The Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Bangkok, Thailand for 2025

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Bangkok is often synonymous with the staples of Thai cuisine: noodle dishes with pork and beef, hearty soups, seafood and more. And for good reason, the best Bangkok itineraries will always include stops to experience the diverse dishes of Thai dining.

When I first began visiting Bangkok over a decade ago, I remember thinking: what on earth am I going to eat here? But I quickly found out that Bangkok is a vegetarian heaven – if you know where to go.

Thanks to Buddhist traditions of abstaining from meat at certain times of the month and a general regional surge in vegetarianism (wait until you visit Hong Kong and Taiwan), Bangkok is home to some of the best vegetarian restaurants in Southeast Asia.

Being vegetarian or vegan in Thailand

Unfortunately, outside of dedicated vegetarian spaces, it can often be difficult to find vegetarian options in Thailand, particularly when eating at budget or mid-range restaurants. Most Thai dishes, even if they appear vegetarian, will include a meat or chicken broth or some form of fish, shrimp or oyster sauce at its base.

Despite everything I have just said, Thailand is still a vegetarian heaven (I realize I am contradicting myself). In fact, every year Thailand holds an annual vegetarian festival. This festival tends to be the biggest in Phuket, among Thais of Chinese heritage. In 2025, the festival will take place between 21 and 29 of October.

If you are looking to eat Thai food, outside of major tourist hubs, your best bet is often to stick with dedicated vegetarian restaurants. Most non-vegetarian Thai restaurants offer an extremely limited selection of vegetarian options (steamed vegetables, or vegetable spring rolls if you are lucky).

In saying that, restaurants around popular neighborhoods in Bangkok (Khao San, Sukhumvit, Silom) and other tourist centres and islands (Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui) often have an understanding of vegetarian requirements. It’s unsurprising that you’ll often find the best vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok not too far from the best hotels in Bangkok. However, if you are heading off the beaten path to urban hubs like Udon Thani or Hat Yai, expect to find it a little more difficult.

Important Thai phrases for vegetarians

Vegetarian	jeh (sounds like ‘wear’ with a J)
I only eat vegetarian food	Chun gin aharn jeh
Do you have vegetarian food?	Mee aharn jeh, mai?
Spicy	Pet
Not spicy	Mai pet

The quintessential Thailand experience: Street food

Before I recommend Bangkok’s best vegetarian restaurants by neighborhood, I want to address the big burning question most vegetarians have upon arrival in Thailand: can vegetarians still experience Thai street food culture? The answer is both yes and no.

Let’s start with the no. Generally speaking, the fast food stalls selling tom yum soups and noodle dishes will often use a meat-based broth and fish or oyster sauce. These stall owners will often confirm dishes are vegetarian on the basis of them not having an explicit chicken or meat component. In my opinion, if you are looking for the staples of Thai cuisine, you’re better off at a dedicated vegetarian restaurant rather than street food stalls.

However, budget vegetarian travelers will be pleased to know there are still some vegetarian street food options. In some spots, you’ll find dedicated vegetarian street food stalls (particularly in the northern city of Chiang Mai). Around backpacker hubs, such as Khao San road, the street food stalls cater for foreigners and you’ll find clear offerings of vegetarian pad thai and other dishes. If you are a stickler for cross-contamination (or simply cooking dishes with the same utensils), you might want to avoid these stalls.

Beyond meal time, vegetarian street food seekers in Bangkok should keep your eyes open for two pure vegetarian (but not vegan) offerings: roti stalls and mango sticky rice. These typical Thai desserts generally involve no meat and the street food stalls making them are usually pure vegetarian.

Best vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok (by neighborhood)

Benglamphu and Khao San Area

Ethos

Ethos is the type of vegetarian restaurant you’ll find across Southeast Asia. A slightly fusion menu, leaning more heavily towards Western options. If you’re missing your Western comfort foods and subscribe to a vegetarian diet, make your way to Ethos for lasagna, burgers and spaghetti with meatballs (all vegetarian).

The menu here also caters to visiting vegetarians with a strong Middle Eastern offering (falafel, hummus) and South Asian options (dahl, aloo gobi). Although to be honest, if you are after vegetarian Indian food, I think there are better options (particularly around Silom).

If you’re feeling health food conscious and had one too many pad thais, Ethos also offer a number of fermented probiotic super foods, including some extremely tasty tempeh dishes.

May Kaidee Tanao Vegetarian & Vegan

Set in the backstreets of old Bangkok, its hard to believe May Kaidee has built a vegetarian Thai empire with outposts in New York City. The menu here offers all the classics of Thai cuisine, however May Kaidee do a few dishes a little differently (and I’m here for it).

Without question, the standout dish is the Pad Thai with satay sauce on top. Yes, you read that correctly. Other crowd favorites include the spring rolls (perhaps my favorite in Bangkok) and the noodle soups.

With an open terrace and outdoor seating, you’ll probably be after a nice cold drink. Don’t miss the opportunity to try May Kaidee’s sweet Thai iced tea.

