Where to Eat in Chiang Mai: Best Cafés, Local Eats & Hidden Gems

Wondering where to eat in Chiang Mai? Whether you’re craving traditional Thai flavours, trendy cafés with smoothie bowls, or sizzling street food under the stars, this city is a foodies playground. Chiang Mai’s food scene is as diverse as its temples, laid-back, affordable, and full of flavour.

From the famous night markets and street-side stalls to cosy brunch spots and hidden local restaurants, there’s no shortage of incredible places to eat. You could easily spend a week (or three) here just eating your way through khao soi noodles, pad thai, and mango sticky rice, and honestly, I recommend it.

Chiang Mai’s relaxed pace and welcoming vibe extend to its food scene. Many of the best spots are tucked away down quiet lanes or inside charming old buildings, so discovering them feels like part of the adventure. With prices that are extremely affordable, you can eat well without blowing your budget.

In this guide, I’ve rounded up my top picks for where to eat in Chiang Mai, covering everything from iconic dishes and must-visit restaurants to casual spots and local secrets, let’s dig in.

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Table of Contents

Where to Eat in Chiang Mai? 12 Very Best Choices

Zohng Coffee

Part of Hobnob Hostel, Zohng Coffee, in my opinion, is the only place to start your day in Chiang Mai.

If you are looking for a Western meal, then Zohng Coffee is the place to go. This cafe was one of my favourites for good food done well, think everything from avo toast, smoothies, terryaki chicken bowls and so much more!

Everything was super tasty, and whilst I don’t personally drink coffee, I know the coffee here is raved about in the reviews, I can, however, comment on the matcha, which was very, very good.

Tikky Cafe

This small local restaurant is a true hidden gem, located a few minutes walk from the main street by Wat Phra Singh, it has all your Thai favourites, your rice even comes in the shape of a cute little teddy bear.

With plenty of choice including lots of vegetarian options, Tikky Cafe has it all, from pineapple fried rice, Khao Soi, Thai curries, mango sticky rice and vibrant freshly made smoothies! Everything here is fresh and delicious, it will leave you wanting to come back again and again to try everything the menu has to offer.

Carp Cafe

Located just a short drive outside of Chiang Mai city the carp cafe is well worth a visit during your time in Chiang Mai as it is a truly unique spot!

This hidden gem is one of the most beautiful restaurants in Chiang Mai, with a quirky dining experience. You are sitting either in sunken tables surrounded by koi fish or at tables with waterfalls coming out of the side. The interiors are covered in cherry blossoms, beautiful trees and lanterns, it’s like being transported to a Japanese garden.

Whether you are hungry or fancy just heading for a drink to see this beautiful spot, this Japanese restaurant is one to add to your list for sure.

Drop In Restaurant

Drop In Restaurant is the perfect option when you can’t agree on what cuisine you’d like to eat, as here they do a little bit of everything and they do it very well.

From all your Thai favourites like sweet and sour chicken, khao soi, pad thai, to western dishes including breakfast options, sandwiches and all the dinner classics such as burgers, chicken schnitzel and a range of pastas!

So make sure to schedule a visit to Drop In Restaurant whilst you are in Chiang Mai for any meal of the day for a yummy breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Lucky Too

A trip to Northern Thailand is not complete without tasting their most iconic dish, khao soi. After much deliberation and googling, I decided to head to Lucky Too as its khao soi reviews were excellent!

I can happily confirm that it did not disappoint. I only tried the khao soi, which I highly recommend, but this small local restaurant has a large selection of all your favourite Thai dishes and western options at good prices. Owned by an American, you get the benefit here of American-sized portions! So make sure to arrive hungry.

Stories Cafe & Bistro

A great spot for some quirky coffee and western dishes. Stories Cafe & Bistro is a great place for all day food.

Whether you are after some avo, eggs and salmon on toast, eggs benny or a full English, this is the perfect place to stop for breakfast. But all of my English readers, if you are craving an English classic, sausage and mash, then head to Stories for dinner and tuck into this dish, it’s even served up with peas!

Sunflower Smoothies & Coffee

I stumbled across Sunflower because my accommodation, The Corner Hotel & Hostel, was located above it and what a wonderful find it was!

If you want a smoothie bowl or something sweet in Chiang Mai for brekky, then this is the place to go, serving up every kind of smoothie bowl imaginable, fully loaded croissants, fresh coffees, a wide variety of teas, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

The cafe is super cute with a nice variety of seating inside and outside, and the staff are so welcoming and friendly, making sure you have everything you need to have the best meal possible.

KATI Breakfast & Brunch

There is a calming and relaxing atmosphere at KATI’s, from the aesthetic building to the beautifully presented food and the tranquil music playing. If you are after a western-style brunch, this is the place to come.

But KATI’s offers more than just brunch with an all-day breakfast menu as well as lunch options such as freshly made wraps, pastas and salads.

Sun Rays Cafe

Known for its French toast fruit platters, colourful waffles and overall highly aesthetic food and drinks, Sun Rays Cafe is not one to be missed.

Do not be fooled by the Instagram-worthy plates, they really do taste as good as they look! Sun Rays Cafe serves up a combination of freshly cut fruits, jammy eggs, butter croissants, waffles, club sandwiches, and so much more. It’s the perfect spot if you fancy something sweet to start your day!

Kat’s Kitchen

Just across the road from Coconut Shell, Kat’s Kitchen is another locally run Thai restaurant, this restaurant is much bigger so you are more likely to get a table quicker here but we did still have to queue a few times!

Again, though, it is well worth the wait as Kat’s Kitchen is another place where you can enjoy locally made and truly authentic Thai food. Once you have visited here, you won’t be able to stop coming back again and again until you have tried everything on the menu, I know we didn’t!

Coconut Shell Thai Food

This is some of the tastiest Thai food, and the perfect solution for your where to eat in Chiang Mai question!

However, bear in mind that this is a small restaurant with a small kitchen, and it runs in the way that quite a lot of smaller family-run restaurants do, where it cooks table by table, therefore, if the restaurant is full, you can often expect to wait a while for your food.

But saying that, I believe it was well worth the wait! People are queuing outside for good reason, so head down to tuck into one of your favourite Thai classics.

Mama Noi’s Cooking Class

Now, this is exactly a restaurant option, but where better to eat than at Mama Noi’s cooking class, enjoying all of the freshly made food cooked by yourself!

I think the best way to get to know a country is by joining a cooking class, where you get to learn about all of the local ingredients at a local market, get a tour of the gardens where most of the herbs are grown fresh and then get to learn from locals about how to cook your favourite dishes!

Mama Noi’s cooking class gives you the opportunity to cook up 3 dishes as well as Thai tea and mango sticky rice! So, make sure to skip lunch today, as you will be stuffed after this tasty selection.

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