The Best Thai Restaurants in Melbourne

Thailand’s cuisine is highly diverse. In the seafood-loving south, where its Muslim population is most concentrated, Malay, Indian and Chinese cuisines are all influences. The fertile heart around Bangkok serves dishes like Ayutthaya noodles (boat noodles), kaeng khiao wan (green curry) and tom yum (hot and sour soup). In the cooler north, or Lan Na, you’ll find aromatic khao soi and sai oua (grilled herbal pork sausage). And the north-east region of Isan is all about grilled and fermented meats, eye-watering som tam salads and sticky rice.

This variety is now readily apparent in Melbourne, in a way it wasn’t only 10 years ago. Chefs are increasingly introducing lesser-known and regional dishes, including mookata (a hotpot-barbeque hybrid), khao man gai (chicken and rice) and even ant larvae soup. These are the best Thai restaurants in Melbourne for standout Thai food.

Words by Broadsheet Editors
Updated on 3 June 2025

Restaurant

Soi 38

Hidden in a city carpark, this Thai street-food spot has become a cult Melbourne favourite. Once you get through the queue, choose from aromatic boat noodles, spicy papaya salads, crying tiger (slow-cooked and grilled beef brisket), a mixed Thai hotpot and more. Plus, you can bring in wines from neighbouring La Cave.

Restaurant

Nana Thai

There are constant queues at this buzzing diner, which is credited with bringing mookata (a hotpot-barbeque hybrid) to Melbourne. The pay-off is some of Melbourne’s best (and spiciest) Thai food, including many kinds of papaya salad, a crowd-pleasing tom yum, and hard-to-find raw prawns with punchy greens and seafood sauce.

Restaurant

Khao Man Gai

Chicken rice is synonymous with the famous Hainanese dish. But this lowkey spot shows just how popular the combo is in Thailand. It turns out nine versions of the popular street food, including an original with tender skin-on chicken, poultry-cooked rice, cucumber and tao jiew (fermented soybean sauce).

Restaurant

Jinda Thai

The Tanpapat family has been been serving Thai food for generations. They opened at this spacious Richmond warehouse in 2013, serving traditional dishes just as you’d find them in Thailand. Think boat noodles, punchy larb and pla rad prik (deep-fried barramundi with tamarind sauce).

Restaurant

Dodee Paidang Little Collins Street

Descend to this grand basement restaurant to find affordable street-style Thai food. The menu is mostly inspired by Isan cuisine (where its founder grew up), but showcases dishes from right across Thailand. Bring a group and try the specialty keaw tod (quail egg-filled wontons on skewers), seafood platters and plates of barbequed meat. Also on Swanston Street, in Box Hill and Glen Waverley.

Restaurant

Charlong

Here, an ex-Longsong chef makes home-style Thai fare inspired by her grandmother's food stall. Find dishes that blend Thai and Western techniques, like prawn ravioli in a tom yum soup, alongside pad see ew and massaman lamb shanks.

Restaurant

Thai Tide

At this moody neon-lit diner, you’ll find regional Thai dishes rarely seen outside the country. Expect 24-hour-stewed pork belly, caramelly mackerel with green-mango relish and aromatic ant larvae soup. There’s also a killer list of lo-fi wines from Australian producers.

Restaurant

Nora Thai South Yarra

This compact, 20-seater is quieter than its counterparts, hidden on a side street. It’s run by two friends and former housemates, and showcases southern Thai dishes with flair. Try its hot, zesty dry red curry with pork, garlicky stir-fried malindjo greens, or a deeply umami sour fish curry. Add on Thai milk tea or rosy pink milk.

Bar

Cookie

One of two outstanding, late-night Thai eateries overseen by chef Karen Batson, another Westerner with a deep reverence for the foundations of Thai cuisine. This fun hybrid of beer hall, cocktail bar and Thai diner warrants a group booking. Order DIY betel leaf wraps, drunken noodles and pork belly red curry.

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Restaurant

BKK

Small, lively and theatrical, this barbeque-powered Thai restaurant is a top spot to try dishes from all over the country, paired with highly complementary beers, wines and cocktails. Head up to Her Rooftop after for fruit-forward cocktails and uninterrupted city views.

Restaurant

Chin Chin

Executive chef Benjamin Cooper trained under Australian David Thompson, the most accomplished Western chef in the world in the realm of Thai food. Cooper’s high-definition curries and other staples reflect this background, but his personal style is slightly more malleable and crowd-pleasing – two qualities that are largely responsible for Chin Chin’s persistent queues.

Restaurant

Yaowarat

This Thai Chinese restaurant is inspired by Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown. Find street food like deep-fried corn and tofu skin rolls among kra paos and Thai-style congee.

Restaurant

Nora Thai CBD

This spot serves hard-to-find fiery curries, herbaceous stir-fries and pentai bean dishes – nicknamed “stink beans” – typical of southern Thailand. Plus, find comforting chicken and turmeric soup and other rare regional Thai dishes.

