Vegan-friendly
Thai
Western
Buffet
Take-out
Air-conditioned restaurant in Khao Sarn Road area making mostly Thai cuisine with a few western ones. Mostly raw. Offers an evening all-you-can-eat buffet. It's closed as of June 2017. Only Tanao location is still open.
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Last update on 09 Jun 2017 by eric
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42 Reviews
First Review by Lek
MirenBro
Points +35
May Kaidee..number 1 in bangkok - Edit
Visited numerous times in October 2013 and January 2014. The food at May Kaidee is delicious, with a wide variety of dishes to boot. The location is great for backpackers very close to Khao San Road. Would strongly recommend the spring rolls (the peanut sauce accompanying it is delicious) but frankly everything on the menu was made to perfection.
Read morePros: Variety, Delicious, Excellent Service
Guest
Gudrun
Points +4887
Vegan food at its best - Thai style - Edit
I came to Thailand for a round trip with just a very few days to spend in Bangkok. As usually I had a printout from "Happy Cow" with me and I planned to visit several vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok.
Read moreMay Kaidee's on Samsen Rd. was the first place on my list since it was closest to my hotel. I went there right after arrival, so quite tired.
The first thing I noticed was the warmth and friendliness of the staff which seemed genuine.
Everything on the menu looked great but about nothing was familiar to me. I was told it was all vegan which made it even better for me (they do serve milk with coffee on request, though) - but difficult to choose!
I asked for a recommendation. The staff member I talked to gave quite some explanations and inquired about my spice level which in the end we both defined as "medium" (for a Thai person, a European would rather call it "hot"). I am not 100% sure what the dish I had was called, but I think it was the Tom Kah soup. It did not only taste great (with the right spice level for me!) , but it had some energizing effect on me, due to all the fresh ingredients and spices I believe.
Well, I was hooked and did not make it to any other restaurant on my list, just went back to May Kaidee's as often as I could to try more of their food. And everything was just wonderful.
On my last day I bough a couple of souvenirs: their own cookbook and some of their teas and spices and curry mixes. Just a pity I could not make it to their cooking school - but I'll be back, some day!
Pros: great food, wonderful staff
Cons: no cons at all!
Guest
m@earthville
Points +9488
From good to great - Edit
May Kaidee's has become a travelers' institution in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and for good reason. I've never had anything i didn't like at May Kaidee's, and some of the dishes are especially great, especially when May herself is present.
Read moreMy favorites are the "Zinger" juice (very refreshing) and the curries (which are among the most authentically Thai of her offerings, and can be spiced according to your preference).
Tip: If you're dining alone and want to try more than one or two items, ask for a "buffet" meal, by which they mean a tasting menu with several dishes. I had one recently for only 150B, which is fantastic value.
I prefer this location to the one in the alley off Khao San Rd.
Pros: Tasty vegan Thai cuisine, Reasonable prices for the quality
Guest
EcoWarrior
Points +166
This very place serves the best food in Thailand - Edit
I am vegan for 15 years and know Thailand quite a bit: I state that May Kaidee's on Thanon Samsen is the best affordable vegan restaurant I've ever been.
Read moreTheir vegan pad thai, for instance, is truly a marvel; it was better than on their Tanao location.
The service was great too (Feb-March 2013): the waiter, a young man, was always very friendly and spoke english well.
I can't support the comments saying the portions are small, the food mundane or the service perfectible: we went to this restaurant a few times during our trip and there we've got the largest portions of all our trip, the best service (besides the "31" in Krabi), and by far the tastiest food.
All in all the best value for money, hands down.
Pros: Marvelous food, Friendly staff, Good portions
Cons: Not spicy (or authentic) enough
Guest
AmericanPhil
Points +224
mae queen - Edit
One of the best thai food restaurants worldwide. its very clean and the food is always made fresh. the buffet on the weekends is great as well and you will leave fuller than you can possibly imagine. they have free wifi and the setting is very relaxed. on the other hand, it is not very 'authentic'. if you are looking for an authentic thai experience this is not the place to go. the only people who eat here are smelly, hippy tourists with backpacks. if youre vegan, try the thai iced tea with coconut milk. ask for it! :) the cooking class is great too, if you are visiting and want a fun time!
