251 Best Restaurants in Thailand

Chef-owner Francois Porte holds fort at this bijou fine dining option in Bophut. While the prices seem lofty by Samui standards, they are actually very reasonable considering the caliber of the culinary offerings. Menu highlights include mustard- and herb-crusted New Zealand rack of lamb and baked fresh grouper fillet topped with herb crust and served with lemon butter sauce. 

This French restaurant, located in Chiang Mai's perfectly safe "red-light district," is consistently full of locals and foreigners enjoying creamy pâtés and beef Bourguignon. It's run with Gallic flair by Franco-Japanese chef Marco, and—despite the surrounding bar, hotel, and massage parlor—it still has a stylishly intimate atmosphere best enjoyed on the street terrace.

The scent of freshly ground espresso greets you as you enter this lovely café next to one end of the weekly Sunday Walking Street. In addition to light meals, coffee, and desserts there are souvenirs made with natural materials, notebooks, and postcards.

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.

Halfway along the road from Chawaeng to Lamai, the Cliff perches on a big boulder overlooking the sea. You can have lunch or dinner inside a spartan dining room or out on a scenic terrace. The lunch menu includes sandwiches and hamburgers; among the dinner highlights are steaks and Mediterranean specialties.

It's easy to laze all afternoon at The Commons, a lofty community mall known for its gourmet food stands, restaurants, and comfortable open-air seating as well as air-conditioned indoor tables. You'll see groups dining on smorgasbords at single tables with cuisines ranging from Thai to Peruvian, as well as dishes like fried chicken and waffles, artisanal sandwiches, and more—but plenty of people simply grab an iced coffee and hang out with their laptops.

An Italian bar-ristorante is the last in the trio of Patong's cliff restaurants. Dining is just above a secluded beach. Try pizza, fettuccine, ravioli, and other Italian traditions, or opt for fresh seafood baked in a wood-burning oven. The restaurant prides itself on its use of exclusively organic ingredients.

This 50-year-old Lanna restaurant—opened by the late Kanong Yawikham, who cooked in his Thai boxing school before starting Daokanong—has tasty Northern Thai dishes for very reasonable prices. Try nam prik pla jee (spicy grilled fish dip served with steamed local vegetables) to explore new flavors.

In a beautiful, traditional, two-story teak house with a balcony overlooking a garden, Dash is one of the Old Town's best midrange restaurants. Guests receive a warm welcome from the Thai mother-son team, who returned to Thailand to open the restaurant after living for many years in the United States. Expect generous servings of classic Thai food from across the country. The khao soi (chicken curry noodle soup), gaeng hang lay (pork curry), and other Lanna specialties stand out. Those not in the mood for Thai can avail themselves of pasta and burgers.

Welcome to the best-value French restaurant in Thailand. At DiDiNE the emphasis is not on fancy plating or any of the familiar gallic niceties but rather on delivering great-tasting dishes at extraordinary prices. Highlights include classic salads like Nicoise and more substantial offerings such as pork cordon bleu and beef red wine Parmentier.

Arranged on several terraces, the tables here all have panoramic sea views; arrive before sunset to get the full effect. In addition to à la carte entrées and apps like iced tom yum gazpacho with oysters, this Six Senses' staple offers a wide range of revelatory set menus, including one for vegetarians.

At this spacious, brick-style shop adorned with pictures of the Akha hill tribe, tasty coffee from Doi Chang, Chiang Mai is served by staff clad in traditional Akha-style clothes and headdresses decorated with colored threads, beads, and buttons. The shop also sells all kinds of coffee equipment, from Moka pots and grinders to mini coffee cookers. And of course, you can buy a bag of Doi Chang coffee beans to go.

Many authentic Korean restaurants do business in Sukhumvit Plaza, but even with three stories of tables, there's often a wait day or night at Doo Rae. Go for the do-it-yourself barbecue grilling, with bulgogi (thin slices of beef in a tasty marinade) and fresh veggies, as well as sake or soju, a rice-based drink similar to vodka but with a lower alcohol content.