Vegetarian cooking class

One of my favorite things to do in Bangkok is to learn the flavors of Thai cuisine at a cooking class. The good news for vegetarians in Bangkok is that you can now join May Kaidee’s vegetarian cooking class. If you’re looking for more unique things to do in Bangkok, don’t miss our ultimate guide to Bangkok’s unusual experiences.

For those less keen on the class, May Kaidee also sell their own Thai vegetarian cookbook at the restaurant.

Chinatown and Khlong Thom

Jae Lee Vegan

Set down a little alleyway off busy Yaowarat Street, Jae Lee Vegan is a lunchtime-only restaurant. Unlike other lunchtime veggie spots, Jae Lee is ideal for non-Thai speaking foreigners with English-speaking team members and a picture menu. Don’t expect anything too fancy, here you’ll be sitting on stalls alongside busy locals in search of Chinatown’s most delicious vegan feast. But don’t let the facade scare you off: Jae Lee is easily one of the better vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok.

I particularly like this restaurant as unlike other lunchtime spots it’s not a buffet and everything is made fresh for you. As a vegetarian travelling in Thailand you may have a little bit of fomo about all the excellent noodle dishes you see with meat. At Jae Lee, you’ll be able to order all your favourite noodle dishes with various forms of fake meat protein – an absolute treat if you ask me.

It’s also worth mentioning that a few minutes away, on this particular junction of Yaowarat street, are two pure vegetarian stalls selling a variety of fried foods, including spring rolls, taro cakes, and fried tofu.

Ruyi Vegetarian

Ruyi Vegetarian is the type of vegetarian restaurant you go when you are starving and want to order 10+ dishes. Cheap, a little sloppy, consistently tasty and with some of the most varied Thai vegetarian cuisine I’ve seen in Bangkok. In short, Ruyi Vegetarian may well be one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok period.

You’ll want to go heavy on the ordering. While I don’t think you can really go wrong at Ruyi, I do find myself keep returning to the sweet and spicy dumplings, stir fried crab in curry powder and spicy stir fried duck (all mock meat, of course).

Siam and Silom

Talalaks and Thipsamai

Talalaks offer a completely vegan option in the overwhelming food court of Siam Paragon, easily one of my favorite places to eat in Bangkok. While Talalaks may not be the best vegetarian food in Bangkok, it is consistent, clean and allows you to enjoy a vegan meal alongside your carnivore friends. I tend to order the satay skewers (I tend to fall for anything with satay) and the noodle soups.

If you do find yourself in Siam Paragon, it’s worth mentioning that Thipsamai (a few stalls down from Talalaks) offer a completely vegetarian (shrimp and oyster sauce free) pad thai. This Siam Paragon outpost claims to be the heirs to Bangkok’s original pad thai restauranteurs, which began selling pad thais on a riverboat in the 1930s. I’ll often grab a soup and starters from Talalaks before enjoying one of Bangkok’s best pad thais at Thipsamai.

Sukhumvit

Broccoli Revolution

Broccoli Revolution is one of the most relaxing vegan restaurants in Bangkok. With a spacious interior and plenty of seating, this isn’t your hole-in-the-wall Thai vegan joint. Rather, I love coming to Broccoli Revolution when I feel like more sophisticated plant-based cuisine. Think locally-sourced fig bruschetta, quesadillas and a divine broccoli quinoa charcoal burger.

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As you would expect from a restaurant named Broccoli Revolution, the drinks on offer lean towards the healthier, detoxifying varieties. You can expect fresh juices, with lots of ginger and celery.

Kaek Kao Kua

Self-described as the home of vegan noodle goodness, Kaek Kao Kua has a small seating area and ideal for a quick Grab delivery. There’s nothing like sitting at your Bangkok pool and eating piping fresh noodles from Kaek Kao Kua.

The menu here is short and simple with a variety of vegan noodle dishes on offer. Beside the more common pad thai and khao soi, Kaek Kao Kua are famous for their bamee moodaeng, including textured soy protein. They also have a fun ‘build your own noodle dish’ feature, where you can mix your favorite sources, proteins (including chickin’ brand protein) and vegetables.

Na Aroon

Na Aroon feels like something of a hidden gem amid the glitzy mayhem of Sukhumvit. At the very end of a quiet street, you’ll find the small boutique Ariyasom Villa (one of our favorite places to stay in Bangkok). Set inside this restaurant in Na Aroon, a homestyle Thai restaurant which features an entire vegetarian and pescatarian menu (but no meat).

Before we get into the food, it’s worth mentioning that the setting here is absolutely magical. The hotel feels like stepping back into the Bangkok of the 1940s, with low hanging fans, teak floors and countless Thai silk drapes and antiques.

If you’re familiar with Thai cuisine, I can only describe the food at Na Aroon as familiar, consistent and of extremely high quality. If you’re coming with a group, I’d strongly recommend starting with the mixed entree platter, where you’ll receive satay tofu, spring rolls and a surprisingly addictive wing bean salad. Other standout dishes include the Chiang Mai style Khao Soi with thick egg noodles in a spicy curried soup featuring mushroom protein meatballs. You also can never go wrong with a house-special pad thai, arriving in a masterfully thin omelette.

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