Vegan-friendly
Organic
Thai
Western
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Long-established vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok by friend of Cow, May Kaidee. Serves vegan food menu of Thai dishes. The location is near Khao Sarn Rd, in alley behind Burger King. Has a fully vegan restaurant in New York. Open Mon-Sun 11:00am-9:00pm.
285 Reviews
First Review by amonroea
AshleyLorden
Points +1254
Not focused on customers - Edit
Perhaps I was expecting too much after hearing that it's an "institution", but I was disappointed here. The food was good enough but the service was embarrassing. For how small the restaurant was, the staff avoided us, left plates on our table for 20 minutes after they were empty and stacked up by us, and managed to forget an order. I would still go back because vegan authentic Thai food is really important to me, but I sincerely hope their management figures out how to grow without giving people a bad experience.
Read morePros: Good Thai menu, Quality food (not outstandingly good)
Cons: Poor service, Not near public transit
Guest
rhoa1033
Points +33
Amazing Thai Food - Edit
You have to meet May Kaidee to understand her. She has a passion for vegan food. She does private cooking classes at her house in addition to her several restaurants. If you get to Thailand, don't miss her restaurants. After I had dinner at her house, during a VegVoyages trip to her home, I felt like I have never had good Thai food before. She takes Thai food to a whole different level. The flavors expload. She is such an amazing person inside and out.
Read moreGuest
BramDeSaedeleer
Points +93
The only good thing about Khao San - Edit
This must be in my personal top 3 of best vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok. The menu is extensive enough to keep you coming back and the portions are real. Prices are very Thai and so is the staff. There seems to be a lot of coming and going of new waiters, so sometimes they speak English and sometimes they don't. The food is always very delicious and fresh.
Read morePros: Very delicious, Cheap
Guest
leon48
Points +102
Exellent - Edit
Ekstraordinary good option for vegetarians
Read morePros: exellent food, friendly staff
Guest
emmers
Points +61
delicious veggie food - Edit
I live in BKK and have been here with friends quite a few times, it's worth the effort to make the journey to Khao San just to eat here. The food is wholesome and delicious, and the service friendly and attentive. The menu has a wide selection to choose from (would especially recommend the masaman curry). Also, Saturday night eat as much as you like buffet nights are great value (99bht when I last visited) with a lovely selection of authentic thai vegetarian dishes, including dessert.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Thursday April 22, 2010
Updated from previous review on Monday December 12, 2011
Pros: Real veggie food, Friendly service, generous portions
Guest
Cathy P.
Points +53
The Other May Kaidee's - Edit
We ended up at a hotel down the block from the other May Kaidee number II, location at 33 Samsen Road, Soi 1 at Banglamphu) which is actually walking distance from the one listed as number III. May seems to be at this one most of the time, she is a fabulous hostess always making you feel at home and dresses in traditional Thai outfits. We ate here four times so we really had the chance to try a lot of the foods and they are all delicious. Even May says that she mostly serves tourists/Westerners--Thais are not too into veggie food. I took the cooking class on my last day in Bangkok. I don't enjoy cooking that much but it is fascinating to learn how those unique tastes are accomplished and I may try something at home in the future but right now I'm on hiatus from Asian food (too much while traveling). May makes the cooking easy, doing all the harder prep. Do check the price of the class before starting there was a special rate advertised but then I was told that I had the deluxe class. In the end May let me pay the special rate.
Read moreGuest
JezzingtonBear
Points +47
Which one's which? - Edit
Ok, so there are two branches of May Kaidee's in this alley. I always go to the smaller one, which I think is the original but doesn't seem to have a separate entry on here. They both seem to have identical menus anyway so whatever. I always just go for the smaller one as it seems a little more intimate and authentic and you're basically sitting in the alleyway.
Read moreI had the Som Tam (papaya salad) - always delicious though this time it wasn't as spicy as usual - and the Tom Kha (hot & sour soup with coconut milk) - it was nice but not quite as good as the Tom Yum, which I usually have.