This is one of those quintessential backpacker-friendly cafés with a laid-back vibe, eclectic seating (including beanbags and hammocks), and all kinds of comfort food. Try the tuna wasabi sub, the DK veggie samosas in puff pastry, or a burger.

This restaurant has long been a favorite among government ministers and corporate executives, both for its outstanding Cantonese cuisine and its private areas, perfect for business lunches or romantic dinners. The main dining room is elegant, with crimson carpeting, carved screens, lacquer furniture, and porcelain objets d'art.

This Aussie establishment is both a high-end eatery and an art space where temporary exhibits from local artists provide quite a funky atmosphere. The international fusion menu is also reflected by a staff well mixed between foreigners and Thais, including innovative American chef Tim Butler and mixologist Pop Direkrittikul, who creates Thai-inspired cocktails using ingredients like toasted rice, shallots, and chili paste.

El Greco brings a taste of the Ionian to the tropics. The emphasis is on prime ingredients perfectly cooked: a simple creed that is executed via offerings such as shrimp saganaki (shrimp with feta, fresh oregano, tomatoes, and olive oil) and giant souvlaki platters. Shrimp saganaki is only served in the high season from November to April; Souvlaki is available all year.

There are two kitchens, and two cuisines—Thai and Western—but the Fat Monkey is best known and loved for its large juicy burgers. It's a pleasant place for a meal, with a pretty garden.

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.

Mumbai native Garima Arora's high-level journey through the flavors, textures, and ingredients of Indian cuisine has earned this restaurant two Michelin stars. It's housed in a 60-year-old traditional Thai residence that has been attractively transformed with an interior rendered in a single shade of taupe, so that the wood joinery and curved ceilings stand out. The separate Gaa Lounge in the same building is easier to reserve and makes a great spot for sundowners and a quick bite from the à la carte menu.

Combining 10-course fine dining and photography, this restaurant–gallery serves delicate interpretations of southern Thai classics—fish dishes, curries, grilled seafood, and the like. The service is first-rate, the atmosphere relaxed and romantic.

Beachfront trattorias don't come more inviting than this one. Pizza is the specialty of the house, and pies come in various thin-crusted, wood-fired guises. Perhaps the best thing about the place, though, is its ambience. You can literally feel the sand between your toes at the beachside setting while the views of the boats sailing in and out of Mae Haad Bay are unfailingly evocative. 

Although this sleek café sells delicious baked goods like orange cinnamon rolls and croissants, it's the ice cream—made on-site in a variety of unique and delicious flavors—that really draws the crowd. Try the Tom Yum Kung ice cream for a real taste of Thailand or more traditional with Almond Espresso.

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.

The focus at this stylish modern restaurant in an old ice factory is the wood-fired oven in the open kitchen, visible throughout the dining room. The menu tours the globe, with popular dishes including smoked pork ribs with barbecue sauce and arguably the most authentic tacos in town.

A good sign of quality, this restaurant is packed with Thais sharing tables filled with northeastern favorites like grilled chicken, spicy papaya salad, and minced duck salad. The open-air dining area can be hot, it's often crowded and noisy, and the staff don’t speak much English, so you’ll need to pick and point from the menu—but that's part of the fun.

A maverick in the area, this air-conditioned restaurant run by a German specializes in beer sausages, as well as cheese and cold cut platters. The restaurant also serves Greek salad, Norwegian smoked salmon, and tenderloin tournedos from Australia. The vibe is always homey, with brick walls, bamboo chairs, and timber galore. Whether you sit inside or outside, the place fills up in the evenings.

This small house near the river is filled with Thai antiques and antique chests scattered with bric-a-brac, which all give the ambience of dining at a relative's house. The staff is very good at helping indecisive diners choose from the brief menu, and although the restaurant has become more touristy over the years, it also retains a loyal and regular local clientele.

Cha Cha, who cooked for Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, died in 1996, but his recipes live on and are prepared with equal ability by his son Kovit. Typical Indian-themed decor and a long-standing menu of traditional dishes as well as intriguing daily specials make this restaurant an oldie but a goodie, with two other locations in Bangkok also available.