28 Places To Eat & Drink In Chiang Mai – Budget Travel In Thailand

Chiang Mai has a great selection of restaurants and street food offering both traditional Thai and international food. There is arguably more choice for vegetarians and vegans in Chiang Mai than in Bangkok. Chiang Mai bars are welcoming to travellers and the Chiang Mai nightlife offers great times for all.

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Like Bangkok, we mainly opted for street food so the number of Chiang Mai restaurants we visited was small. However, here is a list of the cafes, bars and coffee shops we visited during our time in Chiang Mai. As we were trying to travel to a budget, this list includes come of the best cheap places to eat in Chiang Mai.

More information about the street food in Chiang Mai can be found in the ‘Things to do in Chiang Mai‘ section.

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Food And Drink In Chiang Mai

A Taste From Heaven

Serving excellent vegan and vegetarian food, we visited this tiny restaurant twice during our stay. The Thai food was excellent but just as impressive is their range of vegan ‘meat’ dishes. I had both the vegan hot-dog and the vegan bacon and both were excellent. Map.

EDIT: A Taste From Heaven is now permanently closed. 

Baan Bakery

Baan Bakery is an excellent coffee shop selling delicious pastries. Make sure you get there early as they sell out. The coffee is good and it is a very popular place, considering it is slightly off the beaten track. There is no wifi and nowhere to charge your devices. It is a place to come and simply enjoy a good coffee, pastry and company. Map.

Opening Times: 8 am – 4 pm, Mon – Sat.

Boy Blues Bar

We came across Boy Blues Bar by complete accident. We had just finished eating in the Kalore Shopping Centre and as we were about to leave, we heard some great sounding reggae music. The source of this music seemed to be upstairs in a fairly hidden bar. We went up and found a great band playing to hardly any people. A blues band followed who were also good. By the time the disco band came on, the place was very busy. A great venue, though 50 baht for a coke is the most we paid in the whole of Thailand! Map.

Opening Times: 7 pm – 12 am, Mon & Fri.

Bridge Bar

Located quite a way outside the old town, The Bridge Bar was the location for a Chiang Mai Couchsurfing social event. It has live music and Japanese food and the beer was probably the cheapest in Chiang Mai. The staff will bring you more drinks as soon as you finish them so be prepared to get quite drunk! Map.

EDIT: The Bridge Bar is now permanently closed.

Bus Bar

The Bus Bar is a lively bar with live music and beer, food and cocktails. It is situated in a lively area full of tourists looking to get drunk and have a good time. The bands here were pretty good. They all play covers meaning people can dance and sing along. Map.

Opening Times: 5 pm – 12 am, every day.

Castle Ghost House

Castle Ghost House is a horror-themed escape room that is supposed to be really cool (you can smash old stuff up with a baseball bat!) but we only came for late-night drinks. They had a snake and a mouse in a tank and it was quite unnerving watching the mouse’s behaviour, knowing that it could be devoured at any moment! Map.

Opening Times: 5 pm – 12 am, every day.

Chiang Mai Coffee Bean

Situated near the Three Kings monument is this relaxed coffee shop that serve coffee made with locally produced beans. You can buy the beans to take away too.  The coffee is great; a perfect stop off to give your day an energy boost. Map.

Coconut Shell

We visited the Coconut Shell for lunch and I had an excellent massaman curry with blue sticky rice. All the food is served in a half-coconut and is very reasonably priced. It was one of our favourite places to eat in Chiang Mai old city. Map.

Opening Times: 10 am – 10 pm, Sun – Fri.

Corner Restaurant

Located on the East perimeter of the old town, Corner Restaurant is a popular place for young backpackers to meet and spend a chilled out afternoon drinking smoothies and socialising. The food is nothing exceptional but cheap enough in a busy area. Map.

Opening Times: 7.30 am – 7.30 pm, every day.

Fruiturday Thapae Gate 

The chances are it will be hot when you come to Chiang Mai and you will probably be doing quite a bit of walking. Thankfully, water is cheap. You can buy litres of the stuff for just 1 baht at one of many reverse osmosis stations situated all over the city. If you fancy a treat though, you really can’t beat Fruiturday. Offering smoothies, shakes and milk drinks, Fruiturday is a great place to sit and people-watch. The passion fruit shakes are sooooooo good! Map.

