29 Best Restaurants in Northern Thailand, Thailand

This century-old log trader's home built in Shan-style was transformed into a warm redwood-lined restaurant that serves very good Thai cuisine and well-executed Western dishes, including tenderloin and T-bone steaks. Some tables are arranged under the trees of a leafy garden for a nice view of the Yuam River.

The name of this attractive open-sided restaurant signifies the strongly perfumed frangipani trees that frame its riverside setting. The gargantuan menu embraces Chinese, Thai, and Japanese cuisine, but the specialty is northern Thai food, including fresh fish from the Kok and Mae Kong rivers.

After 10 years in Britain, a Pai entrepreneur named Ping returned to her hometown and opened this highly successful burger restaurant. The modest establishment is also the place to share tips with the travelers who gather here nightly.

Husband-wife duo Carlo and Supaporn man this perfectly situated indoor-outdoor bar, bistro, and guesthouse at one of the busiest intersections in Pai, just at the end of the walking street. The menu is expansive, with Thai-fusion tapas, all-day breakfast, large pizzas, and Thai staples. Cocktails are top-notch and desserts—freshly baked daily by Supaporn—are not to be missed. 

Widely acknowledged as Pai's best restaurant, Silhouette serves outstanding Thai-inspired European cuisine, made with fresh, mostly organic, local produce. Panoramic mountain views, the quirky house sense of style, and live jazz music from November to April all add to the pleasure of having a meal here.

This charming restaurant just a bit south of town is nestled in a lush tropical garden and has a vast menu of Thai specialties. Locally grown sesame is featured in a variety of dishes.

Although not on the river, this restaurant has the edge on the competition because of its spacious bench seating and garden atmosphere. House specialties include gai khua kem (roasted chicken with salt) and boo nim tort gratium (crab fried in garlic).

Loved for its breezy atmosphere and mouthwatering steaks, this brick-style eatery offers Italian, Mexican, and Thai dishes with a tasty selection of wines and signature cocktails. Come after 8 pm, when the house band takes to the stage, and take the garden seating.

Most of the modest price of your meal at this quirkily named restaurant, one of 16 in Thailand, goes toward the country's leading nongovernmental organization that specializes in HIV/AIDS education. The food is Thai, geared somewhat to Western tastes. The eccentric interiors are a brilliant pastiche of brickwork, art deco, and edgy decor that includes megaphones, corded telephones, movie projectors, and a chandelier that could pass for deer antlers.

In an increasingly hip neighborhood on the edge of town, this taqueria serves authentic Mexican food including homemade tortillas (flour and corn), salsa, and hot sauce. The burritos, moles, and tortas are all delicious and a nice break from Thai food when the need arises.

Classically trained baker Nattamon Holmberg puts an emphasis on slow and sustainable food at this cozy café on the Kok River that serves a mix of Western favorites, like avocado toast, along with Thai food. The prices are a little higher than other restaurants in Chiang Rai, but the quality of its locally sourced ingredients more than makes up for it.

Mae Hong Son's main thoroughfare, Khunlumprapas Road, is lined with inexpensive restaurants serving local cuisine and this is one of the best. You can eat in the spacious dining room with solid teak columns under whirling fans.

Although it's located right down the street from a major attraction (Thawan Duchanee's Black House), this family-run business keeps its prices low and its traditional dishes noticeably fresh and delicious. Much of what they make is straight off the Give Green Farm, and operates as a master class in sustainable comfort food.

Family-run since Inthira Tansuhaj first opened it in 1964, this Mae Sariang favorite sticks to Thai staples like curries, soups, and stir-fries. English menus are available, and service is actually quite efficient for an ever-expanding space that now seats up to 150 people.

This fine-dining restaurant has a mix of hearty Italian and Argentinian plates, like the silky tangy pasta al limone and the Argentinian tenderloin filet served with salad and mashed potatoes. While the pumping house music doesn't exactly make for a cozy dinner, the patterned ceramic tile floor and lemon-tree ceiling evoke the romance of Italy.

