The food in Chiang Mai is my favourite food in all of Thailand.
It has the perfect blend of northern flavours (Chiang Mai being a small city in the far north) as well as typical Thai dishes from the rest of the country.
Having visited many times and explored a lot of the restaurants and cafes in Chiang Mai these are my recommendations for where to eat in Chiang Mai.
My Favourite Places For Food in Chiang Mai
1. Khunkae’s Juice Bar and Smoothie Place
This is my number one first stop in Chiang Mai whenever I visit.
Healthy juices and smoothies I love, and along with doing a lot of fitness help me keep healthy (especially when treating myself to other foods).
Enjoying a strawberry, banana, and honey smoothie.
Address –
Si Phum Sub-district, Mueang Chiang Mai District,
Opens 9am and closes at 7.30pm
2. Ristr8to – Speciality Coffee (and Lab)
Ristr8to -Specialist Coffee is not only great for some of the best coffee in Chiang Mai, but also for the style.
You have a big menu to choose from many different types of coffee styles from around the world, and some of them come in skull glasses for fun 🙂
My kind of thing!
Ristr8to have also won numerous awards for their latte art in Thailand.
There are two Ristr8to cafes in Chiang Mai and only a few minutes walk from each other in the popular food area of Nimman.
I prefer the Ristr8to Lab one as it’s not on the main road and has more natural light coming in.
Address for Ristr8to – Speciality Coffee –
15/3 Nimmanahaeminda Road, Tambon Su Thep, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai.
Opens at 7am and closes at 6pm.
And for the nearby Ristr8to Lab –
14 Nimmana Haeminda Rd Lane 3.
Opens 8.30am and closes 7pm. Note it’s closed on Tuesdays.
3. Charin Pie Chiang Mai
Yes I know I use the word love a lot, but I absolutely love this little pie place!
It’s set around a cute little garden but the most important is their pies.
You can get so many different types of pies that you may have been missing from back home if you happen to be travelling a long time or living abroad.
Apple pie, chocolate pie, lemon pie, etc etc etc.
One of the other best things about it is you can send a photo of yourself to them and they will print it onto the top of the cream on any pie cups.
This is me (partially eaten 😛 ) on top of their chocolate pie.
It also helps that they are all so delicious!
Charin Pie is conveniently close to some of my other favourite food places in Chiang Mai, like Ristr8to and Beast Burger (see below).
Address –
20 Nimmana Haeminda Rd Lane 17
Open from 9am and closes at 9pm.
Side note: I know telling the address and opening times is boring 😛 but want you to know for the practical side of visiting if you ever make it there 🙂
4. Beast Burger
Although I generally live a ‘healthy’ life it’s no fun without treating yourself!
When I do treat myself I always make sure I get into the gym to work it off though.
One such treat in Chiang Mai for food is the Beast Burger.
In my opinion it’s the best burger you can get in Chiang Mai (and I’ve tried many places).
It’s also conveniently located in my favourite food part of Chiang Mai, the Nimman district.
So if you want to indulge go to Beast Burger.
It’s just 30 seconds up the road from Charin Pie mentioned before.
Address –
Nimmanhemin Soi 17 Suthep
Opens at 11am until 2.30pm and then 5pm until 10pm.
Closed on Sundays which kinda sucks if you want a burger to nurse the drinks away from a Saturday night out!
5. Anchan Vegetarian Restaurant
I always feel ‘food refreshed’ when leaving Anchan Vegetarian Restaurant.
As Beast Burger leaves me feeling full and treat happy, Anchan leaves me feeling full and healthy.
Anchan has food from all over Thailand but just done in vegetarian style.
Be sure to try the massaman curry (my favourite).
Even if you are not a vegetarian you should not be put off going.
Trust me it’s so worth it.
Address – Hillside 2 Mueang Chiang Mai District
Opens at 11.30 am and closes at 8.15pm
6. By Hand Pizza
Hands down the best (no pun intended) pizza in Chiang Mai.
By Hand Pizza is very popular amongst expats living in Chiang Mai for their pizza hit, as well as tourists wanting a break from Asian food.
In fact in this post I don’t mention too many Thai places simply because when you live in Thailand you tend to mix a lot of foreign foods into your diet for variety.
Naturally if you’re on holiday you may want to stick mostly to Thai food.
Anyway the pizza at By Hand Pizza is cooked with fresh ingredients in a wood fired oven and is delicious!
Address –
25 Moon Muang Rd Lane 7 (in the old city).
Opens 11am and closes at 11pm.
7. Nine One Coffee
I love coffee!
Although these days I drink a lot less than I used to when I do have a coffee I like it to be a good one.
Nine One Coffee is one of the best coffee places in Chiang Mai.
This is a good article about some of the best coffeehouses in Chiang Mai if you want to visit more coffee places.
Trust me on this. If you love coffee go to Nine One.
Good video explaining more about the organic coffee farm:
Address – Nimmana Haeminda Rd Lane 11
Open at 8.30am and close at 7.30pm.
8. Chang Phueak Pork Leg Market Stall
This ladies establishment is famous for the, well, pork leg!
She was also featured by the late Anthony Bourdain on his food show. In fact that’s how I found out about the place.
If you like pork the n for sure this is a must visit place!
Just take a look at Anthony Bourdain’s video going to the pork leg place to see for yourself how good it is.
The night food market near the north gate of the old city.
Opens around 6ish until midnightish.
Lastly, as it’s nearby the Nimman food places I love, I have chosen the Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre.
For some this might seem like a strange choice but did you know some of the best food in Thailand can be found in the modern shopping malls?
In the basement of the mall is a food court where you can find good food for a good price and everything tried was so tasty.
The mall itself is the best in Chiang Mai for location on amenities.
Take a look at this short vid to see what it’s like:
About Me
I’m Alektra Wolf. A model and photography lover. I’m going to show you myself. Find out more about me here…
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