Best restaurants in Chiang Mai

[kuzie57]

Very surprised that no one has mentioned " TWIST Chiang Mai" ( was Twist by David), the owner is David from "Davids Kitchen". A great place to eat with the same great food and service you would have expected from Davids Kitchen. The food is a little more fusion but well worth the visit. 

[gamb00ler]

24 minutes ago, kuzie57 said:

Very surprised that no one has mentioned " TWIST Chiang Mai" 

The menu does look interesting but the prices would cause my expectations to be quite high.

 

Also I am not thrilled when I see this note at the bottom of menus:

*All prices are in Thai Baht and subject to a 10% service charge and 7% government tax.

 

I like it to be easy to see the final price for all dishes.  I do accept that some restaurants add a note regarding an extra charge for larger groups.  I don't understand the reasoning behind a mandatory "service charge" for everyone that is shown separately.

[bangkok19]

Da Stefano has great AUTHENTIC Italian food and good Italian Wines.

Also Chez Marco on Loi Kroa has great French food and lovely French wines.

If you're a wine drinker, the aforementioned restaurants I've mentioned have several Wines that I have never seen in any of the Chiang Mai wine shops.

Worth a try.

[Cameroni]

If you are craving Chinese and want a classy and authentic Chinese my go to is Tolou.

 

I find Tolou better than Shangri La. 

[Cory1848]

23 hours ago, Wandr said:

There's a fairly large pizzeria in Nimman called Pizza My Heart (or Pizza Your Heart).

They have good stuff. However I wouldn't care to judge if it's better than Dukes or not.

Try it out, let us know your opinion.

The Duke’s makes American-style pizza; I think the best in Chiang Mai, though I haven’t sampled around that much. There are other places that serve Italian pizza (or “real pizza”), which is another item altogether. It’s hard to compare the two. I haven’t been to Pizza My Heart, which you mention, but there’s another Italian restaurant in Nimman called “Why Not?” that serves fabulous Neapolitan pizza.

[Nick Carter icp]

The Gecko bar does a nice fish and chips on a Friday , 129 Baht 

[Cameroni]

I want to try the fish and chips from the Chippy at the Gate. Prices are high, but it looks good.

[Bill97]

57 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

I want to try the fish and chips from the Chippy at the Gate. Prices are high, but it looks good.

Are you wanting for permission?

[0james0]

On 8/9/2024 at 9:35 PM, Cameroni said:

Duke's has the best Pizza.

No it does not. The last 2x’s there was followed by a day sitting on the can next to the rear-end spray nozzle 

[Cameroni]

35 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

Are you wanting for permission?

More feedback in case anyone's already tried them.

[placnx]

On 8/9/2024 at 10:01 AM, neilrob said:

I have eaten at many restaurants in Chiang Mai, including many times over the years at Coq d'Or and Somm. Both are worthwhile. However, my hands down winner, for food, atmosphere and service is L'Elephant. Great place.

 

Ikigai, near Meechok Plaza, is worth trying for their quirky, inventive cuisine

L'Elephant is quite good for French food, also Baan Mae, Busarin Cuisine, Ginger Farm Kitchen, and Wan Lamun for Thai food, Sushi Umai Nimman for Japanese, Accha for Indian, Blackitch Kitchen (fixed menu) for fusion Thai, Yangzi Jiang and Guo Se Tian Xiang (spicy) for Chinese, Greensmoked for contemporary Western food.

[placnx]

5 hours ago, Cameroni said:

If you are craving Chinese and want a classy and authentic Chinese my go to is Tolou.

 

I find Tolou better than Shangri La. 

I like the smoked duck (whole or half) from Tulou. It's an appetizer for 2-4 people.

[rubyjuan]

Hummus is a superb restaurant.   Not fancy, but the food is exceptional. 

[Lacessit]

On 8/9/2024 at 1:37 PM, JBChiangRai said:

Finland Deer, a little out of town near San Kamphaeng but probably the best (and most expensive) for Beef steak.

Perhaps you know KhunPa, near the defunct traffic lights in San Kamphaeng. Excellent pork tenderloin, not expensive.

[JBChiangRai]

10 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Perhaps you know KhunPa, near the defunct traffic lights in San Kamphaeng. Excellent pork tenderloin, not expensive.

We have a house near there in Bo Sang, I’ll try it on another trip there.

[Cameroni]

6 minutes ago, placnx said:

I like the smoked duck (whole or half) from Tulou. It's an appetizer for 2-4 people.

 

It's a great place. They have this thinly sliced spicy duck which is pretty, prettay good. Dim Sum, Hakka, Cantonese, Sechuan, BBQ, and a really impressive architecture makes an experience. Perhaps a bit too akin to those giant restaurants you get in China, but the food is really good. Price, for what you get, is obviously elevated but not crazy and quite acceptable.

[GammaGlobulin]

In Thailand, I eat only Thai food.

 

Therefore, I am interested only in restaurants in Chiang Mai that serve the very best Thai food.

 

What might these restaurants be?

I do not know.

