Riverside Restaurant in Chiang Mai
 

Hey there,
We will be in CM in March and have heard such great reviews of the Riverside Restaurant. Quick question. Is it more fun to do the dinner cruise versus eating on the banks of the river? Is the cruise worth the price?
Looked kinda fun to me.
Thanks for your opinions,
Susie

Susie, we went to Riverside last year and it was our favourite. Didn't do the river cruise but we could see it passing by. We were happy having the meal at a table by the window and seeing the river view. The cruise would probably be nice too but not sure if the price would be worth it. Others may help you there.

We did the river cruise about a month ago and it was OK. They take you up to a herb garden up the river where you can have a drink and some fruit and then bring you back. There are some nice buildings and gardens along the way. We didn't do the dinner cruise. I would opt for a riverside table at the Riverside. Excellent meals.

I am probably in the minority but it's one of my least favorite restaurants. Mediocre food at best, unbelievably noisy and not a thai person in sight. I should add that I'm 60-- younger people may like it a lot more.

I think the hallmark of restaurants in Chiang Mai (as well as some other places) is inconsistency. Before we went to CM in November, I scoured travel boards for restaurant recommendations. Almost every place that had several people love it also had several people pan it. The criticisms weren't just things like the food being bland, but sounded like really awful dining experiences.

i would describe it as a joint....a place to kick back and have a little something to eat and to perhaps hear some music....the music may or may not be to your liking..

we had acceptable food there, but nothing special...

i would go back there but it would not be at the top of my list, but neither is CM......

My boyfriend and I were in CM in January and also were not all that impressed with The Riverside. We did, however, really enjoy our meal at the Gallery (just a few doors down from The Riverside.) The front of the restaurant is an art gallery (hence the name) and after walking through the gallery the restaurant is in the rear, right along the river. We sat outside and really enjoyed the views. It seemed a lot more calm and relaxing than The Riverside.

Second the recommendation for The Gallery. The food and ambience was much better than the Riverside and closer to Baan Orapin. We were in Chiang Mai 19 Jan 2007 - 24 Jan 2007 and ate at both. Opas told us that H. Clinton had eaten at the Gallery on her recent? visit.

agree with the more 'seasoned'fodorites here:rhkkmk,gloria and kathie....walked by it and decided that it was overpriced and geared towards 'westerners'. My daughter knew CM fairly well and took me to local places she knew....BTW, if you don't have a place tostay locked in yet,check out the Ba'an Orapin GuestHouse....run by a young man who took over his family's proprety in CM and isre-doing a huge,magnificent teak house...rooms on proprety were clean (fab.bathroom;great breakfasts and within walking distance of the night market,but on the otehr side of the river...away from all the tourist traps...find his web site. Jan

PS: Ba'an Orapin Guest House is on the banks of the river and the bridge is right there, too.

Thanks everyone...I will check out both the Gallery and the Riverside. I am sooooo psyched to finally be going. Seems like I have been planning this trip with my group for a million years. Let me tell you...this website has been invaluable! Thanks to you all. I will post a trip report....as it only seems fair for all the info I have taken from this site, upon my return.
Thanks again,
Susie

Have just visited my brother in ChiangMai (he's been there 10 years) and he took me to Riverside because I asked him to, having read about it here.. Maybe the time of day, early evening, but there was no-one much around and it looked uninteresting. Didn't investigate boat trip. Instead, we had a beer at a bar in the building to the left, but in front of Riverside as you go in. Young, pretty but mostly disinterested girls singing one after the other, and patrons "buying" them with leis. That is an eye opener!
We had a delicious curry near the ThaPha Gate for about 60Baht, and watched the hot air balloons afterwards that night. Friday and Saturday nights - buy one with crackers for 100Baht to let off - great fun. Apart from the pollution, I loved ChiangMai and it was deliciously cool.

Haven't tried Riverside but we had dinner at the Gallery and really liked it.

Another vote for Gallery Cafe. Despite negative posts here, Opus (Baan Orapin's owner) highly recommended it and we were glad he did. Really lovely place with great food. BTW, if the pedestrian bridge is still under construction, it's not a bad walk to the next bridge, which has a wide sidewalk, if you're trying to cross the river to get to night market or flower market. Claire

I fear maybe I have steered people wrongly towards Riverside but I really liked it . I am 64 and it was not too noisy for me and there were more Thais there than us farangs, but Gloria, Bob and Kathie are the experts so maybe I was just lucky. Really Susie you may have to decide for yourself . Enjoy!

I originally went to the Riverside after reading a recommendation from Peteralan. The night we went the place was packed mostly with Thais. Even the people who work at the Royal Princess Hotel were there. The food and service were excellent. I will be going back later this year and I will check out the one next door.

Peter, I don't think you steered anyone wrong - you reported on your good experience there. I really do think that places can be very inconsistent, great one night, not so great another night. On top of that, people like different things. Clearly, your advice was valuable to a number of people.

I agree with all of you! I think each person has his own taste and style. But I do thank you for all the input. This board rocks with good information. I leave in 2 weeks....well actually 13 days but who's counting? I will report in upon my return.
Again, thank you all very much!
Susie
Now has anyone done the climbing wall in CM? :-)

Does anyone know of a hotel in CM called Yaang Come Village. Someone on this site didn't seem to like Baan Orapin. I have scheduled a tour with Sergeant Kai and I mentioned that to him so he rec'd that one. What are your opinions-Thanks Chris

Do a search on Yaang Come Village - there have been many, many reviews. We stayed there in November, and you'll find my comments under Kathie's Penang, Chiang Mai and Bangkok trip report. I posted it end of Nov 2006.