Opening Times: 8.30 am – 10 pm, every day.

Funky Monkey Cafe

Funky Monkey is a guesthouse and tour company who also provide cooked breakfasts and lunches. Offering Thai and Western dishes, we ate here as it was the first time we had seen falafel and hummus in Thailand. Map.

Opening Times: 7 am – 7 pm, every day.

Harinezumi Cafe (Hedgehog Cafe)

Cat cafes are becoming more and more popular and it seems every city has one these days. But I had never heard of a hedgehog cafe before. In Harinezumi Cafe, you can pay to have one of the many hedgehogs placed in a glass tank in your table and feed it treats. We didn’t opt for this as all the hedgehogs were sleeping (being primarily nocturnal) but what is great about this place is they also have guinea pigs.  LOTS of guinea pigs. And you can pet them and try to entice them over the bridge.  The chances of achieving this are slim, UNLESS you have food. And thankfully the waitress gave us a handful of leaves that the guinea pigs just could not wait to get stuck into! Check out the video. Adorable! Map.

Opening Times: 9 am – 9 pm, every day. 

Iron Bridge Bar & Bistro

Iron Bridge Bar & Bistro is a lively open air bar located on the Ping River, near the iron bridge, hence the name. It’s a lively area with many bars. This is a good place to drink and watch live music. Waitress service here and you can buy your own Chang Tower and pour your own beer, meaning you don’t even have to leave your table to refill your glass. Map.

Edit: Iron Bridge Bar is now permanently closed.

John’s Place

John’s Place is a very popular venue, thanks to its location and rooftop bar. The drinks are cheap and the staff are friendly. Be warned though, when it’s time to drink up, it really is time to drink up! They don’t take any chances when it comes to clearing the bar. John’s Place also has Thai and Western food and live sports on big screens so you can easily spend a whole evening here. Map.

Opening Times: 11 am – 12 am, every day.

Maya Shopping Centre

We visited the Maya Shopping Centre to watch a movie at the cinema. On the lower basement floor, we found a food court serving traditional Thai and Chinese dishes. It was very cheap and the food was very good. There are also good vegetarian options here. Map.

Opening Times: 11 am – 10 pm, Mon – Fri. 10 am – 10 pm, Sat & Sun.

Miranda’s Cafe

We walked past this cafe during one of Chiang Mai’s frequent blackouts and, even in total darkness, I could tell it looked like a place worth a visit. So, over a week later, we found ourselves searching for Miranda’s Cafe for the regular morning caffeine fix. We were not disappointed! The cafe is a really nice, quirky place decorated with various odds and ends collected from all over the globe by the cafe owner’s mother (Miranda). We were eventually tempted by the cake and both had a delicious carrot and papaya cake which went down great with the coffee. We loved it so much, Joanna bought the t-shirt! Highly recommended. Map.

EDIT: Miranda’s Cafe is now permanently closed.

Munchies Vegan Fast Food

Vegans are well catered for in Chiang Mai but we were surprised to discover this fast food restaurant is vegan. It turned out the place had only been open a week and the sign had not been put up yet. The owner has big dreams of competing with Mcdonalds. I’m not sure a vegan restaurant will ever compete with the fast-food giant but fair play to him for trying. The food is very much like Mcdonalds. I had the burger with bacon and cheese and it was probably the most convincing plant-based burger I’ve had. The chips were excellent too. Big, chunky chips as opposed to the thin fries at Mcdonalds. My only criticism would be the charge for condiments which seemed steep. The burgers also arrived later than the fries. The owner did offer to give us a free meal when I mentioned this on a review but there was no need. We really enjoyed the food and recommend it to both vegans and non-vegans. Map.

EDIT: Munchies has now permanently closed.

My Secret Cafe In Town

My Secret Cafe In Town is another great Chiang Mai coffee shop serving reasonably-priced, good coffee in a relaxed environment. This place seemed popular with digital nomads as most people had laptops and charging devices and were taking advantage of the strong wifi. There is also a gallery upstairs showing local artists. Map.

Opening Times: 10 am – 6 pm, every day except Tues (10 am – 10 pm).

