251 Best Restaurants in Thailand

This small shophouse restaurant is a truly capable all-round Thai eatery, a rarity in a neighborhood where you’re generally better off eating at places that specialize in one or two dishes. Recommended plates include nuea pu phat phrik lueang (crabmeat stir-fried with yellow chilies) and kaeng khiaw-wan look chin pla krai (green curry with fish balls).

This authentic Thai restaurant in Pattaya's north serves double portions of stir-fries and other Thai favorites. Try tom yam pla krapong, white snapper soup with chili and lemon grass, or goong tod sauce makham, deep-fried king prawns tossed in tamarind sauce with kaffir lime leaves and fresh lemon grass. Take a sit at one of the teak tables with plastic chairs or bamboo salas roofed with Nipa palm leaves and mix amongst the locals.

There are two positive signs at this restaurant before you even try the food—locals hanging out, and the fish and seafood that will end up on your plate are on display in tanks in all their variety. You'll find every kind of fresh catch prepared using lots of local herbs and spices at this friendly colorful place.

This light-and-airy space maintains the aura of its former life as a warehouse, but it's certainly more chic than shabby these days, with polished metal and blond wood adding a hip counterpoint to cement floors. Kuppa serves traditional Thai fare as well as many international dishes, and it has a dedicated following for its coffee, roasted on the premises.

Fresh pasta made with 100% Italian semolina and organic duck eggs is the signature at La Dotta, a Mediterranean-inspired dining room on Convent Road. Standouts include the wagyu bolognese with tagliatelle and bucatini all'amatriciana, topped with a sauce that is slow-cooked for 4 hours and served with dry-cured pork cheeks from Rome. Appetizers lean towards fresh seafood, including clams sautéed in white wine and garlic and grilled octopus with cannellini beans and chorizo stew. A short but well-curated list of Old World wines pairs well with the food.

For elegant French cooking, try this small waterfront bistro whose owner moved here from Nice. The three-course tasting menu might include such delicacies as a shark with pineapple entrée, along with a salad and dessert.

Outside of those in upscale hotels, there are few other restaurants in Chiang Mai where you'll find a good selection of French cheeses. Tucked away on a quiet courtyard off bustling Loi Kroh Road, this unassuming bistro, run by chef-owner Jean Jeacques Thine, keeps it simple but with rich ingredients—butter, foie gras, and cream all make appearances. His homemade pâtés alone are a big draw.

The seafood here is perfectly cooked and artfully presented, but what makes Lae Lay Grill extra-special is the location. The restaurant is on a terrace on a hill overlooking Ao Nang and the sea, which makes it a highly romantic spot from sunset on but also lovely during the day. Staff will pick you up from your hotel and bring you here by van.

This extremely casual roadside street-food restaurant serves delicious, basic, and inexpensive food that everyone loves. Try the Isaan (northeastern) catfish laap, the zingy som tam (spicy papaya salad), the fat noodles cooked in a thick pork broth, and sticky barbecue chicken.

At this modern Michelin-starred Thai restaurant helmed by chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, even a well-traveled gourmand is likely to try something new in the 4-course (B3,900) and 6-course (B4,500) tasting menus (no à la carte)—maybe a crunchy ant larvae topping or a charcoal-grilled pork jowl curry. Sleek minimalist surroundings put the focus on the food and drink, and since the chef is also a sommelier, you can expect wine pairings that perfectly complement each course.

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.

You'll want to be spotted at this so-called "neoclassic Chinese” restaurant in the Conrad Bangkok hotel, where the contemporary-focused concept and design come from the creator of the equally snazzy Green T. House in Beijing. Prepared by a Hong Kong chef, the extensive menu focuses on classic Cantonese, and the dim sum is considered among the best in Bangkok. Reservations are recommended for dim sum lunches.

