Dada Kafe

WE Had 2 vegan burgers here. 95 baht each on the menu. One with salad AND one with french fries. Not impressed at all. Shared opinion - no taste whatsoever to the burger. It is just plain with no catchy element. Just the food. Like a rice with little catchup. And ridiculously they charged 30 baht more for a french fries. Math is 20 less for a salad 50 more for the fries. Kidding me? I wish I had a healthy salad and as for the taste it had some from the veggies at least. And since what potato is more pricey than veggies? Did I mention they charge for water? 20 baht a bottle they fill from the big tank. First time in Ching Mai we got charged for water.

Bottomline: plain food, overpriced, service is ok.

Dada Café

20/1 Ratchamanka Road Chiang Mai, Thailand -across the road from Juicy4u – (The location on the Happy Cow map isn't correct. The street is but it's almost on the far eastern point of the street, near the moat. If you can find the office for Elephant Nature Park, walk in away from the moat and it's a few meters away.)

053449718

Lots of fans and water mister for cooling.

Very good Veggie Burgers with a side of very good potato salad

Lemon juice made with honey on request - tasty

western, Thai, meat also

Mon-Sun 9:00am-8:30pm (closes early on Sunday)

This is one of the most popular vegetarian friendly cafés in Chiang Mai and they really deserve such a popularity because they serve very good food. It is not the cheappest place but it is very good food for the price.

Special mention for the juices and smoothies made of fruits, nuts and/or milk (and not mixed with too much ice or water as in some restaurants). They are sooo tasty! To us, it is one of the best in town!
Updated from previous review on Saturday March 26, 2016

Really tasty veggie burger and mango/lime smoothie! Cannot fault the food or drink but the hipster vibe was overpowering and every customer was a tourist so it depends on what atmosphere you're after - for us this was a bit too much like home. The burger was 90bht with a salad portion so a little pricey really but still tasty.
Also worth noting that this has the wrong marker on the Happy Cow map - it's actually facing Juicy4U, which is in the correct place on the Happy Cow map.

Dada Cafe has some steady competition around it, but eating here is not a bad choice. The veggie burger is entirely vegan and is a decent and tasty portion.

Firstly, I'll preface this by saying the food was pretty darn good.

But that isn't what annoyed me about Dada Kafe. It was the staff. Now, I know it's not a nice job, being a waitress/waiter, but there are plenty of other vegan friendly places here in Chiang Mai, and every single one of them has had better waiting staff than Dada Kafe.

Firstly, I saw that they had Bruschetta on the menu. Now I love Bruschetta. So when the waiter came over I asked for it, but minus the butter it usually came with, for obvious reasons.

He then asked me why I didn't want the butter, which you just don't do to begin with. I explain, in Thai too, that I'm vegan, so I don't eat any animal products or by-products. He then replied with "it's good butter though". At that point I just gave him my meanest eyes (Haha) and he wrote down no butter in the end.

Onto the food, I had the bruschetta (Minus the butter), which was really good. Fresh tomatoes, crunchy bread. Good stuff. No need for the butter at all. I also had a plate of fried vegetables, Thai style, which was really tasty, and a plate of brown rice, which was ok.

I also tried the Mango/Orange/Banana/Passionfruit smoothie, which was actually very good. Thumbs up for that one.

I then turned around and noticed the same waiter from earlier just sat on my rented moped with the helmet on his head, and pretending to drive it to impress his buddy. Very immature, and could've easily damaged it and I would've had to fork out to repair it if anything happened. Just unprofessional to be honest.

So all in all I'd probably avoid this place from now on.

Aum is a million times better, and a little cheaper, so try that instead.

This place has great food and great friendly staff. I ate here probably 3-4 times a week for 2 months and after just a few times of eating there the staff would smile and greet me warmly as if I were a dear old friend they hadn't seen in years.

Their service is also better than most Thailand cafe style restaurants such as this one (keep in mind this is Thai service standards). I always find it a bit humorous to watch Westerners sitting around after their meal waiting for the server to bring them their check. Some people will literally wait for 30 minutes and then complain about how awful the service was. Just politely ask for the bill! It's pretty standard practice in Thailand to ask for the check when you are ready (rather than in the States for example where they bring you your bill before you're finished chewing).

They have an amazing selection of fresh juice (and smoothies)...including wheatgrass and green juice (you can get it unsweetened if that's your thing). The combinations there are really limited only by your imagination as they are pretty flexible and will make you whatever combination you want.

They also have sprouts! Like real sprouts. Sunflower sprouts. Their salads in general are huge portions. Their menu is huge and you could spend an hour just scrolling through all the possibilities. They have a huge breakfast selection (a lot of stuff with eggs like pancakes and omelets, but if you're not vegan, they always looked amazing when I'd see others ordering them). Then there's always the Thai food...of course! They also make a good veggie burger and sandwiches.

In case that's not enough, they also make their own kombucha and bottle it for take away if you're into it.

Overall this is a really great place. Clean food. Friendly faces. Great atmosphere in a happening part of the old city. I highly recommend it!

This cafe is incredibly popular and for good reason. The owner is European, friendly and is usually there. All the staff are great too. We ate there often, alternating with Juicy4U, which is literally just across the road.
Large deliveries of fresh fruit and veggies arrive daily.

The menu is varied with many Asian dishes, pasta, breakfast choices, enormous salads and the best smoothies you will find anywhere for $2. It's all really fresh and flavoursome. The vegie burger is wonderful but not quite as good as the offering from across the road. However, if it was a competiion between the two, Dada's coffee would win the caffeine award.

The tofu and veg massaman curry is one of the best I've ever had. Just make sure you check that it's vegan with the staff. (The owner assured me that it could be made vegan but some of the staff weren't so sure when I first asked.)

Salads are defiantly huge for one plate and is more than a meal really. Hopefully, avocados are in season when you are there too. I didn't get around to ordering the pad Thai but it looked good and was again a very generous portion.

The smoothie menu is huge. Go nuts! pop in just for a smoothie. My fav was almond, mango, banana. The berry ones are also great. Large servings make then very good value. Good luck if you choose a large meal and a smoothie...... You will be very full.

Free wifi is an added bonus. As is the soy milk and multigrain bread. There isn't anything to complain about at this cafe apart from them closing earlier than usual during low season.

Just a quick note... The location on the map isn't correct. The street is but it's almost on the far eastern point of the street, near the moat. If you can find the office for Elephant Nature Park, walk in away from the moat and it's a few meters away. easy to find. (If you respect and adore elephants, ENP is the ONLY place to visit whilst in Chinag Mai as it's the only true elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand. I'll post more details in the travel tips)

Dada is highly recommended. After one visit, you will be back. Enjoy :)
Updated from previous review on Thursday June 07, 2012