12 Best Restaurants in Chiang Mai by Area and Style

Featured image: กสิณธร ราชโอรส, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Best Restaurants in Chiang Mai at a Glance

Pick by situation first. For a first northern Thai dinner, queue or book at Tong Tem Toh. For Khao soi, walk into Khao Soi Khun Yai. For a splurge, reserve Blackitch Artisan Kitchen, an intimate room of roughly 16 seats. For late-night congee, Jok Somphet is described as open 24 hours, so confirm current hours. The Michelin Guide lists 54 restaurants around Chiang Mai, which is a useful second shortlist for fine dining.

How to Choose: Area, Dish, Budget and Booking

Four filters narrow the list fast. Old City is walkable inside the moat and the traces of medieval wall. Nimmanhaemin sits northwest of the old city. The Night Bazaar and Ping River stretch lie east of it. Out-of-town picks need a car, driver or ride-hail. Kong Kham is a 25-minute drive north, and Khao Soi Prince is a 20 km (about 12 miles) round trip. We tag each entry as walk-in, queue or reserve. We list no baht prices, because menus change. Check each venue's current menu and hours before you go.

12 Best Restaurants in Chiang Mai, Ranked by Style

Each entry gives the area, the dish, the booking style and a skip-if line.

• 1. Tong Tem Toh (Nimmanhaemin, northern Thai)
  • Order kaeng hang Leh, a Burmese-influenced pork curry, plus larb kua and fried chicken wings. It is a gentle introduction to Lanna cooking.
  • Expect a wait at busy times. Skip it if you hate queues.
• 2. Huen Phen (Old City, northern Thai)
  • Dishes are pre-prepared and served curry-shop style. Try aeb pla, a fish cake grilled in banana leaf, and tam kanun, a young jackfruit salad.
  • Walk-in and affordable. Skip it if you dislike greasy food, since some dishes lean that way.
• 3. Laap Dii Khom Khon Yong (just off the first ring road)
  • Go for laap muu suk, the cooked pork version, and the greens soup jaw phak kat. Kaeng awm, a beef shin stew, is another option.
  • Skip it if you want an English-friendly dining room.
• 4. Kong Kham (north of the city, northern Thai)
  • A 25-minute drive north. Must-tries include laap plaa piak, saa phak ruam and a Burmese-flavored pork-belly curry.
  • Prices are economical. Skip it if you have no ride, and eat at Huen Phen instead.
• 5. Khao Soi Khun Yai (central Chiang Mai, Khao soi)
  • A small open-air restaurant. Its curry is red-brown, spiced and not too sweet. Add roasted chilies, pickled mustard greens and red onion.
  • Walk-in. Skip it if you want a mix-and-match toppings menu.
• 6. Khao Soi Prince (Maejo University area, Khao soi)
  • A third-generation Muslim cook makes noodles by hand. Order Khao soi neua, the beef version.
  • The trip is a 20 km round trip, so arrange a rental, driver or ride-hail. Skip it if you only have one evening.
• 7. SP Chicken (old town, Isan)
  • Grilled chicken turns on a rotisserie at the front. Pair it with som tam and other Isan dishes.
  • Walk-in. Skip it if you want northern Thai food only.
• 8. Mitmai (near Thapae Gate, Yunnanese)
  • A few blocks from Thapae Gate, with a huge menu. Order anything with Yunnan ham, and add the cucumber salad with pork jowl.
  • Easy walk-in. Skip it if you want a quiet dinner.
• 9. Jok Somphet (north Old City, congee)
  • Near Pratu Chang Phueak, it serves congee, dim sum and rice dishes. It is described as open 24 hours a day.
  • Check current hours. Skip it if you want a sit-down dinner.
• 10. Maadae Slow Fish Kitchen (Tha Phae Rd, seafood)
  • Sustainably caught seafood is cooked with traditional Thai flavors. Save room for sago pearls in coconut cream.
  • Reservations are essential. Skip it if your plans are loose.
• 11. Blackitch Artisan Kitchen (Nimmanhaemin, tasting menu)
  • Roughly 16 seats and a 10-plus course menu of fermented and foraged Thai ingredients.
  • Book ahead. Skip it if you want a fast meal.
• 12. Riverside Bar & Restaurant (Ping River, live music)
  • A late-night river spot since 1984, with nightly live music. A riverboat dinner cruise typically leaves in the early evening, so check the current schedule.
  • Skip it if you want a quiet table.

Khao Soi: Where Opinions Split

Khao soi ratings vary by taster, so we won't crown one winner. Khao Soi Khun Yai is our pick for a first bowl. Khao Soi Nimman lets you choose your own meat or vegetarian toppings, but expect a queue at peak times. Khao Soi Prince rewards a drive. Our Khao soi bowl guide compares them in detail.

Local Classics, Halal and Vegan Picks

Khao Kha Moo Chang Phueak serves slow-stewed pork leg over rice. Suki Koka sets up next to it each evening, so combine them into one meal. Kiat Ocha is a long-running stop for Khao Man gai and pork satay. Khao Soi Islam is halal, and its Khao mok neua, a beef biryani, is the draw. Reform Café near Wat Khuan Khama has been fully plant-based since 2017. Its vegan Khao soi is well reviewed. See our vegan options for more. For coffee and drinks, our coffee stops save space here.

Which Area to Eat In

Old City suits walkers: SP Chicken, Mitmai, Huen Phen and Jok Somphet are all inside or beside it. Wua Lai Rd, just south of the old city walls, hosts a Saturday walking street with food stalls. Nimmanhaemin suits dinner-focused evenings, with Tong Tem Toh and Blackitch. Tha Phae Rd and the Ping River suit Maadae and Riverside. Out of town, Kong Kham and Khao Soi Prince need wheels. Peak season runs November to February, so reserve tables you care about early.

Mistakes to Avoid

Most disappointments come from logistics, not food.

• Skipping reservations
  • Maadae needs one, and Blackitch asks you to book ahead.
• Going out of town without transport
  • Plan the 20 km round trip to Khao Soi Prince before you leave.
• Arriving at peak hours
  • Tong Tem Toh and Khao Soi Nimman both draw queues.
• Expecting English menus
  • Little English is spoken at Naam Ngiao Phayao, so point and smile.
• Assuming opening days
  • Check each venue's current hours before you walk over.

Plan Your Eating Days

For one day, start with congee at Pathom, north of the center. Eat Khao soi at Khao Soi Khun Yai, then dinner at Tong Tem Toh. For three days, spend day one in Old City, day two in Nimmanhaemin and day three on the river with a booked table at Maadae. Prefer a guide? Try a guided eating route. To cook the dishes yourself, learn them in a class.