Australian chef David Thompson is a legend of Thai cuisine, having helped raise its profile internationally at Nahm, his legendary venture in Bangkok. This, his debut on Koh Samui, is a more casual affair, where he hones in on southern Thai flavors to outstanding effect. Expect creations with plenty of fire such as spicy yellow curry with prawns and local fish, or mellower dishes like five-spice duck eggs.

As if striving to please every last one of the island's international visitors, this fun restaurant serves entrées from around the world. The specialty, though, is grilled seafood, prepared with one of 12 sauces; select your fish and sauce, then enjoy the breeze from the ceiling fans while you await your food.

Born from Chef Yaowadee's desire to keep artisanal fisherman in business down south, this casual eatery features Thai comfort food with an emphasis on the freshest catch of the day—something not that common in this landlocked region. The menu features stir-fried squid and an impressive array of fish dishes, including charcoal-grilled trevally and brown-sugar-cured sardine jerky, all accompanied by local organic rice and stir-fried vegetables.

The only restaurant in Banglamphu focusing on northern Thai cuisine is tucked away in a quiet corner of Rambutri Road not far from Khao San. Khao soi, a northern Thai dish of egg noodles in a mild curry broth, is a house specialty. Madame Musur is good for a late night bite as it's open till midnight.

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.

It's not all about the atmosphere at this lively venue: the kitchen is no slouch in the creativity department. Simplicity is key to your enjoyment, with choice cuts of meat and prime local produce getting top billing. Highlights include rotisserie chicken and wood-fired pizza. The nightly live music and array of beers on tap also help to provide uplift.

Beautifully restored antique rice barges depart from Anantara Riverside at 5 pm, with Thai canapes by well-known Chef Phong. It's free for Anantara Riverside Bangkok Hotel guests.

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.

Serving exceptional traditional Thai food for more than 65 years, Sorndaeng features white tablecloths, lacy curtains, and black-trousered waiters. Fans say the restaurant makes the best thawt man plaa (fried spicy fish cakes) in the city. At lunch, the restaurant tends to fill up with local government office workers.

This branch of the Michelin-starred Sri Lankan restaurant, Ministry of Crab specializes in fresh meaty crab flown in daily from that country. Crabs are prepared with your choice of sauce—garlic chili, baked, black pepper, or curry—and range in size from 500-gram "small" crabs to 5-pound "crabzillas." Also on the menu are a variety of other crab dishes, including a creamy crab liver pâté, fresh king prawns, clams, and oysters.

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.

This brick-laden restaurant offers solid comfort foods like pastas, grilled meats, and seafood. Come on Wednesdays and Fridays for live DJ nights and beverage specials.

Helmed by Chef Hernán Crispín Villalva (Mexico) and Chef Roshan Kumar (India), the kitchen here has created a unique and delicious mash-up of Indian and Mexican cuisines. Global superstar chef Gaggan Anand consulted on the menu, which includes such dishes as keema quesadilla, gol goppa puffed masa, and cold curry scallop ceviche.

For a different side of Pattaya, head north of the city to this beautiful, romantic seafood restaurant that sits right on the waterfront. The almost exclusively Thai clientele enjoys hand-picked lobster, tiger prawns, crab, oysters, and fish amid shimmering pools, palm trees, and sweeping bay views.

This unassuming restaurant next to Wat Plaplachai has a steady clientele thanks to fast service and consistently excellent Chinese-Thai dishes prepared according to the owner’s secret family recipes. The lighting and decor are lacking, but that can be forgiven when you taste the traditional tom yum goong (spicy, hot, and sour shrimp soup), which some deem to be the city's best.

The alluring scent of fresh baked goods immediately delights all who enter this funky place. The owner, who picked up his baking skills while living and working in Germany, opened Nira's in the mid-1980s, before the island even had electricity.

This restaurant's unapologetically Western menu attracts Americans and Europeans. Soft-shell crab on arugula and white snapper baked in a banana leaf provide a refreshing change of pace from Thai-centric fare.