Kickstarting your day in Chiang Mai with a delicious breakfast is a must to be able to enjoy all the activities that this city has to offer. To help you choose the right place for the most important meal of the day, we have tested most of the breakfast restaurants in Chiang Mai. After trying so many full English Breakfasts, waffles, French toasts, noodle soups, bagels, croissants, and the authentic Thai rice porridge, we came up with this list. Wake up early and check out our favorite places to have breakfast in Chiang Mai.

The Hideout

Hidden away in a small alley just outside the northeast corner of the moat. The Hideout is a tiny breakfast restaurant with limited seating, and every dish is made fresh, so make sure that you are not in a hurry. Do yourself a favor and order their French Toast, which is out of this world. A huge slice of bread, crispy fried on the outside, and cheesecake-like soft on the inside. Served with high- quality salty butter, maple syrup, and bacon. Breakfast just doesn’t get any better than this.

Chiang Mai Breakfast World

Breakfast World is a legendary Chiang Mai Breakfast restaurant. This German-style restaurant serves breakfast favorites from all over the world. Whether you are craving for a full English breakfast, Swedish Knackenbrod, Swiss Muesli, Dutch pancakes, French croissants, Italian Ham, Danish Pastry, or Canadian waffles, Breakfast World never fails to deliver. The lovely garden setting with shady trees and chill live music makes it an excellent location for a Sunday brunch.

Jok Sompet

Want to have breakfast like a Thai? Then forget about bread, cheese, and cereals. Rice porridge is what the locals eat in the morning. This savory soup/porridge is stacked with pork or seafood and a raw egg, which will cook in the steaming bowl of rice porridge while you are eating it. Add condiments like spring onion, fresh ginger, green chilies, vinegar, and black pepper to your taste. Sounds strange? Try it, and before you know it, you don’t want anything else anymore.

Jok Sompet is one of the most popular places in Chiang Mai to get your fix of rice porridge. (Jok in the Thai language) This restaurant is open 24 hours a day and is packed in the morning.

Fern Forest Cafe

If you are looking for a more upscale and classy breakfast option, then the Fern Forest Cafe will not disappoint. This cafe is hidden in a lovely fern garden in a typical Thai wooden house, right in the old city center. The trees, ferns, and waterfall in the garden make it a refreshing experience to sit outside and give you the feeling that you are far away from the city. The food and drinks are not cheap, but the quality is excellent. Try the spinach roti; it’s one of my favorites.

L’Opera French Bakery

Bonjour! This is the dream of every (French) expat. Buttery, flakey croissants, crispy baguette, and mouth-watering pastries. If you had enough of noodles and rice and can’t stop dreaming about bread, then this French bakery is the place to get your fix. Treat yourself on a strong coffee and a pain au chocolat, you can’t go wrong here.

UN Irish Pub & Crusty Loaf Bakery

The cozy UN Irish Pub is an institution in Chiang Mai. The first Irish Bar in Chiang Mai has been around for over 30 years. Serving the typical pub fare all day long, with perfect drafted creamy Guinness to wash it all down. Their bakery is open every day, selling oven warm crispy bread, pastries, and traditional pies. Available for take-away or to eat in their lovely garden behind the bakery. Their homemade cinnamon rolls are fantastic.

Tip: Although not breakfast related, on Thursday night, they organize an excellent pub quiz. Starting at 8 pm.

Goodsouls Kitchen

Goodsouls Kitchen is a brand-new vegan restaurant in the old city of Chiang Mai. If you are not vegan, then please do not get scared away by this and try this fantastic restaurant. Their breakfast smoothie bowls are healthy and colorful, and they serve delicious, freshly brewed coffees. You can choose almond, soy, or coconut milk instead of dairy coffee creamer. Most of their pastries are also gluten-free, low on sugar, and very tasty! They will make you forget about meat, eggs, and dairy instantly, and they serve every table unlimited free drinking water, a huge plus.

Chiang Mai Gate Market

If you want to go for a local breakfast and rice porridge doesn’t sound appealing, then give the Chiang Mai Gate market a try. You can find the typical Northern Thai breakfast here; Sticky rice with grilled pork skewers, Sai Oua (Northern Thai spicy sausage), and colorful sticky rice with fresh mango or durian. They give color to the rice using flowers, so even though it looks a bit strange, it is organic and harmless to eat. If you like to visit the Chiang Mai Gate market for breakfast, then we recommend arriving before 8 am to get the best experience.

Chiang Mai Breakfast Guide