What to eat and drink in Thailand: dishes, etiquette and dietary tips

Thai meals are built around rice or sticky rice with several shared dishes that balance sour, salty, sweet, hot and bitter. Street stalls usually cook one or two dishes very well; mall food courts are the clean, cheap fallback. Prices below are 2026 estimates.

Central cooking is the palace-style baseline: coconut curries, rice as the base, and a careful balance of flavours. Tom yum, green curry, pad kra pao, massaman and khao man gai all sit here, and pad thai is the dish most visitors meet first.

The north is milder and more herbal, with sticky rice and Burmese-Shan influence. Khao soi, sai ua sausage, nam prik noom and kaeng hang lay are the ones to order in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

Isan in the northeast is sour, fiery and grilled. Som tam, larb, gai yang, nam tok and sai krok Isan rely on fermented fish (pla ra) and sticky rice eaten by hand.

The south is the hottest cooking in the country, with turmeric, seafood and Malay-Muslim dishes: kaeng som, kaeng tai pla, khua kling, roti and massaman.

Street food in Thailand is generally safe when the stall is busy and the food is cooked in front of you. High turnover is the best single signal: a queue of locals at meal time means nothing sits warm for long. Grilled meat is safest taken straight off the coals rather than reheated from a pile.

Som tam comes in versions with raw salted field crab or fermented fish; ask for the plain version if you want less risk. Cut fruit is usually fine when it is peeled or cut in front of you. Ice in drinks is commonly factory tube ice made from treated water and is widely considered safe; crushed block ice is less certain.

Tap water is not for drinking. Sealed bottled water, refill stations and boiled or filtered water are the norm, and most hotels and cafés can refill a bottle. If you get an upset stomach, oral rehydration salts from any pharmacy are cheap and effective; see a doctor for blood in the stool, fever above 38.5 °C, or symptoms lasting more than three days. This is general information, not medical advice.

Thai meals usually come with water, soda or iced tea rather than alcohol. Cha yen (Thai iced tea) is strong, sweet and made with condensed milk; cha manao is lime tea. Fresh coconut water and fruit shakes are everywhere and cheap.

Beer is the default alcohol: Singha, Chang and Leo are the common lagers, sold in bottles and cans at shops and restaurants. Alcohol sales are restricted during certain hours and on some religious holidays, and the rules are enforced more strictly around elections and Buddhist observances; check locally before planning a late night.

Thai whisky and rum are cheap and often mixed with soda and lime. Rice whisky is a local spirit; drink it the way it is served, with plenty of ice and mixer.

Thai meals are shared. Order several dishes for the table, and take a spoonful of each onto your own rice rather than eating straight from the serving plate. The spoon does most of the work; the fork pushes food onto it. Chopsticks are for noodles, not rice.

Sticky rice in the north and Isan is eaten by hand: take a small ball, press it into a bite, and dip. Don't lick your fingers; use a napkin. The oldest person at the table usually starts eating first, and the bill is often settled by whoever invited.

Shoes come off before entering a home, and monks eat before noon, so temple food offerings happen early. Dress modestly at temples and don't point your feet at people or images. Tipping is not expected at street stalls; rounding up or leaving 20–50 THB at restaurants is common.

Fish sauce and shrimp paste are in most Thai dishes, including many that look vegetarian, so ask before ordering. The word jeh (เจ) signals vegan-style food, common during the annual vegetarian festival, and many stalls can cook a dish without fish sauce if you ask clearly.

Peanuts appear in pad thai, som tam and massaman, and soy sauce usually contains wheat, which matters for coeliac travellers. Shared woks and oil mean cross-contact is likely even when an ingredient is left out. Carry a card or phone screen in Thai naming your allergen and saying it is dangerous, not a preference, and carry your own medication.

Spice is adjustable: mai phet means not spicy, phet nit noi means a little spicy. In the south, even mild requests can come out hot, so taste before adding chilli.

Breakfast is often khao man gai, rice soup or roti with coffee. Lunch is the main street meal, and by mid-afternoon many stalls close. Dinner runs from about 18:00, with night markets and grills taking over after dark.

Bangkok has the widest range, from Chinatown's Yaowarat Road to mall food courts. Chiang Mai is the place for northern dishes such as khao soi. The south and the islands lean on seafood and southern curries. Isaan cooking is easiest to find in the northeast, though dedicated som tam and larb stalls exist in every city.

Mango sticky rice is seasonal, roughly April to June, though you will see it outside those months. During Buddhist observances and public holidays, some stalls close and others hold food longer, so plan around the calendar.