The 15 best Thai restaurants in Melbourne right now

The real taste of Thailand transplanted to a CBD carpark, Soi 38 had us at the boat noodles. Lurking in a pungent soup broth with a host of add-ons (braised pork or beef, a pork ball and crackling, bean sprouts and coriander), the springy noodles are big on flavour and even bigger on comfort. Boat noodles aren’t on the menu by night, but the Thai barbecue and hotpot provide ample consolation, albeit one cloaked in the agony of indecision. Will it be the pork skewers known as moo ping, the swatches of golden calamari with a pungent lime-forward dipping sauce, or the bright papaya salad thrumming with the edible funk of salted crab and a heavy slosh of fish sauce?

No matter what time you head to Nana Thai, as it’s affectionately known, you’re probably going to wait in line. But it’s worth it – stepping foot inside this Thai eatery is remarkably similar to the hustle and bustle of a streetside restaurant in Bangkok. Thai barbecue takes centre stage, with golden domes on each table ready to fire up with pork fat that oils the grill and a surrounding moat of broth. Moojoom, or Thai hot pot, is the other star of the show. A lemongrass-laden broth is dished up on a portable stove with an array of meat cuts such as pork intestine, pork neck, chicken, calamari, prawns and vegetables (Chinese cabbage, enoki mushrooms and more) as well as some glass noodles.

Dodee Paidang is a Sydney import from Somporn Phosri. The first Melbourne outpost was hidden in the basement of Hotel Causeway 353, off Little Collins Street, but building on its success, two further branches can be found on Swanston Street and in Box Hill. The main event is the signature tom yum noodles in a sweet, porky, hot-and-sour broth with generous spoonfuls of fried garlic and a garnish of crispy wonton strips. Each tom yum comes with toppings ranging from seafood to soft pork bone and can be customised with a choice between seven types of noodles, such as glass, rice, instant and supersized - for those with a solid appetite.

A menu chock full of regional variations of Thai food signposted with where each dish comes from greets you as soon as you walk into Thai Tide. Expect central Thai province Samut Sakhon’s speciality of red curry squid cake with snake beans, Northern Thailand’s fried and fermented sour pork, and Chiang Rai’s crunchy pork lard tossed with chillies. If the food wasn’t the best part, then the minimal intervention wine list certainly is – a healthy selection of pet nats and orange wine expands choices beyond your traditional whites, reds and sparkling.

Nested in the Paramount Centre off Little Bourke Street, hole-in-the-wall Me Dee is known among hungry CBD office workers. Whether you make a beeline for the oyster omelette (famously peppered with numerous molluscs belying its reasonable price tag), the fragrant bowl of boat noodles with a good bite to them, or the nutty and mild panang curry, it’s hard to go wrong. And if you have space after, Me Dee has a neat selection of traditional Thai desserts, rich in the flavours of pandan and coconut. 

A lunchtime favourite of office workers in and around the CBD, Thai Town is a colourful and vibrant 200-seater space that is more often than not packed despite its large confines. Service is quick and efficient, but the food is no less tasty for it – you’re quickly ushered to your seat, where you can order through a QR code on your table, and your food is promptly delivered to you. Lunchtime specials boasting the likes of curries with rice, stir-fries and noodles are available between noon and 3pm, but the ante is upped for dinner. You can find jumbo plates of king prawn pad thai and pork mince with chilli and basil on rice, an entire barramundi given the deep-fried treatment, and hot pot with fish balls, blood jelly and calamari in a spicy pink broth. 

From the moment you step inside Issan Thai, you know you’re onto something good. The air hits you like a wave: warm and thick with sugar, fish sauce and lively chatter. At the heart of the menu are grilled meats ready to be bundled up with a leaf or tacky ball of rice, so if you like ssam, you’ll love this too. Here, it’s less about top-shelf cuts or exacting sear times, but rather moreish marinades thick with spices and fresh herbs. It’s also a largely porcine affair, from salty-sweet kor moo yang dipped in nam jim to best-in-show moo narm tok - bite-sized slices of pork belly that are tossed in enough lemon juice, coriander, shallots, chilli and ground toasted rice that make them taste almost light. Don’t miss the som tum – it’s a powerful addition to the salad canon; a mountain of shredded green papaya dressed with dried shrimp, crushed peanuts, lime, garlic, chilli and fish sauce.

So indispensable has Jinda Thai become that it’s hard to imagine a time when Jinda didn’t exist. When Jinda Thai opened its doors in 2013, it became a bustling, instant classic trumpeted more loudly still for its faithful menu, earnest hospitality and relative lack of competition – save for a couple of pricier fusion institutions. In the years since, ‘cheap Thai’ has emerged as one of Melbourne’s most-improved culinary sectors, and yet Jinda remains its leading light. As a result, it can be hard to get a seat. Highlights include tender, deep-fried fishcakes, crisp, skin-on barramundi with a refreshing green apple salad, velvety smooth beef massaman curry and the pleasing duck larb. 

