Restaurant in Khon Kaen, Thailand
Italian dining with Michelin recognition in Khon Kaen.
The only Michelin-recognised Italian restaurant in Khon Kaen, Vacca holds back-to-back Michelin Plate awards (2024 and 2025) and a 4.3 Google rating across 241 reviews. At a ฿฿ price point, it is the go-to choice for a considered non-Thai meal in the city, with booking rated Easy and no significant lead time required.
If you are weighing up where to eat well in Khon Kaen and your instinct is to stick to Isan food, that is usually the right call. The city's grilled chicken, noodle shops, and street food are genuinely hard to argue with. But Vacca sits in a different category: two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025) make it the only Italian restaurant in the city with a documented quality signal, and at a ฿฿ price point, it is accessible enough to justify the departure from local cuisine. If you want one non-Thai meal in Khon Kaen, this is where to go.
Vacca is an Italian restaurant in Tambon Sila, on the edge of Mueang Khon Kaen District. It holds a Google rating of 4.3 across 241 reviews, which is a meaningful sample for a specialty restaurant in a provincial Thai city, and its back-to-back Michelin Plate awards indicate that the kitchen is operating consistently at a level that international food inspectors found worth acknowledging. The Michelin Plate designation is not a star, but it is not a minor credential either: it signals a kitchen producing food that is well-prepared and worth a dedicated visit, as distinct from the broader mass of restaurants that are simply adequate.
Italian food in Southeast Asia exists on a wide spectrum, from resort-hotel pasta that makes no concessions to local ingredients, to more considered restaurants that find some dialogue between the cuisines. Without confirmed menu specifics in the available data, what can be said with confidence is that Vacca has earned its Michelin recognition two years running, which means the food has not slipped. For the Khon Kaen explorer interested in how Italian technique lands outside its home context, this is a more interesting question than it might appear. Comparable bets in Asia include 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto at the leading end, but Vacca's value proposition is different: it is a provincial answer to the same question, at a fraction of the price.
No confirmed bar program details are available in the venue data, and inventing specifics would not serve you. What is worth noting is that Italian restaurants operating at Michelin-recognised quality levels in Asia typically anchor their drinks offering around wine, often with a leaning toward Italian regions. Whether Vacca runs a serious by-the-glass list or keeps things simpler is worth asking when you book or arrive. If a well-considered drinks pairing matters to your evening, that is a question to put directly to the restaurant rather than assume. For dedicated cocktail bars in Khon Kaen, see our full Khon Kaen bars guide.
Khon Kaen's climate runs hot and humid for most of the year, with the cooler and drier months between November and February offering the most comfortable dining conditions, particularly if outdoor seating is available. Weekday evenings are the safer bet for a relaxed experience at a ฿฿ restaurant of this type in a provincial city; weekends may draw more traffic given the limited number of comparable options locally. There are no confirmed hours in the available data, so confirming the restaurant's schedule before you travel is a practical step, especially if you are planning around a specific evening.
Vacca is located at 99 หมู่ที่ 20 Tambon Sila, Mueang Khon Kaen District, Khon Kaen 40000. The price range is ฿฿, which positions it as a considered but not extravagant spend by local standards. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which means you are unlikely to need significant lead time, but confirming a reservation is still a sensible move given the absence of a confirmed walk-in policy. No website or phone number is available in the current data; checking Google Maps or local Thai booking platforms is the practical route to confirming current hours and reservations. For a broader look at where to stay and what else to do while you are in the city, see our Khon Kaen hotels guide, our full Khon Kaen restaurants guide, and our Khon Kaen experiences guide.
Quick reference: Italian, ฿฿, Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025, Google 4.3/5 (241 reviews), Tambon Sila, Khon Kaen. Booking: Easy.
If you are building a broader itinerary around Khon Kaen's food scene, the city punches well for local Thai and Isan cooking. Here Joi Beef Noodle and Guang Tang Noodles are worth knowing for casual lunches, and Jok Guay Jab Tom Sen Bat Queue covers the street food end well. For something with a different angle, Food by Fire and Baan Heng are also in the city. Elsewhere in Thailand, if Michelin-level Italian is your interest, the reference points are very different: Sorn in Bangkok and PRU in Phuket lead on fine dining credentials nationally, while Aquila in Chiang Mai offers a closer regional comparison for Italian cooking in a provincial Thai city context. AKKEE in Pak Kret and Anuwat in Phang Nga round out the broader picture of restaurants outside Bangkok worth a detour. See our Khon Kaen wineries guide if wine tourism is part of your trip planning.
No confirmed dress code is on record. At a ฿฿ Italian restaurant with Michelin Plate recognition in a provincial Thai city, smart casual is a sensible read: presentable but not formal. Linen trousers and a collared shirt or equivalent will be comfortable and appropriate. You are unlikely to be turned away for being underdressed at this price tier, but dressing a step above beachwear is the respectful default.
