Bangkok’s Absolute Best Vegetarian Meals

Mar 19

Written By Louise

Though choices have improved greatly in the past few years, it wasn’t always easy to find good vegetarian options when I lived in Bangkok. However, Bangkok is one of the world’s great food cities, and not just for Thai food. In my time there, I discovered some truly incredible vegetarian dishes in a variety of cuisines, so I decided to put together a list showcasing some of the best vegetarian meals you can eat in Bangkok.

There’s a lot of vegetarian food in Bangkok that’s fine and perfectly edible. There are some options that are better than average. And then there are some that are just stupidly delicious. These are my picks for stupidly delicious:

Jhol Momo at Diyalo Griha

Diyalo Griha is a Nepalese restaurant in the Pratunam area near the Ratchaprarop Airport Link, and it’s probably my favorite restaurant in Bangkok. They serve Nepalese, Indian, and Indo-Chinese food with many vegetarian options, including veggie momos (Nepalese dumplings). The momos on their own are the best I’ve ever had by A LOT. Okay, no, I haven’t been to Nepal, but I have tried pretty much every momo in Bangkok, so…there’s that. But then you add the spicy, soupy sauce, and it takes them beyond next level. Jhol momo refers to a dish of momos in a soupy pureed chutney sauce made of all the best things: chili, garlic, sesame, tomato, cilantro, and other assorted seasonings. It’s spicy and loaded with flavor, and absolutely delicious. You’re just going to have to trust me and try it!

The restaurant is a pretty simple place that lets the food do the talking, and the staff are super nice. I also really enjoy their Indo-Chinese food, especially the hot and sour soup and the cauliflower dishes, like gobi Manchurian.

Shan Noodles at Kalyana

Kalyana, a Burmese restaurant, is located just a couple blocks down from Diyalo Griha on Ratchaprarop Road. After traveling to Myanmar in 2017, I became obsessed with Burmese food, but it was hard to find good vegetarian options in Bangkok. Then Kalyana opened.

Like Diyalo Griha, it’s a pretty simple shophouse-type restaurant with super kind staff. There are a number of vegetarian options on the menu, but you can also ask if something can be made vegetarian, including their delicious Shan noodles (Shan khao swe).

Shan noodles are a sticky rice noodle from Myanmar served with garlicky tomato sauce, herbs, and pickles. Sometimes it’s dry, and sometimes it’s a noodle soup, like at Kalyana. Ah, I miss having the problem of deciding between Shan noodles and jhol momo for dinner!

Gnocchi with Arrabiata Sauce at Bacco

Bacco is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Bangkok, because I am a pasta maniac and they have the best fresh pasta. My favorite of their fresh pasta choices is gnocchi, which are smaller than average but still so soft. There’s something so satisfying about scooping up a spoonful of little gnocchis.

Arrabiata is definitely one of my favorite sauces, and at Bacco it’s loaded with chili and garlic. It may not normally be paired with gnocchi, but I love the combination! Okay, who am I kidding: I love gnocchi with everything.

Unlike a lot of Italian restaurants in Bangkok, Bacco is completely unpretentious. I would describe it as charmingly hokey, with its faux-European basement trattoria decor. It’s really good for groups and families. I should know: I went there for my birthday last year and there was also an eight year old having their birthday there at a big table next to us. My boyfriend thought I was kind of crazy for wanting to go there on my birthday just as a couple, but idgaf, I want that GNOCC!

Khao Soi at Khun Churn

Khao soi from Khun Churn. They used to be at CentralWorld!

Khao soi is one of northern Thailand’s most beloved dishes, and it’s easy to see why: noodles in a soupy, fragrant, and rich yellow curry sauce, topped with fried noodles, chili, pickled greens, shallots, and a squeeze of lime juice sounds pretty good, right? The problem, of course, is finding a vegetarian version, since it’s usually made with fish sauce/shrimp paste and topped with a chicken leg.

Khun Churn’s Bangkok location (the first restaurant was in the northern city of Chiang Mai), has moved around a lot, but now seems to be open very near to their original location near the Ekkamai BTS station. It’s entirely vegetarian (not vegan, but there are plenty of vegan options) and, as you might expect from a place from Chiang Mai, has great khao soi. I’ve tried a lot of veggie khao soi and this one remains my favorite. It’s vegetarian and not vegan, though, so if you’re looking for a great vegan khao soi I recommend Goodsouls.

Khun Churn is, in general, a great moderately-priced option for vegetarian Thai food. They have a good selection of classic Thai dishes plus some less common things to try, too. It also makes my list of Bangkok’s Best Vegetarian Thai Food.

