of Chiang Rai province.

Mitmai

A few blocks from Thapae Gate, Mitmai is an easy walk-in option with a huge menu of Yunnanese dishes. Order anything with Yunnan ham, and be sure to pick the cucumber salad with pork jowl!

The White Rabbit

For a true speakeasy vibe, find The White Rabbit up a flight of sketchy-looking steps in an old shophouse near Pratu Chang Pheuak. This dark, cozy bar pours imaginative cocktails, made using Thai ingredients and international boozes. It’s a bit hard to find, so ask a local if you are struggling.

GRAPH Cafe

This specialty coffee roaster of locally sourced beans has multiple modern cafes across the city, including one near Thapae Gate. They're all light-filled and cozy, with large windows and wooden interiors. Many locations also sell a selection of pastries.

Jok Somphet

A Chiang Mai institution open 24 hours a day, this congee shop on the north side of the old city near Pratu Chang Phueak serves congee, dim sum and rice dishes round the clock to a loyal crowd of locals and night owls.

Reform Kafé

A fully plant-based cafe (vegan since 2017) near Wat Khuan Khama, known for hearty veg burgers and versions of Thai comfort-food classics, including a well-reviewed vegan khao soi soup.

Wua Lai Rd Saturday Walking Street Market

Just south of the old city walls, this Saturday market on Wua Lai Rd offers up a wealth of handcrafted goods, trinkets, souvenirs and food stalls. The market has an energetic, festival-like feel, set against a backdrop of the silversmiths' shops that lend this area its old-world charm.

Nimmanhaemin

Northwest of the old city, the hip Nimmanhaemin district is a hub for cool bars, up-and-coming chefs and purveyors of interesting regional Thai dishes.

The Larder

If you really must have a Western brekky, there’s The Larder, not far from the One Nimman shopping center, which excels in all-day brunches: think avocado toast, scrambled eggs and freshly baked pastries.

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BRINE

A creative cocktail bar with a focus on fermented-brine flavors (such as olives and watermelon skin), served alongside Japanese-style bar bites like smoked saba (mackerel). It's one of several hidden cocktail bars that have popped up around the city in recent years.

Ristr8to

The sister brand to the successful Roast8ry, founded by 2017 World Latte Art Champion Arnon “Tong” Thitiprasert and widely credited with putting Chiang Mai on the international coffee map. Expect inventive latte art and espresso drinks.

Seven Pounds

A garden bar in Nimmanhaemin, strung with fairy lights and often featuring live music. Come for a relaxed counterpoint to Kafe 1985’s backpacker scene.

Tong Tem Toh

This inviting stop is a Nimmanhaemin favorite for northern Thai cooking – think kaeng hang leh (Burmese-influenced pork curry with tamarind), larb kua (spiced minced meat) and fried chicken wings. A meal here is a good introduction for travelers new to the region’s cuisine, but it’s popular, so expect a wait.

Khao Soi Nimman

This soup specialist offers a mix-and-match take on Chiang Mai’s signature dish, khao soi, letting you choose your own meat or vegetarian toppings. Expect a queue at peak times.

Blackitch Artisan Kitchen

An intimate, roughly 16-seat fine-dining spot built around a seasonal, multi-course tasting menu (10-plus courses) of fermented and foraged Thai ingredients, prepared in the open kitchen. Book ahead for a table.

Living Machine

What started as a single tiny townhouse bar now spans both sides of a Nimmanhaemin soi (alleyway). It's a casual, low-key spot to sip beers and watch the neighborhood go by.

Night Bazaar & Riverside

There are more good places to eat around Chiang Mai's lively Night Bazaar and along the banks of the Ping River, east of the old city.

Bar.San.

Maybe I’m getting old, but these days I want a chill spot for a well-made cocktail with some jazz playing in the background, and Bar.San. in the Night Bazaar area provides exactly that. Head up to the semi-secret wood-paneled room on the second floor – ring the bell on the wall to summon a server who will bring you a perfect daiquiri, a glass of Japanese whisky or a glass of wine. A small menu of izakaya (Japanese pub) dishes is available if you are feeling peckish. During peak season (November to February), call ahead to reserve a table upstairs.

Maadae Slow Fish Kitchen

Probably the best new-school restaurant in the city is Maadae Slow Fish Kitchen on Tha Phae Rd, where the cooks dish up sustainably caught seafood and local produce, prepared using traditional Thai flavors and cooking techniques. Don’t skip dessert – try the naturally harvested sago pearls in coconut cream. Reservations are essential.

Bubbles

A little more upmarket than the competition, the rooftop bar at the elegant riverside Anantara hotel has a happy hour menu and offers a sunset view of the Ping River.

Rasik Local Kitchen

Not far from the southeast corner of the moat, Rasik Local Kitchen has a similar vibe to Maadae and is one of the top tables in town. The curries here are especially tasty!

Riverside Bar & Restaurant

A legendary late-night spot on the river since 1984, with nightly live music and a riverboat dinner cruise that typically departs in the early evening. It's a great all-round evening out.

Flo Coffee Brewers

Hip local favorite Flo Coffee Brewers is a coffeehouse set inside a 100-year-old wooden shophouse in Wat Ket, the old riverside trading quarter.

L’Opera

An authentic French-style bakery near the Anantara, known for eclairs, opera cakes and other bits of bready goodness – best enjoyed with a hot espresso.

Beyond the City Center

Don't limit yourself to the center of Chiang Mai. Quality eating extends into the suburbs and out to surrounding villages.

Jing Jai Market

A few kilometers north of the old city, the courtyard at Jing Jai Market is lined with stalls, concept shops and restaurants. Weekends bring a morning farmers’ market, while the first Friday of every month sees a vintage market.

Laap Dii Khom Khon Yong

Just off the first ring road, Laap Dii Khom Khon Yong serves some of the best Northern Thai laap (ground meat salad). You can’t go wrong with laap muu suk (the cooked pork version) and dishes such as jaw phak kat (greens soup), kaeng awm (beef shin stew) and grilled pork. This is where a local might take you!

Pathom

My favorite spot for a morning repast is the decades-old, family-run Pathom north of the center, which specializes in rice porridge served with an array of Chinese-Thai toppings such as jap chai (fried sweet Chinese sausage and braised tofu).

Naam Ngiao Phayao

Worth tracking down south of the old city is Naam Ngiao Phayao, where little English is spoken, but the friendly couple who run the place will make you feel right at home. The eponymous naam ngiao is what you’re after – fresh rice vermicelli in a brothy, sour, umami-rich soup with pork ribs, soft tofu and the dried pistil of the dawk ngiaw (red cotton tree flower). This is a key dish from the region, and theirs is one of the best in the area.

Khao Soi Prince

Khao Soi Prince serves an exemplary bowl of what is now considered the signature dish of Chiang Mai, khao soi (egg noodle soup in a coconutty curry broth). Sampling it here involves a 20km round-trip drive out of town to the Maejo University area, but it is worth the journey. The Muslim owner is a third-generation cook, still making his own noodles by hand to a family recipe that goes back more than four decades. Order the khao soi neua (noodles in curry with beef), or as a kicker, try the phat sen khao soi (stir-fried egg noodles) also with beef.

Kong Kham

A 25-minute drive north of the city gets you to Kong Kham, a Northern Thai restaurant where the cooking is consistently reliable, and the prices are downright economical. Must-tries include the laap plaa piak (“wet” fish laap), saa phak ruam (a unique northern Thai dish featuring hand-crushed raw vegetables, sour herbs, tomatoes and cooked fish) and a crowd-pleasing, Burmese-flavored kaeng hang leh pork-belly curry.