Pros: Tasty food, Great menu, Cheap
Cons: Lots of flies
Guest
kool_kitchen
Points +862
Same restaurant, smaller menu - Edit
This Mai Kaidee's has a menu half the size of the other location, and is therefore missing most of the better and more interesting dishes. As with the other location, it's not very comfortable to sit in. Pretty standard Thai stuff.
Read moreSeek out the other location.
Pros: Inexpensive
Cons: Not comfortable to sit in, Has menu half size of the other branch
Guest
Veronica01
Points +168
Vegan Buffet a great deal - Edit
We visited here at our stay in Bangkok. Had Mai Kaydee's in Chiang Mai at her sister's place and loved it and were intrigued by a vegan buffet.
Read moreIt's such a good price too, especially when you can actually eat all of the dishes since there is no fish sauce or eggs in it.
Mai was there dancing and was super friendly. They brought out fresh new batches of each dish every 20-30 minutes I think. One thing not on their menu was mashed potatoes but they served it at the buffet and I don't know why but we loved them and it was really a nice treat.
Everything wasn't too spicy either, so clearly made for the tourists! Will be back next time we come to Bangkok. :)
BTW we got there at 7:45 and most stuff had run low, so go early or be prepared to hang out and wait for fresh food to be refilled.
Pros: all vegan, inexpensive, food refilled regularly
Cons: had to take a long cab ride, locals don't know where it is
Guest
PURITZ
Points +76
such a nice place - Edit
delicious food, the sweetest family that own and operate it, made us special stuff for loour quirks like allergy to mushrooms etc
Read morePros: yummy, friendly
Guest
fire horse
Points +120
A lotus in muddy water. - Edit
I was there 6 weeks ago and had a very enjoyable evening. The food and service were good and the place clean and friendly with a homely feel.
Read moreI like the fact that they don't downplay the chilli too much for the farang. I had a coconut curry with veg and tofu - it had a good kick to it and was very tasty. The option of delicious brown rice.
The tempura was light and crisp and had spinach as well as the usual veg. The peanut dipping sauce was devine and the portion size was good too.
I plan to do Mays cooking course when I pass through Bangkok in a couple of months time. She also has a good Thai vegetarian cookery book.
Guest
Lucylu
Points +377
Worth it if in the area - Edit
This is a useful place if you're in the Thanon Khao San area anyway. The food is pretty tasty and you can get the more healthy options like brown rice which makes a nice change!
Read moreThe staff are friendly and the menu is extensive. The Green Thai curry is tasty especially if you ask to have cashew nuts added to it like I did.
If you ask Mai, you can get some take away curry paste and such things so you can continue to enjoy the food at home or on your onwards journey!
Pros: Friendly staff, extensive menu
eric
Lucylu, you wrote a very positive review, so why only 3 cows?!
Read moreGuest
Rawmodel
Points +20
Good spot close to Khao San Rd... - Edit
The food was not bad...a bit oily though. I wish the Thai vegetarian community would wake up about having some fresh salads. Lots of tofu and rice. Even a fresh coconut would be a plus. All in all though, I would go back. Their desserts were good too. About $3 for a plate. Two people should expect to pay about $8 with drinks.
Read moreThe location is right off an alleyway, take your two lefts after walking out of the east side of khao san.
Pros: Location, price
Cons: oily, no greens
Guest
JohnnySensible
Points +7596
"Best in Bangkok - the 3 May Kaidee's" - Edit
May Kaidee now has 3 locations in Bangkok.
Read moreThe team have been providing incredibly tasty veggy food to myself & to so many of my friends for almost 20 years now.
Usually excellent!
Always best if May is there herself!
If you have a free half day join one of May's cookery classes & buy a cookbook.
Many organic ingredients.
98% vegan - cooked dishes are vegan - yoghurt is offered with a muesli.
More here - www.khaosanroad.com/may_kaidee_veggie_power_vegetarian.htm
Guest
amonroea
Points +20
Good food but slow service! - Edit
The fried rice was great, but I'm note a fan of 'fake meat' which was prevalent in the dishes. They have brown rice, which was a plus. My major qualm was the incredibly SLOW service, but they were friendly. Also, despite it's VEGAN status on this website, they actually serve some dairy products.
Read moreGuest
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