Vegetarian Set Menu at Manel Lanka

Manel Lanka is a Sri Lankan restaurant located on a side soi off Ratchaprarop Road not too far from the aforementioned Diyalo Griha and Kalyana (can you tell what area I used to live in…?). What is Sri Lankan cuisine? You might think it’s similar to Indian, and on the surface, it is: curry, rice, roti, and chutney are all common. But it doesn’t taste like Indian food. Sri Lankans have their own ways of spicing and cooking curries that’s quite different. You should try it if you haven’t before, and even if you don’t like it, you’ll only be out 100 baht (less than €3) for the whole vegetarian set menu at Manel Lanka.

But you probably will like it, because in the words of the wise sage Jean Ralphio of Pawnee, Indiana: “That snizz is straight up deloycious.” It comes with rice, daal (lentil curry), assorted vegetable curries, and–possibly the best part–coconut sambol. It’s a classic Sri Lankan condiment made from fluffy, finely-grated coconut and chili, and it’s shockingly good. The vegetable curries vary depending on what they’ve made that day, and I’ve never been disappointed.

Vegan Tantanmen at Mensho Tokyo

Despite the proliferation of ramen shops in Bangkok, there are few places that have options for vegetarians. (See my round up in “Where to Eat Vegetarian Ramen in Bangkok”.) Mensho Tokyo, though, almost makes up for the lack of veggie ramen with their vegan tantanmen.

Tantanmen is a variety of ramen that’s made with a rich, creamy, spicy broth. Usually it’s made with pork, but at Mensho Tokyo the vegan version is made with witchcraft. Okay, kidding…probably. But the broth is just SO rich and flavorful that it kind of seems like some sorcery could be involved. Anyone who thinks plant-based food can never be as flavorful as meat is proved wrong with this dish.

The noodle soup is topped with edamame, peanuts, green onions, bamboo shoots, cilantro, chili oil, and some kind of textured soy protein. It all comes together to create a delicious, unforgettable vegan ramen!

Dragonfly Roll at Masu Maki

Masu Maki in the Phrom Phong neighborhood of Sukhumvit is a small Japanese restaurant specializing in sushi. They also happen to have the best vegetarian rolls in Bangkok by a mile.

Some people scoff at the mere idea of vegetarian sushi even though like…cucumber maki exists, but anyway, sushi snobs will want to look away now, because what I’m about to describe might give you a rage-stroke.

The Dragonfly Roll at Masu Maki is my favorite roll off their vegetarian menu, and what’s not to like? It has TWO SAUCES. It has TEMPURA SWEET POTATO. It has CREAM CHEESE. It has EVERYTHING YOU NEED!

Spicy Vegetable Soup and Spicy Salad with Herbs at May Veggie Home

Soups and salads are my favorite parts of Thai cuisine, and May Veggie Home, located on Sukhumvit Soi 101, does them pretty dang well. They balance those salty, spicy, and sour flavors that make Thai food so special, all while being an entirely vegan restaurant. I cannot recommend this place enough for vegetarians and vegans to get a delicious taste of Thailand!

The “Genovese”: cherry tomatoes, feta, olives, pesto.

Cheese Pizza and Garlic Knots at Pizza Mania

My boyfriend lived in Bangkok for way too long, and he remembers a time when there were few good pizza places in the city. For better or worse, that time is long past. There are many restaurants now serving good Italian-style wood-fired oven pizza, with a new one seeming to pop up every month. And then there’s Pizza Mania.

Pizza Mania is not an Italian restaurant. In fact, it’s not even a restaurant; it’s delivery-only. And it is firmly and deliciously serving the best American-style pizza in Bangkok.

While there are lots of good vegetarian specialty pizzas, like the Genovese, my favorite is probably just the classic cheese pizza (with extra sauce, because I am a sauce lady). It’s hard to beat a good cheese pizza, and it IS good at Pizza Mania.

But wait, there’s more! Pizza Mania has appetizers! And they’re good, too! Especially the garlic knots. I’m not kidding: they are the best garlic knots I’ve ever had. They’re just so soft and buttery and, most importantly, garlicky. Almost every weekend my boyfriend and I would order pizza and garlic knots (and, for him, a sack of curly fries, because why not I guess?) and then watch a movie or four. It’s the perfect meal for those weekend days you don’t want to do anything but lay around and gain five pounds.

They also have Detroit-style pizza (thick, rectangular crust topped directly with cheese and toppings and sauce poured over the top) every Monday now, and I HIGHLY recommend it. It is not healthy, but if anything can make Monday better it’s Detroit-style pizza. Also, when did I become a tedious Garfield-esque creature hating Mondays and guzzling pizzas like lasagna? That’s what adulthood does to you, I guess.

That’s it for my roundup of the all-time best vegetarian meals in Bangkok. If you live in Bangkok, I hope it helps you find some great new restaurants to add to your rotation. If you’re just visiting, then this will help to ensure you don’t waste any of your precious meals on sub-par food.

Obviously, this is my personal opinion and I don’t mean to offend anyone by leaving off their most beloved Bangkok veggie meal. Feel free to tell me what this list is missing!