Restaurant

Colonel Tan’s

Visit the infamous nightclub Revolver during more regular hours to get another fix of Karen Batson’s food. Bring a group and go for Bangkok bolognaise, fat duck noodles and souped-up curries. Play on the Nintendo 64s while you wait.

Restaurant

Longrain

Longrain started in Sydney in ’99 and headed to Melbourne in 2005. Since then, it’s been at the forefront of contemporary Thai dining here. It’s now under the stewardship of celebrated chef Scott Pickett, and feels as good as ever. Order a banquet and sample favourites like caramelised pork belly, som tam salad and more.

Restaurant

Thai Town

This grand Thai restaurant wears a few colourful hats. It aims to bring the street food cultures of Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai to one 200-seat space in QV. Get pantry staples such as salted egg cakes and durian crisps, or grab a seat for charred pork skewers, tom yum soup, boat noodles and Thai beers.

Restaurant

Khaosan Lane

Head down the laneway next to the GPO for Thai barbeque, towers of beer and hard-to-find bar snacks such as deep-fried duck beaks. Cocktail buckets, live music and a midnight license keep the fun vibes going all night.

Restaurant

Tom Toon Thai Noodle Cafe

A budget-friendly stalwart that brims with local patrons and visitors most nights of the week. Squeeze into the cosy dining room for home-style salads, curries and hot pots. Pull a book off the communal shelf while you wait.

Restaurant

Bangpop

Bangpop might be set along the Birrarung, but it’s set on recreating the atmosphere at Bangkok’s lively street hawker stands. It’s a big, high-ceilinged hall with an expansive menu to match. A standout is the sweet and spicy barramundi with lychee, pineapple and cherry tomato.

Restaurant

Thaiger Rabbit

A go-to for home-style Thai fare since 1996. Bring your crew and order familiar, share-friendly plates of pad see ew, Thai green curry and roti. Or beeline to the Isan section of the menu for dishes like larb and crying tiger (slow-cooked and grilled beef). There’s also family-recipe ice tea, chrysanthemum tea and coconut juice.

Restaurant

Pa Tong Thai

This Thai diner is decked out with the colourful, Sino-Portuguese interiors commonly seen in Phuket. That theme extends to the menu, which showcases lesser-known Phuket delicacies. Try southern specialties like snail coconut curry alongside more familiar dishes like pad thai and tom yum.

Bar

Bar Spontana

This backstreet bar focuses on wild-fermented drinks like saisons, lambics, organic lagers, sakes, mezcals and rums. Get them alongside punchy Thai dishes like house-fermented sausage, fried-banana-blossom salad and charcoal-grilled skewers.

Restaurant

Khao

This restaurant specialises in Thai curry noodle soup khao soi. Find it topped with flame-seared salmon, Wagyu and the restaurant’s popular fried chicken. It’s also a dessert-lovers haven with Thai milk tea bingsu and more.

Restaurant

Aunglo

The casual CBD diner offers a modern take on the Thai barbeque-hotpot hybrid moo kata. Find fatty pork belly, A5 Wagyu from Miyazaki and bingsu served in hollowed-out watermelons for dessert.

Restaurant

R Harn

At R Harn, the duo behind beloved Thai restaurant Soi 38 have turned their attention to the Malay-influenced cuisine of southern Thailand. Come for stir-fries, dry curries and familiar noodle dishes with a southern spin.

Restaurant

Bang

Tucked in the backstreets of Fitzroy, this hotel restaurants serves noods with blue swimmer crab and lobster sauce; Thai tea crème brûlée and a house prosecco infused with makrut lime and lemongrass.

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Issan Thai Street Food, Footscray
For a satisfying and affordable Thai feast, head to this humble spot right near the Footscray Market. As the name suggests, the focus is on dishes from the north-east region of Thailand. Order grilled pork skewers, larb packed with herbs and a side of sticky rice. Some dishes – like the larb – come traditionally spicy, while you can tweak others to your taste. Either way, you can add a Thai iced coffee or coconut juice to balance the heat levels.

Mee Dee Thai Restaurant, Melbourne
Mee Dee makes a strong case for food court dining. The casual diner is set in Chinatown’s Paramount Residential Food Court, a bright old building with strong ’80s vibes and some of the best fast-casual lunch options in the city. Among the crowd, Mee Dee sticks out with its technicolour shopfront that’s covered in photos of the menu items. Find a spot among the suited-up office workers and savour its boat noodles, oyster omelette and generous bowls of tom yum noodle soup.

The Golden Peanut, Reservoir
The curries come packed to the brim and the lagers come cold at this suburban Thai spot. Those who lean towards over-ordering (guilty) can find safe harbour in the bite-size appetisers. Order its small, flavour-packed starters like chive cake, single-serve dumplings and deep-fried calamari with nam jim before getting stuck into mains. Then move on to its high-definition salads, curries and stir-fries.

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