 

However, if I knew where to get a fantastic Thai meal, such as a dinner or a lunch, with several dishes, then I would definitely take the time to go and eat there, even eating by myself would be a pleasure.

 

I just need to know the TOP 3.

Price should not be exorbitant.

But then, a great Thai restaurant with excellent Thai food....SHOULD NOT be exorbitant in price.

 

So, what are the TOP 3  that I should know about?

 

And, are there, actually, any guys here that are qualified to rank Thai food to provide the TOP 3 in CM?

 

Thanks in advance for any well-informed info....

 

 

[Cameroni]

18 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Perhaps you know KhunPa, near the defunct traffic lights in San Kamphaeng. Excellent pork tenderloin, not expensive.

 

Speaking of San Khampaeng, along the San Kamphaeng road to Mae on is Nasi Jumpru. A superb thai restaurant. Nice inventive and original menu, good service and surroundings and moderate mid-range pricing

[JBChiangRai]

For Thai food I recommend Saiyut & Dr. Sai’s Kitchen near Nimman, we often go for Sunday lunch.  Michelin rated. Not expensive.

[novacova]

11 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

For Thai food I recommend Saiyut & Dr. Sai’s Kitchen near Nimman, we often go for Sunday lunch.  Michelin rated. Not expensive.

If you want good inexpensive northern food, a vendor in the center area of kad Thannin has about twenty five items or so with some items rotating though the week. Two other smaller vendors toward the back, good selection depending on the day of the week. Cm has a good verity, best for local food is usually found where the locals go. Again, personally, rarely impressed with restaurants here that are geared for tourists, though everyone has their personal preferences.

[BKKKevin]

On 8/12/2024 at 4:18 PM, Wandr said:

There's a fairly large pizzeria in Nimman called Pizza My Heart (or Pizza Your Heart).

They have good stuff. However I wouldn't care to judge if it's better than Dukes or not.

Try it out, let us know your opinion.

We alternate between Dukes and Pizza Your heart for my weekly pizza fix ;-)…

What I’d really like is a good deep dish or Detroit styled pizza!…

[JBChiangRai]

13 minutes ago, novacova said:

If you want good inexpensive northern food, a vendor in the center area of kad Thannin has about twenty five items or so with some items rotating though the week. Two other smaller vendors toward the back, good selection depending on the day of the week. Cm has a good verity, best for local food is usually found where the locals go. Again, personally, rarely impressed with restaurants here that are geared for tourists, though everyone has their personal preferences.

Every time I have been to Sai and Dr.’s Kitchen, I have been the only foreigner there.

 

I wouldn’t say it’s particularly foreigner oriented, it’s more HiSo Thai and a bit dressy.

[JBChiangRai]

Billy’s Italian makes terrible pizza but the rest of his menu is pretty good and cheap.

 

Strangely, Billy is Burmese.

[novacova]

18 hours ago, Cameroni said:

If you are craving Chinese and want a classy and authentic Chinese my go to is Tolou.

 

I find Tolou better than Shangri La. 

I like Chinese food but it is a no no for the wife, she doesn’t like Chinese and anything Chinese is a default No.

[Bill97]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

Strangely, Billy is Burmese.

He worked a long time at Bonissamo on the road to Mae Joe.

[novacova]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

Every time I have been to Sai and Dr.’s Kitchen, I have been the only foreigner there.

 

I wouldn’t say it’s particularly foreigner oriented, it’s more HiSo Thai and a bit dressy.

Most of the patrons in the Nimman area are tourists, most of the tourists are by far Thai nationals, Korean and Chinese. Most of the vendors in the nimman area are out-of-towners, this is not to say that there isn’t good joints to munch at there. I have no idea what other folks prefer, can only speak for one’s self.

Edited August 14 by novacova

[JBChiangRai]

9 minutes ago, novacova said:

Most of the patrons in the Nimman area are tourists, most of the tourists are by far Thai nationals, Korean and Chinese. Most of the vendors in the nimman area are out-of-towners, this is not to say that there isn’t good joints to munch at there. I have no idea what other folks prefer, can only speak for one’s self.

 
Sai and Dr.’s is in a housing estate, you won’t find it accidentally and even with GPS it’s not easy. It’s definitely not a tourist trap.

[JBChiangRai]

13 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

He worked a long time at Bonissamo on the road to Mae Joe.

It’s been fascinating to watch his son grow up.

[marin]

13 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

In Thailand, I eat only Thai food.

 

Therefore, I am interested only in restaurants in Chiang Mai that serve the very best Thai food.

 

What might these restaurants be?

I do not know.

 

13 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

And, are there, actually, any guys here that are qualified to rank Thai food to provide the TOP 3 in CM?

 

Thanks in advance for any well-informed info....

So you live in Chiang Mai. Where have you been eating? How has it been? What are some of your favorite Thai dishes? Where in your opinion is the best Khao Soi?

Dont you get tired of Thai food breakfast, lunch and dinner?

[BKKKevin]

Taco Bell has just opened up a stone throw away from Tha Phea Gate (Next to a dispensary;-)…

I slowly back out of the room…