At ฿฿, yes. Two Michelin Plates in consecutive years and a 4.3 Google rating across 241 reviews is a credible quality signal for that spend in Khon Kaen. You are not paying Bangkok fine-dining prices, and you are getting a kitchen that international inspectors have acknowledged twice. If your benchmark is local Isan cooking at ฿, Vacca is more expensive, but it is answering a different question: whether good Italian exists in the city. It does, and the price is proportionate.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, so you are unlikely to need more than a few days' notice, if that. Weekends in a city with limited comparable options may warrant a reservation, but this is not a venue where you need to plan weeks ahead. Confirm hours before you go, since no published schedule is available in the current data.
No confirmed information is available on dietary accommodation. Italian kitchens at this level are generally familiar with vegetarian requests and common allergens, but specific dietary needs, particularly vegan or gluten-free requirements, are worth confirming directly before you book. No website or phone number is listed in the current data; Google Maps is the practical first stop for current contact details.
For Italian specifically, Vacca is the only Michelin-recognised option in Khon Kaen. If you want to stay in the city but eat Thai or Isan, Praprai is the closest peer at ฿฿, offering Isan food at a similar price tier. For lower-spend options, Here Joi Beef Noodle, Jok Guay Jab Tom Sen Bat Queue, and Khun Jaeng Guay Tiew Pak Mor Kao Wang all operate at ฿. See our full Khon Kaen restaurants guide for the complete picture.
No confirmed tasting menu details are available. At a ฿฿ Italian restaurant with Michelin Plate credentials, a set or multi-course menu is plausible but not confirmed in the data. If a tasting format matters to your visit, confirm directly with the restaurant before booking. The overall value case for Vacca is strong at its price point regardless of format.
Yes, with a caveat. Vacca is the clearest answer in Khon Kaen if you want a Michelin-recognised restaurant for a birthday, anniversary, or business dinner at a ฿฿ price point. The combination of consecutive Plate awards and a solid Google rating suggests a kitchen that can deliver a meal that feels considered. The caveat: without confirmed booking options online, you will need to contact the restaurant directly to arrange anything specific. If you are planning a special occasion, do that early.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacca | Italian | Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Here Joi Beef Noodle | Noodles | Unknown | — | |
| Jok Guay Jab Tom Sen Bat Queue | Street Food | Unknown | — | |
| Kai Yang Rabeab (Khao Suan Kwang) | Isan | Unknown | — | |
| Praprai | Isan | Unknown | — | |
| Khun Jaeng Guay Tiew Pak Mor Kao Wang | Thai | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Khon Kaen for this tier.
No dress code is documented for Vacca, but a Michelin Plate restaurant at the ฿฿ price point typically warrants neat casual at minimum. Think clean, presentable clothes rather than beachwear or workout gear. Khon Kaen's heat is a factor, so breathable but tidy is a practical benchmark.
At ฿฿, Vacca sits in the considered mid-range for Khon Kaen, not a casual spend but far from Bangkok fine-dining prices. Two consecutive Michelin Plate awards (2024 and 2025) confirm the kitchen is producing food that reviewers take seriously. If you want a break from Isan cooking without flying to Bangkok for Italian, the price-to-quality ratio makes a reasonable case.
Specific booking windows aren't confirmed in the venue data, but Michelin Plate recognition in a mid-sized city like Khon Kaen typically draws a concentrated local following. Booking at least a few days out is sensible; for weekends or special occasions, aim for a week or more. Contact details are not publicly listed here, so check Google Maps or the venue directly for reservation options.
No confirmed information on dietary accommodation is available for Vacca. Italian cuisine as a category often includes gluten-heavy pasta and dairy-forward dishes, so if you have serious dietary restrictions, check the venue's official channels before booking to confirm what can be adapted.
If your priority is value and local flavour, Here Joi Beef Noodle and Jok Guay Jab Tom Sen Bat Queue represent the kind of Isan cooking Khon Kaen does better than anywhere. For grilled chicken, Kai Yang Rabeab is a regional reference point. Vacca is the clearest option if you specifically want Italian or a Michelin-recognised setting — there is no direct Italian peer to compare it against in the city.
No confirmed tasting menu details are available in the venue data, so a specific verdict isn't possible here. Given the Michelin Plate status across two years, the kitchen clearly has the credentials to execute a structured format well, but verify the current menu format with the venue before making a booking decision around it.
Vacca is a reasonable choice for a special occasion in Khon Kaen, particularly if you want something beyond the city's Isan staples. The Michelin Plate recognition (two consecutive years) gives it a level of credibility that local alternatives don't carry. At ฿฿, the spend is noticeable but not extreme — appropriate for a birthday or business dinner without requiring a Bangkok-level budget.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
