Lerd Rote is one of Chiang Mai’s best-kept seafood secrets. Set on the Ping River in a hidden nook behind shophouses, it’s the kind of place you’d never stumble on without directions. The setting is humble – plastic chairs, open-air dining and a kitchen that wears its rough edges openly but keeps its food magically precise. The crab omelette is an obvious benchmark – thick, golden and generously packed with sweet crab, cooked to that sweet spot of crunchy exterior and soft, fluffy middle. Every plate that leaves the kitchen seems to carry a certain confidence, the mark of a restaurant that knows its strengths and doesn’t need polish to prove it. If you’re after Chiang Mai’s most serious seafood without frills or fanfare, Lerd Rote delivers with absolute authority.
Lerd Rote. Crab omelette B500. Wang Sing Kam Rd, Muang, Chiang Mai. Open daily 12pm-2pm, 5pm-9pm.