You'd walk straight past the entrance if you didn't know it was there. Down a narrow passage off Oxford's High Street, in a crooked timbered building that feels like it belongs to another century, Chiang Mai Kitchen has been serving some of the best Thai food in the city for decades. It's the kind of place locals guard quietly.
The menu is long, the portions are generous, and the cooking tastes like it actually comes from northern Thailand rather than a generic takeaway kitchen. Green curries arrive properly fiery, the pad thai has that elusive caramelised sweetness, and the tom kha gai is rich with galangal and coconut without being cloying. Prices are fair for Oxford, which is saying something. The room itself is small and atmospheric, all dark beams and candlelight, so booking ahead is wise (especially on weekends).
We tend to end up here whenever we've spent an afternoon in Oxford, whether that's browsing the covered market, walking through Christ Church Meadow, or dragging the children around the Pitt Rivers Museum. It's about thirty minutes from the cottage by car, and there's usually parking along the surrounding streets in the evening. If you're after something more than pub fare on a night out in the city, this is where we'd send you without hesitation.
“Easily the most reliable Thai in Oxford. We've been coming for years and it never disappoints.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.