News
Chiang Mai Cool Season 2026–27: New Openings & What's Worth Knowing
As Chiang Mai's cool season begins, here's a round-up of new cafés, restaurants and openings worth knowing, plus what's changed around town this year.
5 Sept 2026
Eat & Drink
Where & What to Eat in Chiang Mai
The central hub for eating in Chiang Mai — an introduction to Northern Thai (Lanna) cuisine, where to find the best Khao Soi, the top street food and markets, and the city's Michelin Bib Gourmand stalls.
In this section
What's in our Restaurants coverage
Northern Thai, explained
What makes Lanna food different from the Thai food you know, dish by dish, with how to order it.
The khao soi question
Where to eat the city's signature dish, from the famous names to the neighbourhood shops residents actually use.
Street food and markets
Which markets to eat at, what time to go, and the stalls worth crossing town for.
Michelin-recognised eating
The Bib Gourmand list and what it does and doesn't tell you about eating well here.
Chiang Mai eats differently
If your idea of Thai food comes from Bangkok or from Thai restaurants abroad, Chiang Mai will reset it. Northern Thai (Lanna) cuisine is its own tradition: less coconut milk and sugar than the central and southern styles, more bitterness, herbs, fermentation and chilli dips, and sticky rice rather than steamed rice as the default carbohydrate.
That doesn’t mean you can’t get an excellent pad thai here. It means the most interesting eating in this city is the food you can’t get elsewhere.
The dishes to know
Khao Soi is the one everyone comes for, and it earns the attention. Egg noodles in a coconut-and-curry broth, topped with a nest of fried noodles, served with pickled mustard greens, raw shallot and a wedge of lime that you’re expected to use.
Sai Oua is the northern herb sausage — lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf and chilli, grilled over charcoal and sold by weight. Buy it at a market and eat it standing up.
Gaeng Hang Lay is a slow-cooked pork belly curry with ginger and tamarind, Burmese in origin and unmistakably northern in practice.
Nam Prik Ong — a tomato and minced pork chilli dip — is the gateway to the whole nam prik family, eaten with sticky rice and raw vegetables.
Where to eat
There are three tiers, and residents move between all of them:
Markets. Warorot for daytime and takeaway northern specialities, Chang Phueak for evening street food. Both are covered in detail in our markets guides.
Neighbourhood shops. The unglamorous, un-airconditioned, plastic-stool restaurants that do one or two things extremely well. This is where most of the best food in Chiang Mai is, and the price is usually under 70 THB.
Restaurants. From long-running Thai institutions to the modern Lanna kitchens doing something genuinely new with the region’s ingredients. The Michelin Bib Gourmand list is a decent starting point here, though it skews toward places that can handle a guidebook crowd.
How to use this section
If you’re new to the city, start with the Northern Thai explainer, then the khao soi guide. If you’re settled and want to eat better rather than differently, the street food and Bib Gourmand guides will give you a list you can work through over months.
For coffee, cafés and the work-friendly side of Chiang Mai’s food scene, that lives in our cafés and coffee hub.
Guides
Restaurants guides
Every evergreen guide we've published on restaurants & thai food in Chiang Mai.
Scenario
Best Street Food & Markets to Eat At
A guide to street-food eating in Chiang Mai by market and area — the key markets, must-try dishes, and tips on hygiene, ordering and timing.
6 min read
What to expect
Michelin Bib Gourmand Stalls in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai's Michelin Bib Gourmand and comparable stalls — the listed vendors, what to order, prices and how to find them.
5 min read
Explainer
Northern Thai (Lanna) Food Explained
What makes Northern Thai (Lanna) cuisine different — Khao Soi, Sai Oua, Gaeng Hang Lay, Nam Prik Ong, and where to try each.
6 min read
Scenario
Where to Eat Khao Soi in Chiang Mai
The best Khao Soi spots in Chiang Mai by area, with prices and what makes a great bowl — from famous names to local favourites.
5 min read
News & updates
Recent coverage
Got questions?
Restaurants: common questions
What food is Chiang Mai famous for?
Khao soi above all — a coconut curry noodle soup topped with crisp fried noodles, served with pickled greens, shallots and lime. Beyond that, Northern Thai cuisine has its own repertoire: sai oua sausage, gaeng hang lay pork curry, nam prik ong and a whole family of chilli dips eaten with sticky rice.
Where do locals eat khao soi?
The famous shops around the Islamic quarter near Charoenprathet deserve their reputation, but every neighbourhood has its own khao soi shop with a queue at lunchtime. Our guide covers both the destination places and the local favourites, with notes on which do a good vegetarian version.
Is street food in Chiang Mai safe?
Generally yes. Use the same rules that work anywhere: eat where there's turnover, where the cooking happens in front of you, and where locals are queuing. Busy stalls are safer than quiet ones because the ingredients don't sit.
How much does a meal cost?
A market or street plate runs 40–70 THB. A sit-down Thai restaurant meal is typically 120–250 THB a head. Western restaurants and the fine-dining end run from 400 THB upward. It's very easy to eat extremely well here for under 200 THB a day.
Is it easy to eat vegetarian or vegan in Chiang Mai?
Unusually easy. Chiang Mai has a large vegetarian and vegan scene, plenty of dedicated restaurants, and most Thai kitchens will adapt dishes. The phrase to learn is 'jay' for strictly vegan and 'mangsawirat' for vegetarian.
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