Read morePros: great vegan food, english widely spoken, very clean environment
Cons: not authentic
Guest
dumsterdave
Points +143
Good food/small portions - Edit
The food here was very tasty and I have returned a few times to try other things. I thought the vegan sushi was rather nice.
Read moreAs for he haw mok(spelled right?), well, it was very tasty, but it came in a bowl that you would normally server to a 5 year old. The food was gone in about 5 bites. Looking around at other tables made me realise that may kaydee is more about quality than quantity. All the portions are tiny. I recommend you go a little bit farther down and eat at ethos which is a bit more expensive but at least you'll walk away with a full stomach. The staff are really friendly and are always smiling, but its too bad they can barely speak english. It was difficult to ask what ingredients were in the food
Pros: everything looks so good, friendly smiles, tasty
Cons: not very cozy, small portions, poor english
Guest
lotustummy
Points +1174
ok - but Jenny's on Soi 4 (0r 3?) was better - Edit
May Kaidee's is an institution BUT feels more like a business than a friendly veg restaurant. Yes the food is good BUT we got the pitch for cooking lessons twice
Read moreour suggestion? Walk a little further down Samsen to soi 4 or 3 (we cant remember sorry) and eat at Jenny's - its cheaper and friendlier. Its not pure veg but their extensive menu for veg foods is wonderful! try the massaman curry and the som tam! yum
Pros: good veg food
Cons: buffet offers several nights a week, too many pitches for expensive classes, busy
Guest
Eric_
Points +729
I don't understand the hype - Edit
This was the first vegetarian restaurant I tried in Bangkok, and I was disappointed. Understood later that vegetarian food in Thailand simply isn't as good as in other Asian countries, but still, after reading so many happy comments about this place, I was surprised in a negative way. Nothing special.
Read morePros: Wifi, Easy to find
Cons: Boring food
eric
Hi Eric, what did you order? It also can vary depending if May is in the kitchen or not. I've always found the food to be very exceptional when she's there.
Read moreGuest
Nikki1801
Points +963
A decent meal - Edit
May was there doing a cooking class and roped us all into dancing, it was great fun! :)
Read moreThe food was good & lots of choice (although I must confess I preferred the food in Chiang Mai- sorry!)
I love the fact they do brown rice, hard to find in Asia!
Decent portions and a fair price.
Pros: friendly, good menu
Guest
dan&mia
Points +759
Good food and comfortable - Edit
We enjoyed a tasty lunch.
Read moreGuest
ANiMaLnz
Points +33
Thai vegan cuisine at it's best - Edit
Located on a noisy thoroughfare a short distance from the tourist centre of Koh San Road, May Kaidee's has become somewhat of an institution in Bangkok. And with good reason. Upon arrival we were greeted by the warm smiles of the restaurant's friendly wait staff who were more than happy to tailor dishes to suit our taste preferences. But ordering just one from the double-sided, A3-sized menu posed a serious challenge, one that was almost certain to result in food envy! Our meals arrived in timely fashion and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that they were every bit as amazing as they looked on the menu, and tasted even better! And at around THB90 per dish were also highly affordable. Unfortunately we will have moved on by Saturday so will miss the weekly buffet, but imagine it's well worth a look. There's also a cooking school for anyone who fancies trying their hand in the kitchen. So if you're looking for a healthy and affordable dining alternative while in Bangkok, don't go past May Kaidee's!
Read moreGuest
dcchris
Points +153
Not as good as before - Edit
Well people always say "You should have been here 10 years ago" all the time. But in this case I started going to the original May Kadee's when she first opened and was hands on every day. Before the great expansion and business ventures and I must say my last few visits a few months ago after a 5 year absence were disappointing. The dishes are smaller, prices higher, service spotty in both locations I ate at. As well they seem to have opened a seafood restaurant down the soi which isn't exactly in the vegetarian ethos imo. I am happy that business is so good and all as May is very nice but unfortunately the most important aspects of dining were not there for me. They do have a good corner on the Banglaphu market as there don't seem to be many other reasonably priced pure veg places around at nighttime. In daytime you can eat for half the price at a traditional thai veg place.
