If you’re a vegetarian and planning to visit Thailand, then rest assured that you’ll find plenty of great food to eat. Wherever you are in Thailand, there seems to be a place selling vegetarian food nearby. Here’s a list of my personal top ten veggie places from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Kanchanaburi.
Top 10 things to Eat in Thailand – Vegetarian Edition
Bangkok
Let’s start with Bangkok, as this is somewhere that most visitors to Thailand end up. Whether you’re looking for an upmarket restaurant or just some street food, you’ll be spoiled for choice. Bangkok has it all.
Khun Churn
Khun Churn is somewhere I go back to often when I’m in Bangkok. It’s located right next to Ekkamai BTS station in the basement of the Mediplex building. There is a direct connection from the station to this building. The food here is freshly prepared and among the best, I’ve had in Bangkok. It’s also pretty reasonably priced for the quality of the restaurant and food.
May Kaidee
May Kaidee is a bit of a Bangkok institution, and the owner, May, is a real character. She runs very popular vegan and vegetarian cookery classes, and you’ll always see her in traditional Thai dress. Take a cookery course, and she’ll even sing and dance for you at the end. The food here is more traditional Thai food and is first class. The restaurant is located on Soi Samsen in the popular Khao San Road area of Bangkok.
A-Ma
A-Ma is a small family-run shophouse-style restaurant that’s on Pan Road, almost right next to Sri Maha Mariamman temple at the junction of Pan Road and Silom Road. This place gets very packed at lunchtime and is extremely popular with local office workers. The food here is incredibly cheap, with prices starting at around 30 baht ($1). Around five minutes walk from Surasak BTS station.
May’s Veggie Home
This restaurant has been recently renovated and is another family-run place. The food here is particularly good, and the service is excellent. The restaurant is located on Sukhumvit Soi 55, about 20 meters away from Sukhumvit Road, on the right-hand side. This is well worth a visit. It’s near Thonglor BTS station.
Tien Sin
This is one of my regular haunts when I’m in Bangkok, as they have a great choice of food. It’s on Soi Si Wiang, about 30 meters away from Charoen Krung Road, at the back of Lebua State Tower. This is another place that’s amazingly popular with locals and always packed at lunchtime. Go early though, because the food often runs out just after 1 pm. It’s a few minutes’ walk from Saphan Taksin BTS station.
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is an amazing city for vegetarian food. See Vegetarian Food Chiang Mai for a fuller review.
P&P Coffee
While this isn’t a vegetarian restaurant, I’ve included it because the food here is so good. It’s a tiny place that’s run by a really friendly family. We ate there almost every day that we were in Chiang Mai last time. It’s on Ratchamanka Soi 3, about 20 meters on the left when walking from Ratpakinai Road.
Khun Churn
I already mentioned Khun Churn in Bangkok, but there’s an even better one in Chiang Mai. The highlight here is their daily buffet that costs just 129 baht ($4) for all you can eat. This is one of the most amazing vegetarian buffets I’ve ever been to. There is a choice of about 40-50 dishes, plus a range of drinks and desserts. This place even attracts meat-eaters. I always head here when I’m in Chiang Mai. It’s located on Nimmanhaemin Road Soi 17.
Pun Pun
If you fancy eating your veggie food inside a temple while sitting under a giant bodhi tree, then this is the place for you. A pun is located inside Wat Suan Dok, which is an important temple in Chiang Mai. Walk into the temple grounds and keep walking straight ahead until you see the Monks’Chat area. A pun is directly behind that. Great food and reasonable prices.
Funky Monkey
This is another non-veggie place, but they sell great falafels, so I visit often when Chiang Mai. This is another small place with a few seats inside and a few on the sidewalk outside. They have a few veggie options on the menu, but the falafels seem to be their most popular dish. Also, run by a friendly family. It’s on Ratpakinai Road, near the junction with Ratchamanka Soi 3.
Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi doesn’t have many vegetarian places to eat, but luckily it has one awesome place.