Tom Toon joins Jinda Thai as one of a few restaurants that break up North Richmond’s Vietnamese monopoly. No-frills yet cosy, it’s widely acknowledged to have some of the best Thai food in Melbourne. Loyal diners swear by its som tum and soups, both of which come in several variations – pickled mudfish is a feature in many of the som tum iterations, while the Thai sukiyaki with bean thread noodles is something you’re less likely to find at other Melbourne Thai restaurants. Customisation is key with the restaurant’s speciality noodle dish kuitiaw, where you can choose between thin rice noodles, large strips of rice noodles, egg noodles and vermicelli. 

We found out the hard way that you should never ask for something to be ‘spicy’ at a restaurant with spicy in its name – the smell of chillies being tossed in a fiery hot wok will be enough to set your nose and throat on fire, and you can imagine what the eating experience is like. I Spicy, with branches in Hawthorn and Richmond, will be a reliable favourite if you’re careful with your chilli intake. Grilled calamari stuffed with marinated chicken mince is a highlight of the entrees section, while the som tum comes in four varieties – including one with salted egg, and another with anchovies. The prik khing fried rice with pork, bacon and sausage is the meat lovers’ equivalent of Thai cuisine, while the mussel pancake – a popular Thai street food – is well worth a try. For something novel, opt for the chu-chee prawn, which sees crustaceans cooked in red curry paste, makrut lime and lemongrass served in a young coconut. 

The prospect of a Thai breakfast used to draw crowds to the since-closed Middle Fish and Oneyada, but cutesy café Udom House is filling the gap in North Melbourne. Take your pick from a classic Isan-style breakfast where sticky rice is served alongside a selection of proteins (the pan-fried chicken liver, crisp on the outside with soft interiors, is our favourite). Otherwise go for one of the tasty jaffles, the most interesting of which is stuffed with chilli paste and pork floss, or more lunch-friendly dishes that range from khao mhoo grob (crispy pork, Chinese sausage and egg on rice) to ga phrao nuer (stir-fried holy basil, chilli, garlic and beef on rice). Don’t stop there – the drinks menu is wholly Thai-inspired and it’s a marvel. Nom chompoo, a popular Thai childhood drink of flavoured syrup and condensed milk poured over ice and topped with milky foam, is worth trying, as is the es yen, a Thai signature coffee drink shaken in ice. We love the yuzu mule, where the Japanese citrus is combined with ginger beer, soda water and an espresso shot. 

We all know Singapore's and Malaysia's obsession with Hainanese rice (which we totally understand), but did you know it's a favourite comfort food in Thailand, too? Khao man gai (roughly translating to 'fatty rice') is the specialty of this cute little Hardware Lane joint named after the dish, and you'll see long queues lining up every lunchtime to get their fix.You can choose from nine versions of the popular street food, and there's a decent selection of beers and non-alcoholic drinks to wash it all down. 

Not only is every dish at this CBD favourite priced well under $20, the food is damn good (and impressively authentic.) That's why you'll spot a line snaking down Bourke Street on the daily, and if you can nab a spot, the wait will be well worth it. Tuck into classic crowd-pleaser Thai eats like spicy pork bone soup noodles, popping salads and juicy grilled skewers, why not try something a bit different like a corn and salted egg or pork liver salad? With a strong creamy Thai iced tea on the side, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better value lunch this tasty in the city.

Much-loved Carlton eatery Ying Thai 2 is adored both by students and those who frequent Lygon Street in search of something other than Italian. Mention of Ying Thai 2 might prompt questions about the OG Ying Thai (since rebranded to Thaiger Rabbit, an Abbotsford institution since 1996), however with competitors in the area such as Jinda Thai and Tom Toon, Ying Thai 2 works hard to stand out. Diners visit Ying Thai 2 for Thai food that’s actually spicy as well as regional variations that you’re less likely to find at your stock standard Thai restaurants in Melbourne – think morsels of chicken wrapped in fragrant pandan leaves and deep-fried, crisp prawns wrapped in egg roll skin, and clear soup peppered with pig’s blood and pork. 

Reservoir’s Golden Peanut is the epitome of a perfect neighbourhood local. Staff recognise regulars by sight, groups are often packed in to celebrate one occasion or another, and the food is top-notch. The fried calamari enlivened with punchy nam jim and lime might just be the most impeccably fried tendrils of squid that we’ve ever tried, while the fresh pomelo, cashew and burnt chilli slaw is accentuated by smooth tamarind caramel. The menu isn’t as extensive as some other Thai restaurants, but they do the basics well – expect classic pad see ew, som tum and beef massaman.