Read morePros: healthy cuisine, tasty food, good location
Cons: smokers, small portions, expensive
Guest
sbszine
Points +250
Excellent - Edit
Some of the best Thai food I've ever tasted, with good sized portions too. The pad thai was particularly good, and the penang curry was great too.
Read moreService is odd: I had to specifically request a plate and cutlery, and fill in the waiter's pad with my order! I also got the hard sell for the cooking classes (which do look good). Anyway, the service is a minor nitpick that doesn't really detract from the place.
Update: I came back in 2011 and tried the cooking classes, and they were fabulous and are highly recommended.
Updated from previous review on Saturday July 24, 2010
Pros: Food!
Cons: Service
Guest
jort38
Points +38
Experiences - Edit
My (Thai) friends and myself made an appointment here to have dinner. As I have read in another review, it is indeed a bit hard to find, especially as they are renovating the front building. So now you have to find the alley that connects to the temporary dining location.
Read moreIndeed you write down your order yourself. This is not unusual in Thai restaurants.
Food was excellent. The owner even performed some Thai dances during our meal.
Pros: Price, location, entertainment
Cons: hard to find
Guest
choogirl
Points +717
Fantastic thai vegan cooking course - Edit
I went here in Feb 2011 to do the cooking course. It was fantastic. We prepared 14 dishes in about 3 hours. All the dishes were vegan except the pad thai (which traditionally has an egg, but I left this out). It was so much food that I ended up taking half of it away with me to eat later.
Read moreMay is a beautiful person who is very passionate about vegetarianism. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in thai cooking. I also recommend her cook book which you can buy there.
The only issue I had was finding this place. I had a terrible cab driver who had no clue where to go. I'd been in Bangkok one day and it was me who got us there in the end.
Pros: value, variety
Cons: hard to find
Guest
bignameactress
Points +80
The best vegetarian chain ever. - Edit
I ate at both locations many times in Feb of 2006 and it was a true delight.
Read moreMemorable sticky rice with mango and banana. Was never disappointed in the food and would return in a second.
I also stayed in a guest room for a few nights. I really liked the accommodation in that it seemed to be a very authentic thai experience. However, I wouldn't recommend staying there- based on my belief that my particular room had bed bugs. (Corner bedroom) (All of the typical signs- wooden bed frame, many little spots of blood on the sheets and walls.) Perhaps they have taken care of this problem in the last 5 years. This wouldn't deter me from partaking in their wonderful vegetarian fare, though.
Her cooking course was memorable, delightful, and very educational! I loved that we started by going to the grocery store/market and were sent home with all of the recipes. I also took pictures of the ingredients so that I could more easily find them at home. She sang during the lesson and taught us her special May Kaidee song. So much fun! Amazing value at $20USD for 3 hours and a ton of delicious food. I have since cooked her recipes many times since returning home!
Pros: Great cooking course, Fantastic food, Very friendly staff
may_kaidee_team
bignameactress,
Read moreWe apologize for your experience at our guest house. We strive to offer a much better service than you were provided.
We had our building inspected and fortunately we do *not* have bedbugs, however we do have a termite problem. It's possible that you saw evidence of termites that in fact had eaten some of the wooden bed frame.
We've started to plan a complete renovation of the guest house, and expect to finish the project later this year - free of termites!... while offering higher quality accommodation overall.
We would like to offer you a free room at our guest house once the renovation is finished, on your next visit to Bangkok. Let us know.
Finally, thank you for separating your opinion of the guest house experience from the experience with our restaurants and cooking school.
- The May Kaidee Team
Guest
Ianthewander
Points +237
Yum Yum - Edit
Been there many times in 2010. Hope to go again. My review, see above. Tasty, varied, fun atmosphere.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Monday March 07, 2011.
Saturday night buffet for not very much (~150b, I forget exact figure), cheap.
Pros: taste, variety.
Guest
kool_kitchen
Points +848
Inexpensive hearty fare - Edit
Originator of vegetarianism in Thailand, Mai Kaidee offers hearty, healthy stuff in a restaurant that could use some creature comforts and a lick of paint. It's all pretty standard- the carrot salad and the deep-fried seaweed with peanut sauce are highlights. The staff are all very friendly and you can't complain about the prices.
Read morePros: Inexpensive, Friendly, Decent food
Cons: Not very comfortable
Guest
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