Pakorn’s Kitchen

Pakorn’s Kitchen was recommended to us by locals as being some of the best local food in Chiang Mai. It is a small, modest restaurant offering great food at low prices. I had minced pork with chilli and basil and, whilst the portion was not huge, the food was very tasty. Watch out for those chillies though! About half way through my meal, they brought another dish as they’d given me the wrong one! I wouldn’t have complained as what they had brought was good, but it’s always nice to have 2 meals for the price of 1 🙂 Map.

Opening Times: Open every day. According to Google Maps, they are open 24 hours but I’m not sure if that is the case.

Rasta Cafe

I tried to get Joanna to come here with me for the 2 weeks we were in Chiang Mai without success (she doesn’t like reggae). On our last night, I left Joanna in the bus bar dancing to a rock covers band and I headed to the Rasta Cafe next door. As you would probably expect, the place is covered with Rasta images. There was a great band playing reggae and ska classics that got people dancing. The beer is expensive compared to other bars in the area but you are also getting a quality band for free. Map.

Opening Times: 6 pm – 12 am, Mon – Sat. Open 24 hours on Sunday.

Ristr8to

Whilst you will pay more than usual in this very hipster cafe, there is a wide choice of coffees from around the world and the menu also has a handy strength guide. Ristr8to will serve you iced coffee, though they make it clear they do not enjoy doing so! Map.

Opening Times: 7 am – 5 pm, Thurs – Tues.

Romano Coffee Studio

Situated on the South side of the old town perimeter, Romano Coffee Studio is an airy, modern coffee shop serving great coffee in a relaxed atmosphere. The coffee was strong and only 40 baht. With soft jazz music played in the background, it’s a great place to start your day. They also offer various pastries to go with that strong coffee. Map.

Opening Times: 7.30 am – 5.30 pm, every day.

Simple Thai Cafe

We visited Simple Thai Cafe because we were hungry but also to escape the crowds of the lantern festival. It is a small, unassuming place on a busy street; we must have walked past it many times without noticing it. It did a great red curry though, washed down with a delicious blue lemon Italian soda. Map.

Opening Times: 10 am – 11 pm, every day.

Tree Bar

Named after the tree that grows right through the middle of it. A small bar with nothing of note to mention (apart from the tree!) but is a good place to chill and people-watch as the seats look right out onto the busy street. Decent prices, friendly staff and Western music. Map.

VAVA Frozen Yoghurt

On a typically hot day in Chiang Mai, we were attracted to the free samples being given away outside VAVA Frozen Yoghurt. The frozen yoghurt is delicious and comes in a variety of flavours with numerous toppings. They also do vegan options. VAVA also have a shop in the Maya mall. Map.

Opening Times: 10 am – 10 pm, Mon – Sat. 10 am – 10 pm, Sun.

WakeBakeSkate Cafe & Skateboard Collective

We only ended up here as we had tried to go for drinks in the wonderfully named ‘We didn’t land on the moon since 1987’ bar that is next door but they didn’t sell beer. WakeBakeSkate do sell beer so we sat outside mixing with the young clientele. They were very friendly and talkative and were keen to converse and brush up on their English skills.  It is definitely worth having a drink here if you’re in the area. Map.

Opening Times: 10 am – 7 pm, Tues – Sun.

Wetherspoon’s BBQ

Following the Brexit result in the UK, I decided to never give another penny to the UK pub chain Wetherspoons after it’s owner distributed thousands of beer mats across its many second-rate pubs featuring pro-leave propaganda. I’m pretty sure this place is not owned by Tim Martin so I was fine giving my money to this small bar. I’m not sure where the BBQ is; all I saw was a pan cooking sausages 🙂 Even so, it’s an unspectacular bar serving cold beer where you can sit outside and watch the city pass by. Map.

Opening Times: 4 pm – 12 am, every day.

Yummy E-san

We were very fortunate to discover Yummy E-san as it is tucked away in a food court just off the main Ratchapakhinai Road. It is reasonably priced, perhaps a little more expensive than street food, but the quality made up for it. We had deep fried fish pieces in tamarind sauce and the same dish but with pieces of tofu. It was excellent so we decided to have a dessert, which is not something we do a lot. But when you see deep-fried ice-cream on the menu, you just HAVE to try it! It was delicious too. A sweet, crispy batter filled with vanilla ice-cream; what’s not to like? Map.

Opening Times: 9.45 am – 8 pm, every day.