Vegan in Pai

You will certainly not be disappointed as a vegan in Pai. We first visited Pai around 15 years ago when it was quite different to how it is now. One thing that has never changed is the vast number of restaurants that focus on vegetarian and vegan food. Many restaurants have come and gone over the years and a few others have been long withstanding. I will keep this blog updated to reflect the current situation.

The odd thing about Pai is that although it has a very lively nightlife, all the vegan and vegetarian places unfortunately mostly shut down in the evening. Luckily there are a few decent places around though that have vegan options which I have written about here.

Pai is a great weekend break from Chiang Mai or stop off point from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son. You can take the bus from Keawnawarat bus station or drive yourself by bike or car through Mae Rim then take the 1095 Pai turn off all the way there. It is a very scenic drive although may induce travel sickness if you are sensitive to it as it is very hilly.

The first place to mention is Bom Bowls. This cafe and guest house is a short walk out of town and sells only vegan smoothie bowls and pancakes. The smoothie bowls are the best I have ever tasted in my life, especially the Snickers Bowl which is the most decadent bowl of chocolate heaven, like a lush dessert. It feels very naughty eating this for breakfast, but I do! These bowls are also available in Chiang Mai, read about them here, although the quality and generous portion sizes there are not quite matched. NB – Since visiting I have heard that Bom Bowls are also now selling additional (vegan) savoury dishes. I’ll try them next time!

Earth Tone is one of the oldest veggie cafes in Pai. It is a very busy and popular rustic cafe with an onsite store. They sell a huge array of mostly vegan dishes, cakes and desserts. It is a shame they are not open in the evening as they sell dinner meals as well as breaksfasts and lunches but unfortunately they close at 5.

Charlie and Lek’s is a Thai restaurant with a vegetarian menu. This place is open until late in the evening, so it was an obvious place to try out. The menu was actually quite impressive to us as they offer some interesting and unusual dishes such as tofu tempura as well as the typical curries and salads. The meals here are very good especially for the incredibly cheap prices. They also even have vegan chocolate which finished the meal off nicely.

TTK (The Thai Kebab) might not sound very veggie friendly but actually clearly states that they have vegetarian and vegan dishes in the menu. The falafel plate is a great dish consisting of falafel and pitta, chips, salads and pickles. This Middle Eastern cuisine makes a nice change and the food was satisfying and tasty. This restaurant has been around for a long time and has improved it’s focus on vegan dishes over the years.

We heard about Maya Burger Queen and decided to try it out. We weren’t expecting much from a burger joint but we were pleasantly surprised! Not only did they have a vegan burger but they offer a whole section in the menu of vegan-friendly burgers as well as fries with vegan mayonnaise. The venue confirmed they are all cooked separately from the non-vegan items. The burger I tried was a kind of mushroom pulled ‘pork’ burger and I found it enjoyable and also liked the chilled venue, which is open at night.

Saving the best until last, Blossom Cafe is the latest on the scene. This cafe is from the owner of the former Tea Tree Cafe in Chiang Mai that closed down in 2017. We tried the smoothie bowls and a dessert which were amazing. The menu offered lots more amazing looking dishes which we wish we had had time to try, so next time. The place was such a nice cafe to chill in and sit about drinking some of their amazing coffees or teas, this was a real favourite of ours. Read more about them here.

We realise there are a few more places we haven’t tried, we are aware of one or two fully vegan eateries but these are Thai style and don’t excite us a lot as we’re not keen on too much of the average Thai fried food. We must also mention the night market. Although we didn’t eat there often it must be one of the best markets we’ve ever seen for vegan food. There was a whole range of cuisines including Thai food, an all vegan falafel wrap stand, vegan ice-cream and more. We did particularly like ‘Enjoy Chocolate’ which is a cart in the night market selling a range of almost entirely vegan chocolate truffles. These were out-of-this-world delicious.

If you have lived or travelled as a vegan in Pai, what was your experience? Have you been to the places listed here? Any where else I haven’t mentioned? Please let us know!

Read reviews of all of these restaurants on HappyCow here.

Other blogs on vegan in Pai: Vegan Nom Noms, Mostly Ameile.