Restaurant in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Plant-based Japanese concept, Michelin-noted, easy to book.
A Japanese-Thai couple's Neo Shojin Ryori restaurant in a quiet Chiang Mai neighbourhood, Aeeen has earned back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) and a 4.6 Google rating. At ฿฿ pricing, it is the clearest special-occasion answer for plant-based dining in the city — intimate, precise, and unlike anything else in its category here.
If you are looking for a plant-based restaurant in Chiang Mai that earns its place on a special occasion shortlist, Aeeen is the clearest answer in its category. Two consecutive Michelin Plate awards (2024 and 2025) confirm what its 4.6-star Google rating across 250 reviews suggests: this is a kitchen operating with genuine precision. The ฿฿ price point makes it accessible without feeling casual, and the Neo Shojin Ryori concept — Japanese-inspired Buddhist cuisine built on seasonal, fermented ingredients — gives it a culinary identity that no other restaurant in Chiang Mai currently occupies. Book it for a date night, a celebratory dinner, or a quiet meal with someone who takes food seriously. It rewards that kind of attention.
Aeeen occupies a two-storey wooden house in Tambon Su Thep, a quieter district to the southwest of Chiang Mai's old city that sits close to Chiang Mai University and the base of Doi Suthep. The building reads as rural Japanese in character , compact, warm, unhurried , and that atmosphere is not accidental. The owners, Ken and Yuki, have constructed an environment that reinforces the food's philosophy: rows of fermentation jars line the space, making the kitchen's process visible and the dining room feel more like a working larder than a restaurant interior. Across two floors, the seating is intimate rather than expansive, which makes this a better choice for tables of two or four than for large groups. For a special occasion, that intimacy is an asset. The space communicates care before the first dish arrives, and that framing matters when you are trying to make a meal feel significant. If you want a dining room that feels convivial and large, look elsewhere in Chiang Mai , Baan Landai or Aunt Aoy Kitchen offer more traditional Thai settings with broader capacity. But if you want a room that feels considered and still, Aeeen's wooden house in Su Thep delivers that in a way that few Chiang Mai restaurants at this price tier can match.
The menu operates under the Neo Shojin Ryori concept , a contemporary interpretation of Japanese Buddhist cuisine that excludes meat, fish, and typically alliums, built instead on fermentation, seasonality, and restraint. Ken and Yuki source and ferment their own ingredients, and those jars visible throughout the dining room are not decorative: they are the pantry. The Michelin Guide notes the soymilk udon noodles as a standout, and the mango with ginger and honey drink as a refreshing complement. At ฿฿ pricing, the menu sits at a level where you are paying for craft and intention, not just ingredients. This is not a buffet-style vegetarian spread or a casual health-food cafe , it is a structured, considered meal that happens to be entirely plant-based. For diners who are not vegetarian, that distinction matters: Aeeen is likely to convert the sceptical, not just satisfy the converted. For comparison, Fu He Hui in Shanghai and Lamdre in Beijing operate in a similar high-intention vegetarian register at significantly higher price points. Aeeen's ฿฿ positioning makes it a strong-value entry into that style of dining for anyone visiting Thailand.
The neighbourhood context is worth understanding before you book. Tambon Su Thep is not a dining district in the way that the Nimman area or the Night Bazaar zone are. There are no clusters of restaurants to hop between, no foot traffic to stumble upon Aeeen by accident. You come here deliberately, and that pilgrimage quality , modest as it is , reinforces the experience. The location near Chiang Mai University and Doi Suthep gives the area a calmer, more local character than the tourist-facing parts of the city. Aeeen fits that context: it is a neighbourhood anchor for a neighbourhood that does not otherwise have a strong food identity, and that makes the discovery feel more personal. If you are staying near the old city and want to explore beyond the central restaurant cluster, Su Thep is a worthwhile detour. Check our full Chiang Mai restaurants guide for broader orientation, and our Chiang Mai hotels guide if you are still deciding on base location.
Reservations: Booking is rated easy , walk-ins may be possible given the venue's location away from high-traffic areas, but reservations are advisable for weekend evenings and any special occasion where timing matters. Budget: ฿฿ , mid-range by Chiang Mai standards, fair for two consecutive Michelin Plate recognition. Dress: No formal dress code is confirmed, but the intimate, refined setting suits smart-casual rather than beachwear or activewear. Group size: Leading for two or four; the two-floor wooden house is intimate in scale, not suited to large parties. Getting there: The address is in Tambon Su Thep , a taxi or ride-share from the old city is the practical option. No website or phone number is publicly listed in our data, so booking through a hotel concierge or in person is advisable if online reservations are not available. Explore more: Chiang Mai bars, Chiang Mai experiences, and Chiang Mai wineries for the full picture.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, and the Su Thep location means this is not the kind of restaurant that gets swept up in tourist foot traffic. That said, for a weekend dinner or a special occasion, booking a few days ahead is sensible. Walk-ins may work on quieter weeknights. No online booking platform is confirmed in our data, so contacting via a hotel concierge or visiting in person to reserve is the practical approach.
