Beyond the Old City Restaurants

We’ve compiled the best of the best in Beyond the Old City - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.

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  • 1. Ginger Farm Kitchen

    $$ | City Center

    The cuisine is eclectic Thai, with ingredients sourced from Ginger's own farm on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, at this vibrant Thai bistro decorated with vintage furniture, large patterned cushions, and hanging plants. Nothing is too-too spicy, and everything, including rich curries, refreshing salads, and vegetable-packed summer rolls, is served in pretty ceramic bowls and plates.

    One Nimman, Nimmanhemin Rd, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand
    052-080928

    Known For

    • Eclectic Thai-boho decor
    • Pretty presentation
    • Zingy cocktails with fresh herbs
  • 2. Aroon Rai

    $

    This simple, open-sided restaurant just outside the city walls has been preparing such traditional northern dishes as frogs' legs fried with ginger for more than 30 years. Try the tabong (boiled bamboo shoots fried in batter) and sai ua (pork sausage with herbs). There is take-out service, too.

    45 Kotchasarn Rd., Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand
    053-276947

    Known For

    • Zesty sai ua (fermented pork sausages)
    • Packets of curry mix to go
    • Cheap and cheerful northern Thai fare

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations not accepted
  • 3. Beast Burger

    $$

    If you find yourself craving Western fast food, skip the global franchises and make a beeline for this restaurant, which grew out of a popular food truck. Run by two young Thai siblings and open from 11 am until 10 pm or when sold out, Beast's burgers are made with premium-quality ingredients and are perfectly cooked. The veggie patty is great, too. Choose from onion rings or fries for the perfect accompaniment.

    14 Nimmanhaemin, Soi 17, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand
    080-124–1414

    Known For

    • Cool crowd
    • House-made sauces, like Korean ketchup and blue cheese
    • Good value

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
  • 4. Chez Marco

    $$$

    This French restaurant, located in Chiang Mai's perfectly safe "red-light district," is consistently full of locals and foreigners enjoying excellent coq au vin and creamy pâtés. It's run with Gallic flair by Franco-Japanese chef Marco, and has doubled in size with the acquisition of neighboring premises, but still has a tiny, stylishly intimate, street terrace.

    15/7 Loi Kroh Rd., Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand
    053-207032

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
  • 5. Greensmoked

    $$

    The focus at this stylish modern restaurant in an old ice factory is the wood-fired oven in the open kitchen, visible throughout the dining room. The menu tours the globe, with popular dishes including the fire-grilled pork jowl with spicy pineapple glaze and arguably the most authentic tacos in town.

    12/8 Wualai Soi 3, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand
    062-449–9425

    Known For

    • Homemade tortillas
    • A favorite of trendy locals
    • Mouth-watering beef brisket
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  • 6. Hinlay Curry House

    $$ | Wat Ket

    Tucked away in a corner of a former businessman's mansion, this small, open-sided restaurant specializes in inexpensive curry dishes from India, Burma, and Thailand, with some Japanese-inspired dishes as well. Daily specials, accompanied by two varieties of rice or a selection of Indian breads like pillowy naan, are written on a blackboard. The tiny terrace overlooks the grounds of the mansion, whose present owners run the restaurant.

    8/1 Na Watket Rd., Soi 1, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50300, Thailand
    053-242621

    Known For

    • Airy, plant-filled dining room
    • Great Indian breads
    • Homemade sorbets and ice creams
  • 7. Huen Muan Jai

    $

    On a backstreet in an increasingly cool local neighborhood dotted with cafés and small eateries, this restaurant in a traditional teak house serves authentic Lanna cuisine. Try the nam prik ong (tomato, minced-pork dip) served with crispy vegetables, the larb moo (a rich minced-pork salad), or the locally revered gaeng hang lay (pork belly curry). Don't be surprised if you find yourself returning for another meal. Most patrons do. Before you leave, check out the framed wall photos of the owner-chef's appearance on Iron Chef Thailand.

    24 Ratchpruek Rd., Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50300, Thailand
    053-404998

    Known For

    • Open-air dining room surrounded by greenery
    • Solid vegetarian options
    • Fried bamboo shoots filled with minced pork

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
  • 8. Maadae Slow Fish Kitchen

    $$

    Born from Chef Yaowadee's desire to keep artisanal fisherman in business down south, this casual eatery features Thai comfort food with an emphasis on the freshest catch of the day—something not that common in this landlocked region. The menu features stir-fried squid, crab ceviche, and an impressive array of fish dishes, including charcoal-grilled trevally, mackerel curry, and brown-sugar-cured sardine jerky, all accompanied by local organic rice and stir-fried vegetables.