This pretty family-run lunch spot is known for the local specialty "Sukhothai noodles”---a clear pork broth with rice noodles, chili flakes, toasted peanuts, and lime, topped with roasted and minced pork. The restaurant doubles as a boutique selling jewelry and silk textiles.

This laid-back pizza spot where the tables are laid with checkered tablecloths is a welcome break from all the fancy resort dining options in the Ban Sop Ruak area. The crispy thin-crust pies are topped with traditional and Thai ingredients, ranging from pepperoni and Parma ham to tom yum–tinged seafood and northern-style sausage.

A garden panorama of ceramic dolls and other tiny figurines greets you at this enchanting restaurant, where the tables are distributed among the shrubs and ornamental trees. The locals love the place for its excellent lineup of northern Thai specialties and Chinese-influenced dishes.

Roofed with leaves of Nipa palms, this hippie-chic café is set in an idyllic shaded courtyard with casual teak furniture, sheer curtains, stained glass windows, and religious sculptures. The food is healthy, hearty, and wholesome.

An extensive menu in English makes this teak pontoon eatery on the Nan the most comfortable riverside experience. The emphasis is on fresh seafood—the pla taptim (St. Peter's fish, a delicious freshwater variety found everywhere in Thailand), served steamed with a spicy lemon-and-lime sauce, is a good choice.

A favorite in the area for 20 years, Khun Pat's offers Thai staples and simple Western dishes at reasonable prices. Nothing is too spicy, the menu in English has illustrations, and guests are allowed to write on the walls.

For authentic Lanna cuisine, you can't do better than this simple but superb restaurant, with an extensive menu. Try the kanom jeen (Chinese noodles) served with a spicy meat sauce, raw and pickled cabbage, and various condiments; or the satay moo, thin slices of lean pork on wooden skewers, served with a peanut sauce dip. In the evening every table has its own steam pot and barbecue for preparing the popular northern specialty moo kata, a kind of pork stew. The open-sided, teak-floor dining area is shaded by ancient acacia trees, making it a cool retreat on warm evenings.

Well-known for its views of the Mekong River and Laos beyond, this old family-run restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere and quality Thai food. You can sit on the teak terrace and fuel up with Thai staples like stir-fried chicken rice with cashew nuts, or order a more adventurous dish like fried frog seasoned with garlic and pepper.

Hidden in a quiet alley outside the buzzy town center, this roastery serves fresh coffee from Mae Hong Son, including 90Plus---signature beans known for their bergamot, ginger, and lemongrass tasting notes. The industrial design is hardly surprising given that RoastBarn used to be a coffee factory until 2023, but cozy jazz tunes, jasmine trees, and hanging plants have transformed the space into a relaxing place for your morning elixir, accompanied by a fragrant selection of pastries for sale.

The name of this riverside restaurant means "Crystal House," which is rather fitting, since it's such a gem. Pass through a profusion of bougainvillea flowers to find a wooden deck overlooking the Nan River, the perfect vantage point for taking in the lush scenery and enjoying the Thai menu with some original touches. The crispy chicken in a sweet pickled-plum sauce, for instance, is a rare delight.

The Anantara resort's main breakfast buffet room turns into a reputable Thai restaurant during the lunch and dinner hour, offering northern specialties like khao soi, gaeng ho (dry curry pork with glass noodles and vegetables), and a duo of dips made with minced pork and green chilies.

This large restaurant has a wooden deck overlooking the Nan River banks and live music every night. Get here early, as it's often full of diners looking for authentic food at fair prices and a prime spot along the water.

Just 5 minutes from the main historic park by car, this bright colonial-style café is in a lovely manicured garden. The menu offers a mix of Thai staples and Western comfort foods, but they’re really known for their noodle soup with roast pork. Also don’t miss their wide variety of ice creams which even includes durian flavor when in season.

Chinese and northern Thai dishes dominate the extensive menu at this traditional timber-built restaurant in a lovely garden. They're known for khantoke dinners (northern Thai set meals, served on a tray) and their delicious khao soi noodles. A Thai traditional ensemble plays nightly.