No dress code is formally confirmed, but the setting , a carefully arranged two-storey wooden house with a deliberate, considered atmosphere , suits smart-casual. Think clean and neat rather than formal. Beachwear or activewear would feel out of place. The ฿฿ price tier and Michelin Plate recognition signal a room where a little effort is appropriate.
It can work. The intimate scale of the wooden house means solo diners are not swallowed by a large, impersonal room. At ฿฿ pricing, the cost is manageable for one. That said, the Neo Shojin Ryori format is more rewarding when you can share dishes and compare notes, so solo dining is fine but not the optimal configuration. If solo dining is your primary goal, Chai's street food format may offer a more naturally solo-friendly experience.
Yes, at ฿฿. Two Michelin Plate awards (2024 and 2025) and a 4.6 Google rating from 250 reviews confirm consistent quality at a price point that remains accessible by regional standards. For context, comparable plant-based dining with this level of craft , Fu He Hui in Shanghai, for example , costs significantly more. Aeeen delivers a structured, intentional meal at a price that makes it an easy recommendation within Chiang Mai's mid-range tier.
For vegetarian dining specifically, Aeeen has no direct competitor in Chiang Mai at the same quality tier. If you want Northern Thai flavour rather than Japanese-Buddhist structure, Busarin Cuisine is the stronger choice. For a lower-budget, more casual experience, Ekachan or Dan Chicken Rice (San Sai) cover different needs. Khao Soi Mae Manee is the answer if you want the city's most celebrated bowl of noodles rather than a full sit-down meal.
Yes , it is one of the clearer special-occasion recommendations in Chiang Mai's vegetarian category. The intimate wooden-house setting, the visible fermentation jars, the Michelin Plate pedigree, and the deliberate Neo Shojin Ryori concept all create a meal that feels meaningful rather than routine. It works well for a date night or a quiet celebratory dinner for two. For larger group celebrations, the intimate scale may be a constraint , consider Baan Suan Mae Rim if you need more space.
Specific tasting menu details and pricing are not confirmed in our data, so we cannot give a precise cost-per-course assessment. What the Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) does confirm is that the kitchen's output at whatever format it offers is operating at a credible standard. The ฿฿ overall price tier suggests the meal remains in accessible mid-range territory. Given the fermentation-forward, seasonal approach, a structured multi-course format would suit the concept well , but verify the current menu format directly when you book.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeeen | Aeeen goes the sound of Ken’s unique laughter, according to wife Yuki. Under the concept of Neo Shojin Ryori, the Japanese couple craft their plant-based menu using seasonal ingredients. The dining areas span two floors of a cute wooden house that feels like rural Japan. Lines of jars contain the fermented ingredients they use in the food. We recommend the perfectly judged soymilk udon noodles and refreshing mango with ginger and honey drink.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | ฿฿ | — |
| Busarin Cuisine | ฿฿ | — | |
| Chai | ฿฿ | — | |
| Dan Chicken Rice (San Sai) | ฿ | — | |
| Ekachan | ฿฿ | — | |
| Khao Soi Mae Manee | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Aeeen and alternatives.
A reservation is advisable even though Aeeen sits away from Chiang Mai's busiest dining corridors in Tambon Su Thep. The restaurant operates in a two-storey wooden house with limited covers, so capacity is finite. Booking a few days to a week ahead is a reasonable buffer; walk-ins may work on quieter weekday sessions, but there is no guarantee.
The setting is a relaxed wooden house rather than a formal dining room, so neat, comfortable clothing is appropriate. There is no indication in the available record of a dress code requirement. Think presentable casual rather than anything formal.
Yes. A counter or small-table format in an intimate wooden house tends to suit solo diners well, and the price range (฿฿) keeps the bill manageable for one. The focused Neo Shojin Ryori concept also rewards diners who want to eat attentively rather than as part of a group occasion.
At the ฿฿ price point, Aeeen delivers a concept-driven plant-based menu with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) behind it — that combination of recognised quality and moderate pricing is difficult to argue against in Chiang Mai. If you are comparing on value, it sits well above most vegetarian options in the city at a similar spend.
For Thai-focused cooking rather than Japanese plant-based, Busarin Cuisine and Khao Soi Mae Manee are the comparisons most worth considering. Chai covers a different register of modern Thai. Dan Chicken Rice (San Sai) and Ekachan suit a more casual, lower-spend outing. None of those replicate the Neo Shojin Ryori format that Aeeen is built around.
Yes, provided your group is comfortable with an exclusively plant-based menu. The Michelin Plate recognition over two years and the considered concept give it the credibility for a celebratory dinner, and the intimate wooden-house setting is more distinctive than a standard restaurant room. If anyone in your party is not a committed vegetarian, confirm the menu format before booking.
The Neo Shojin Ryori concept at Aeeen is built around a seasonal, plant-based progression — that format functions best when you commit to the full menu rather than ordering selectively. At ฿฿ pricing, the outlay is moderate by tasting-menu standards, and the Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 confirms the kitchen is delivering consistently. It is worth it if plant-based is your format; if you are only mildly curious, a more conventional Thai meal elsewhere will feel safer.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