    88 Thapae Rd., Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50300, Thailand
    098-248–2446

    Known For

    • Sustainable seafood
    • Local flavors
    • Charcoal grilled fish
  • 9. Raming Tea House Siam

    $

    The menu at this tranquil teahouse is fairly short, with a selection of curries, salads, sandwiches, satay, and desserts, but the cool interior of this exquisitely restored century-old Chinese merchant's house is a wonderful respite from the bustle of the city. It doubles as a showroom of fine celadon pottery and has an adjoining courtyard with a shop selling Lanna fabric and the pottery used in the restaurant. There are indigo dyeing, textile weaving, and ceramic painting workshops available here, too.

    158 Thapae Rd., Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand
    053-234518

    Known For

    • Pretty home goods in its shop
    • Peaceful garden tables
    • Housemade tea blends

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 10. River Market

    $$$

    This handsome Lanna-style restaurant complex is next to Chiang Mai's historic Iron Bridge, and the spacious outside terrace has lovely views of the bridge and the Ping River. The chefs prepare the full range of authentic, if pricey, Thai dishes, along with a couple of continental options, including a cheeseburger. Although the restaurant is fairly family-friendly, with a lawn on which kids can run around, there's not much on the menu for picky eaters.

    33/12 Charoen Prathet Rd., Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand
    053-234493

    Known For

    • Pretty setting overlooking the Ping River
    • Modern twists on pan-Thai fare
    • High prices to match the setting

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential
  • 11. Riverside Bar & Restaurant

    $$ | International

    The ever-popular Riverside has an informal waterfront location and a modern and elegant dining room across the road. The boisterous atmosphere of the riverside venue is replaced at the latter by a more sophisticated dining experience, although there's nightly live music here, too. A candlelight dinner in the romantic central courtyard on a warm evening is especially recommended.

    9/11 Charoen Rat Rd., Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50300, Thailand
    053-243239
  • 12. Rustic & Blue Farm

    $$

    Chiang Mai's farm-to-table pioneer Chef Radee Timsuren realized her dream of opening a restaurant right on the family farm, just about a 15-minute drive outside Chiang Mai. The casual daytime menu features impeccably made sandwiches, pizzas, and an array of colorful salads, while at night the options veer toward fine dining, with an impressive selection of imported wine and craft beer. The artisan breads and pastries are all made in-house.

    73/8 Buak-Klog-Luang, Moo 1, Soi 10, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 5000, Thailand
    086-654–7178

    Known For

    • Sunset views
    • Seasonal produce from the farm
    • Homemade ice-cream, breads, and pastries

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential
  • 13. Rustic and Blue

    $

    Part tearoom, part casual eatery, this rustic place, whose furnishings include tables made of recycled wood, focuses on food crafted from fresh organic ingredients sourced from local farmers and artisanal producers. The all-day breakfasts are hugely popular—try the brioche French toast brûlée with fresh fruit—but the tacos and salads, among them a fine one with quinoa and pumpkin, have many fans, too, especially among trendy locals. The house-made ice cream in flavors like blueberry basil (sherbet) and peanut butter stout with chocolate is just the ticket after a long day temple-hopping.

    Nimmanhaemin Rd., Soi 7, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50300, Thailand
    086-654–7178

    Known For

    • <PRO>all-day breakfast</PRO>
    • <PRO>vegan and gluten-free baked goods</PRO>
    • <PRO>house-made ice creams</PRO>
  • 14. Tikky Cafe

    $ | City Center

    At rough-hewn wooden tables surrounded by hill tribe textiles, hungry lunch-goers at this casual spot dig into heaping plates of colorful, vegetable-filled pan-Thai fare. The fruit shakes, especially mango and watermelon, are a cooling balm after a morning of sightseeing.

    20 Taeparak Road, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand
    098-796--2182

    Known For

    • Pan-Thai fare that skews healthy
    • Fresh fruit shakes
    • Pretty textiles on tables and chairs

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
  • 15. Tong Tem Toh

    $

    Follow your nose to the street-side barbecue at this cool and casual Lanna restaurant that's popular with young Thais, who love the great, affordable food and the beer-garden atmosphere. Start with the northern Thai hors d'oeuvre platter that includes fermented pork sausages, pork crackling, spicy relishes, and raw vegetables. Also delicious is the ant-egg and glass-noodle soup. Get here on time—the kitchen closes sharply at 9 pm.

    11 Nimmanhaemin Rd., Soi 13, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand
    053-894701

    Known For

    • Long lines for dinner
    • You order dishes by number as you wait for a table
    • Northern dishes like larb and sai ou (pork sausages)

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