Free Bird Cafe

Address: 116 Maneenopparat Rd, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Phone Number: +66 81 028 5383

Website: https://www.facebook.com/FreeBirdCafe

Opening Hours: 09:00 AM-5:00 PM Tuesday - Saturday

Cuisine: Thai, Burmese

In and around the moat area there are many vegetarian restaurants but Free Bird really is an exceptional one-of-a-kind. There are almost too many reasons to list, but I will try.

Let me first tell you about the ethos. It is not just a café but a charity and a school that teaches refugee kids, so your profit here goes to a good cause, and the decoration of this around the place gives you an interesting insight in to the project. After you eat you can even shop in their charity shop (with funky items) that is within the café so make sure you leave yourself enough time for that as well!

On to the important issue - the food – cheap prices, varied menu and not just your typical vegetarian fare. They also have unique Burmese cuisine of which the tea leaf salad is particularly famous. This dish originated from here and since then many other restaurants have tried to copy it. No others have managed to match the taste and flavour that you get here. The other Burmese dishes are just as good, especially the Shan somtam which is absolutely divine.

We vegans were delighted about their recent decision firstly to eliminate all dairy from their menu, now offering only a range of non-dairy milks instead! Following that, as of September 2017 they took it a step further and also eliminated eggs as well!! They are now 100% vegan!! One of our favourites is their amazing and huge pancake, which you can add your choice of fruit to and another lovely touch for vegans is coconut flower syrup instead of honey! This dish really beats any other vegan pancake around. Their recent addition of smoothie bowls has been very welcome, they taste heavenly AND they're so healthy!

The staff here are so happy, friendly and attentive that they seem so genuinely happy in their work. The atmosphere is very pleasant on every level. They often have parties for special occasions such as their anniversary, as well as health and well-being promotional events which are very informative and usually include free samples of their food.

The final thing I want to mention is your ‘Thai lesson’ at the back of the menu. I remember seeing something like this at the back of a vegetarian restaurant menu in Bangkok and I wondered why others don’t do this more. Take a picture of it and ask for veggie food anywhere in Thailand. Marvellous idea.

My only regret is that they are not open in the evening, due to the school opening at that time (forgivable!) So check them out before 5PM, you will leave smiling and I reckon the experience might just leave you smiling for the rest of your day.