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All the city's top hotels serve reasonably good food, but for the best Thai cuisine go to the restaurants in town. The greatest variety—from traditional Thai to Italian—are to be found within the Old City, and Nimmanhemin Road, about 2 km (1 mile) northwest of downtown, is a star-studded restaurant row. The best fish restaurants, many of them Chinese-run, are found at the Anusan Market, near the Night Bazaar. Chiang Mai also has northern Thailand's best European-cuisine restaurants.
Lampang native Achareeya Chapin studied baking and pastry at the Culinary Institute of America and worked at a highly acclaimed restaurant in Napa Valley before returning home to set up shop here, on a sleepy little river evoking the feeling of times gone by. Achareeya has since gone on to open Wildthyme in Bangkok, but her sister Fon keeps the shop running, offering a selection of Thai and Western dishes, all prepared to perfection. Leave room for dessert.
