Na Chantra is the restaurant of Chantra Khiri Chalet in Chiang Mai. According to their website, Chantra Khiri “means prosperity on/of the mountains according to the owner/founder Kriangsak Kanrayawattanajaroen who first travelled here for a coffee and fell in love with the land with this stunning panoramic view.”
The visit
It took me 35 minutes by car to get to the resort. The entrance is hidden in a small street and is a bit underwhelming. But once you are inside the resort is indeed beautiful.
The restaurant, full of quirky details, is located in a “club house” facing a pool and the surrounding hills.
From the extensive menu, I chose some simple dishes. One was rice with mackerel and dips. It also went with some delicious fried vegetables.
Then I had an equally good seafood omelette.
But the highlight of the lunch turned out to be the dessert: “roti” banana and ice cream. The banana was warm and wrapped in a crispy roti roll: the result was a really good taste and texture. Also the ice cream with the addition of fruit was quite good. I enjoyed the dessert on the deck looking at the scenery in a nice and clear day of end of February.
After the meal I was offered a bag with salad from their organic garden.
They even gave me a tour of the garden with various vegetables and fruits.
Overlooking the garden and the surrounding hills there was a “shack” that, from what I understand, it is used for private dining and for a chef’s table that is on on Fridays and weekends at night.
The check
Three courses and water cost me 665 THB (around 21 USD). Reasonable value, but my dishes were among the least expensive, so you could easily spend more (even if some of the more expensive dishes can be shared). Transportation can be an issue. It cost me around 400 THB to get there (and more to get back, but I had a stop along the way) via Grab. This was the only place visited in Chiang Mai where took me a while (probably half an hour of attempts) to get a car. If you come here, my recommendation is to hire a driver by the hour that will wait for you to finish your lunch or dinner (in February 2020 the going rate for a Grab diver by the hour was 250 THB).
At the time of my visit they had an attractive set menu for two people at 999 THB plus plus called “Michelin lover” with four of their signature dishes (including the roti banana!) to share. They got listed as a Big Gourmand in the Thailand 2020 Michelin Guide.
Where in Chiang Mai:
49, Ban Pong, Hang Dong District.