Eating vegan in Thailand? Why not hit up some of my favorite spots while you’re there? Here are a few of the places I visited while there this past February.
I wanted to do a short and sweet blog post on some great vegan spots I ate at in Thailand. Although I was in Thailand for two weeks, I actually didn’t go to that many specifically vegan places because first off, I was traveling with a meat-eating friend, and second off, the majority of restaurants in Thailand have an entire vegetarian menu, so going to a vegan spot is not as crucial as it is in the US or Madrid or wherever.
If I had gone to more places, I would have made a city-specific blog post (which obviously would have made more sense, I realize), but here we go anyways!
Eating Vegan in Thailand: My Favorite Restaurants and Cafes
Bangkok
The Dream Hotel // Bangkok
Gluten-Free Spinach Wraps (corn, carrot, spinach)
I stayed at The Dream for my last three days in Bangkok before heading home. I’ve hung out at their NYC outpost enough to know I liked their style, and it was still relatively affordable (around $70 per night) considering the accommodations. We also loved the food there. Not only was their breakfast buffet the best out of all four hotels we stayed at in Thailand (all of which were about the same price point), but they also had vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free items on their menus.
My favorite item, pictured above, were the gluten-free spinach wraps with corn, carrot, and spinach. I don’t know exactly what these were or how they were made, but they were so, so good. They also offered a veggie sandwich, broccoli and zucchini nuggets, and lots of Thai options that could be made vegan if you asked for the dish without fish sauce.
You can eat in their traditional dining room, but we opted to eat at the pool bar for the majority of our meals.
May Kaidee’s // Bangkok
Everyone told me I should try a cooking class while in Thailand, and I’m so glad I did! May Kaidee’s offers specifically vegetarian and vegan cooking classes (they’ll ask you in the beginning if you are vegetarian or vegan to cater your class to you).
We chose to do a half-day class, the Express Thai Cooking Class, where we made three dishes (Massaman Curry, Pad Thai, and Tom Yum Soup) plus got a mango sticky rice dessert without the hard labor. At first we were a little surprised to see that we were the only ones in the class, so it was essentially going to be a personal class (not bad for $40/person!). This was good because we got all the attention and things moved at our desired pace, but maybe wouldn’t be ideal if you’re trying to meet people (I assume more people do the full-day class). Our instructor was so energetic, funny, and helpful—and I totally am going to try making Massaman curry at home soon.
If you’re not keen on doing the cooking class, you can stay downstairs in their restaurant and just eat.
P.S. They also offer classes in NYC!
Tom Yum Soup by yours truly
Mezzaluna // Bangkok
Polenta “Crispy Fried” (red cabbage, renkon radicchio)
Okay, this restaurant is not technically vegan, but considering it’s a 2-Michelin-starred restaurant that offers an entire prixe-fixe vegetarian menu, I figured I’d include it in this list.
Mezzaluna is situated on the 65th story of the Lebua Hotel, right next to Sky Bar, which you may recognize from the second Hangover movie. The views are insane, and honestly reason enough to visit (and the reason many people do). Eating with that view was even better.
As for the food we were eating? My friend, who got the regular, non-vegan prixe fixe seven course menu was a big fan. I was less impressed. This might have been because I had a vegetarian seven course meal, but also because I have higher standards when it comes to food. Speaking of vegetarian, I told our server that I don’t eat dairy, and I’m pretty positive a lot of my food still contained dairy (I mean, the dessert came with ice cream)—but I didn’t feel sick after, so maybe they were just sneaky like that.
Anyway, the views and the service were freakin’ amazing. It was a great experience eating there for sure, and it’s very rare to find such a fine dining experience for vegetarians and vegans (at least in the US—although Elizabeth’s Gone Raw in DC is an exception). But, for $200+ per person, you might have higher expectations for the food.
Here’s a portion of the menu I ate when I went:
Chiang Mai
ImmAim Cafe // Chiang Mai
ImmAim was by far my favorite cafe I visited while in Thailand. I ended up here when I was having a not great mental health day, so I decided to grab my laptop and go sit in a vegan cafe and write/have some alone time. Not only was the food great (pictured above is a spicy dip with potato naan, I also had the Grilled Pesto Veggie sandwich), but the atmosphere and service were stellar.
There were lots of expats like me, chilling on their laptops, and there was even a rooftop-esque area upstairs.
When I ordered my food, I wasn’t asked to pay up front, so I ate, chilled, ordered some more, chilled, then talked to my mom on the phone and headed out. When I was about ten minutes away I realized that I never paid. Because I had really liked the place and felt guilty, I ended up walking back to pay. The man at the register (possibly the owner) was like, “it’s free.” I was like, “what?” And he said, “it’s Monday! It’s free.” I was literally probably just staring at him for ten seconds when he was finally like, “Just kidding, what did you have?” And proceeded to tell me my total. When I found out they took cash only, I wasn’t sure I had enough, and he told me I could just pay it next time. I did eventually find enough cash to pay my full balance, but the attitude they had towards paying was so easy-going and nice, it really added to the good experience I had already had at their spot.
P.S. Their wifi was also great!
Krabi
Cafe 8.98 // Krabi Town + Ao Nang
Aubergine + Hummus Sandwich (artichoke, avocado, basil pesto)
After hiking up the Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea) we were hungry, and to be honest kind of sick of Thai food. Thankfully we discovered this gem somewhat nearby in Krabi Town.
My friend was extremely excited to get a burger and milkshake, and I was excited to see lots of vegan and gluten-free options. I got the aubergine and hummus sandwich on gluten-free bread, which included artichoke, avocado, and basil pesto. As you can see, it was a mouthful for sure.
I didn’t have my laptop at the time, but this would also be a great place to chill and get work done. As for as eating vegan in Thailand goes, there aren’t a ton of vegan specific places in Krabi area, so this is one of your best bets!
If you are planning on eating vegan in Thailand and looking for more a more extensive list of vegan spots in Thailand, check out my friend Diana (a.k.a @vegansbaby)’s blog post on 10 vegan restaurants to try in Bangkok. OR, join her on her vegan tour of Thailand in October!
