Dada Kafe — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

This friendly, unpretentious café accurately describes itself as a place ‘for lovers of healthy food in the heart of Chiang Mai’. It is open every day from 9a.m.and not surprisingly one of the best bets is breakfast, with ‘sets’ starting as cheaply as 75 baht. But it is far from being just for early morning eating.

Importantly it is not a vegetarian restaurant, although it is certainly vegetarian friendly with the accent on non – fat food and healthy options. For example a friend and I recently went there for lunch and began by sharing a dish of spring rolls. There were three different options and we opted for the delicious vegetarian style, but the other two were for non veggies.

He chose a whole wheat pitta bread salad sandwich to follow, with grilled chicken added and I went for the same sandwich but with cheese added. My raspberry smoothie was as good as they get and my companion chose a beer Chang from one of the four beers on offer (60 baht). A filling and inexpensive lunch.

The menu – given in Thai and English – is quite extensive: pastas, salads and sandwiches, burgers, including their own 100per cent vegetarian option. The juices, lassies and smoothies and home made yoghurt are supplemented by a range of coffees and teas, including home made Kambucha for the health conscious. They also have home grown organic wheatgrass on offer, for a different style of drink. There are Thai options on the menu and too many other things to detail. You will not leave hungry or without finding something to please most people, most of the time. Service is amiable and prompt and there are about 24 covers, divided between the patio and the interior section.

Seats are basic but very comfortable and the atmosphere – if you’ll forgive the cliché – might be described as laid back. Ideal for a leisurely brunch or afternoon snack or a break from looking round the excellent second hand bookshops in the same...

We ate in Dada cafe numerous times throughout our stay. During the low season we ordered a dish and tried to make sure with the waitress that the amount we read on the menu was the actual cost. She seemed to understand what we were asking and told us we were correct in our assumption about the price of the dish. (40 THB)( When the check came however, we were surprised to find a different amount listed for the dish we asked about, which was double the original price we had previously verified with the waitress. We tried talking with her to understand how our check has been changed, but the waitress replied this is the price in the restaurant. We showed her the menu and the price next to the dish, but she said it is the cost only when you order a main dish with it. We had in fact ordered a main dish and requested that the other dish come out before the main meal. Due to the staff's basic English skills, they hadn't understood what we wanted in order to let us know that what we requested will cost more money. The waitress did admit that she did not understand, yet the owner (Who was super rude and yelled at us (did not come to talk to us and just mumbled about serving the same way for 5 years. Neither the owner nor the waitress took responsibility for her mistake, so we had to pay the amount they demanded. While the food was really nice, the moment you encounter a problem you will have no one to address or talk to that can help in a friendly and...

I had a huge breakfast with an omelette with mushrooms cheese and spinach, a fried rice with chicken, a berries lassi and coffee. I really enjoyed all the food, which was not just delicious but also well presented. The thick berries lassi was definitelly fresh. The coffee was also good for the thai standards and I ordered a second cup while writing this review. The menu is rich, with western and asian foods and a long list of fruit shakes and other super-healthy ingredients to replenish yourself. The place is very well decorated: nice tables and chairs, enough space for all the customers they serve, colourful and informative handwritten posters all over the walls. Only the service left me a bit disappointend, as they seem a bit "tired", hence the 5th-star is missing. Internet works well. Given all this choice, quality and location, you'll proably expect to see higher than usuall prices, which is the case. But in the end, unless you're on a tight budget, I'd recommend to...