Last updated: 06/16/2020
Check out our tips for restaurants in Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. Here you will find delicious options for all tastes!
3 RESTAURANT TIPS IN CHIANG MAI
We put all the tips suggested in this post on the interactive map below to help you plan your meal according to the location you are in during your visit to the city. All restaurants are located in the Old City, the old city that was all surrounded by a wall. We have to confess that we were surprised by the quality of the food served in Chiang Mai. Before the trip, we were a little worried about what we were going to eat and if we were going to like it, but we had pleasant surprises during our visit to Chiang Mai and Thailand as a whole. Restaurants with a super different atmosphere and delicious meals without any ingredients of animal origin. Check out the tips of 3 restaurants we tested and approved in the city.
1. AMRITA GARDEN
- Address: 2/1 Soi5, Samlarn Rd, Prasing, Mueang Chiang Mai District, 50200, Thailand
- Schedules: Monday to Saturday from 11:30 am to 9 pm | closed on sundays
After visiting the Silver Temple, we walked again towards Old City to have lunch at Amrita Garden. The family restaurant has a super beautiful area that was set up in a kind of garage. There, a super charming and colorful green space was built, with a water fountain, plants and lively decoration. There are also some tables in the indoor area, where you need to take off your shoes to access. Orders must be placed at the counter and paid on the spot. When ready, they are brought to the customer's table. The restaurant offers unlimited filtered water for free.
We were starving after an intense morning of sightseeing and it was early afternoon when we arrived at the restaurant for lunch. we look at the menu, totally vegan, we were super confused about what to order. There are many macrobiotic options, boards, vegetables, spreads, vegetable burgers, pasta, smoothie bowls, among others. As we didn't know exactly the size of the plates, we decided to order several small things to share between the two of us. We ended up exaggerating the dose, because there was a lot of food!
Paulo was crazy to try the tempeh ribs. The name ended up deceiving us and they were like spicy tempeh nuggets (tempeh is a food made with fermented soybeans that is very popular in Asia).
We also thought we were asking for an entree when we chose the Vegan Platter. But, we were surprised by the size of the board! There were so many wonderful things that it's hard to describe! The huge board had vegetables, fruits, nuts, olives, hummus, beetroot dip with tahini, vegan cheeses and whole-grain rolls. Simply delicious! If we had only ordered the board, it would have been quite a lunch!
But, as we didn't know exactly what was coming, at the time of ordering we still asked for a pasta with tomato, olives and vegan pesto sauce. All fresh and delicious! We ended up leaving the restaurant super satisfied with our lunch.
2. GOODSOULS KITCHEN
- Address: 52/3 Singharat Rd, Si Phum Sub-district, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
- Schedules: daily from 7 am to 10 pm
Goodsouls Kitchen is a vegan restaurant that has a great selection of Thai and Western dishes on the menu (check out the menu here and here). There are breakfast options, smoothies, dishes such as veggie burgers with fries, salads, spring rolls, curry with rice, falafel on pita bread, noodles, pancakes, Asian soups, among others. The dessert menu is exquisite, including a selection of cakes. Goodsouls Kitchen is from the same group as the Reform Kafé restaurant, which we will talk about in item 3.
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We started by ordering a delicious mango juice. We ordered mango juice at every restaurant we passed in Thailand that had it on the menu. The mango juice from Thailand was the tastiest we've ever had in our lives! It was very thick and sweet, simply delicious!
For starters, our Italian side spoke louder and we asked for a starter bruschetta with tomato and basil to share between the two of us. They were well served with lots of chopped tomato.
I asked falafel on pita bread and I had no idea that the dish was so exquisite! The pita bread was cut in half and stuffed with tomato, cucumber, hummus, plus falafel, of course! As can be seen in the photo, each half of pita bread had 3 huge units of falafel. The dish still came with a green salad and two types of sauce to season the snack.
Paul asked mushroom burger, accompanied by green salad and fries, as well as two types of sauces. He loved the hamburgers as they were very seasoned and deliciously grilled.
For dessert, we shared a super wholemeal banana pancake and homemade coconut ice cream. There was also a pitcher of molasses to pour over the pancake. A wonderful, nutritious and totally vegan dinner.
3. REFORM KAFÉ
- Address: 1 4 Sri Poom Rd, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
- Schedules: Monday to Saturday from 11 am to 9:30 pm | Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm
Reform Kafé was a pleasant surprise we found in Chiang Mai. It is beautiful, with a garden-style outdoor area and a large, cozy indoor lounge. We decided to eat outside as we were delighted with the decor. The restaurant offers free wifi for customers. O menu of the restaurant is 100% vegan and super complete, with many options of Thai and Western dishes, managing to please all tastes. Starters, salads, soups, curries, many types of noodles, assorted Thai dishes, vegetable burgers with fries, sandwiches, pasta, desserts and various non-alcoholic drinks are served on site.
We started with our usual companion, the delicious and refreshing mango juice, accompanied by bruschetta filled with tomato and basil.
Paulo saw it on the menu spicy mushrooms and was dying to ask. So, we ended up ordering not one, but two starters, before the main course. Hunger was great after a fantastic day at the elephant sanctuary Elephant Nature Park.
I was still discovering Thai flavors and decided to order one penne in cashew nut sauce with thai basil pesto. Nothing spicy, just seasoned just right! The dish was well served and I was very well fed.
Paulo is already a big fan of tasting typical local foods and decided to order a thai curry with mushrooms and vegetables, accompanied by rice to give a “break” in the spicy of the dish.
Our dessert was the same as at Goodsoul's Kitchen: Wholemeal Banana Pancake with Molasses and Homemade Coconut Ice Cream. As I'm not a big fan of sweets, we always shared dessert, but I confess I could easily eat it whole.
The restaurant service was perfect, with friendly and super helpful staff. Our night in Chiang Mai ended on a high note!
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Read more about Chiang Mai:
- Thailand: How to get from Chiang Mai Airport to the center
- Thailand: Accommodation in Chiang Mai – Hotel BED Phrasingh
- Doi Suthep: Main Buddhist Temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Elephant Nature Park: Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai
- Thailand: Discover 25 Temples in Chiang Mai
- Thailand: What to do in Chiang Mai – 3-Day Itinerary
- Thailand: The Silver Temple in Chiang Mai
- Thailand: Wat Chiang Man – Oldest temple in Chiang Mai
- Thailand: Wat Chedi Luang – Traditional Temple in Chiang Mai
- Thailand: Wat Phra Singh – Golden Temple in Chiang Mai
A great Italian, inside the wall is Al Dente