The 5 best pizza places in Chiang Mai

Known best for their exceptionally tasty sourdough base and creative topping options, Adirak Pizza is turning heads and hearts citywide as they slowly but surely expand operation across the city. Started as a small personal venture by two folks with no prior restaurant experience (hence the name, Adirak, a play on the word ‘hobby’ in Thai), their house-made, everything from scratch approach soon saw hungry queues forming outside their door, with the couple struggling to meet demand. 

Today, they have three wood-fired pizzerias across the city – one in Nim City, one in Neighborhood and their flagship spot on Soi Wat Umong – all serving signature toppings such as pesto ricotta with sun-dried tomatoes, bacon and brie, prosciutto fig and blue cheese, and their bestseller: red hot chili bacon. 

Adirak Pizza flagship, 11/15 Moo 15, Soi Wat Umong. Open everyday, 11am-10pm.

Adirak Pizza Nim City, Mahidol Road. Open everyday, 11am-10pm.

Adirak Pizza Neighborhood. Open everyday, 3pm-9pm.

From Brighton UK to the backstreets of Campania, Garden Grove opens its first Asia location right here in Chiang Mai, promising no shortcuts and zero compromises – just pure Neapolitan pizza. As the only place serving authorised Neapolitan pizza in the city, this is a pizzeria with principles. Dough follows a strict 24-hour fermentation rule, crafted from the mother (that’s sourdough starter, not nonna), one carefully crafted from the yeast of wild fruits and ancient grains and carefully smuggled in from Naples. Basil is imported from Genoa, rocket sourced from local Chiang Mai farmers and all ingredients dance together on the chewy un-cut pizza crusts that rival Italy’s finest.

Rolling specials every two weeks ensure there’s always something new to try, with proper vegan cheese and gluten-free alternatives served at no extra cost. They even serve fried pizza – a lightly crisped Neapolitan classic that’s like a calzone but deep-fried. For us, nothing beats a margarita when dealing with such high-quality ingredients, but if you want to explore new flavours we’d recommend number six (spicy Calabrian ‘nduja sausage, Amatriciana sauce, wood smoked olive oil and fresh rocket) or number 10 (Guanciale pork cheek, blue cheese soaked in red wine, walnuts and passionfruit honey). And whether it’s your first sourdough fried slice or your fiftieth, Garden Grove’s antipasti sides partner perfectly to make a meal that’s amore at first bite. 

Garden Grove, Nimmanhaemin Soi 5. Open 4pm-10pm, closed Mondays.

For many, there’s no better pizza than The Duke’s. As a long-standing American restaurant, they serve a lot more than pizza pies, but for takeaway purposes the pizza stands in a league of its own. Big, cheesy and a little greasy (although we do love that), their pizzas are more about the ingredients than anything else. Often topping best lists, The Duke’s has a long-standing reputation for pleasing the crowds – one of whom, allegedly, was Sylvester Stallone. While filming Rambo in Chiang Mai, Stallone was said to be a regular at the riverside branch, so if it’s good enough for Rambo, it’s good enough for us.

Generous helpings of marinara sauce, mozzarella and bold meaty toppings make any choice a winner, while their catchment for delivery covers the entire city with strategically located branches in all corners of Chiang Mai. Focused on quality, affordability and generous portions, both their thin crust and New York pizzas are best enjoyed with a tavern-style side or two to really fill you up. We recommend the meat lover, shrimp scampi and (for risk of a good roasting in the comments) the Hawaiian. 

The Duke’s Ping River, 49 Chiang Mai-Lampun Road. Open everyday, 10am-10pm

The Duke’s at the Gallery, 85 Moo 1, Hang Dong. Open everyday, 10am-10pm

The Duke’s Maya, Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre. Open everyday, 10am-9pm

The Duke’s Ruamchok, 700 Year Road, San Phi Sua. Open everyday, 10am-10pm

Launched as a niche Italian‑fusion eatery, Street Pizza quickly made a name with its homemade dough and creative topping combos served from the balconies of a 100-year-old house on Thapae Road. Enter inside and you’ll be greeted by two things – a storyboard of the building’s history (and the history of the pizzeria) and the strong smell of wood-fired pizza ovens working on overdrive. 

Their Thai-inspired pizzas fit thematically with the location with equally fitting names like the ‘Nar-Wad’ (translating to ‘in front of the temple’) topped with spicy thai sausage, peppers, bacon and cheese or the Thai comfort food-inspired Khao Tom Kui Twist menu that goes hard wild with bold toppings like salted egg and char siu pork. You may have guessed from the name that they also serve a great selection of wines to enjoy with your pizzas, with bottles of red best enjoyed overlooking the city from the wooden balcony on the second floor. 

Street Pizza and the Wine House. 7-15 Thapae Road, Chang Klan. Open 12pm-10pm, closed Mondays.

Built on the back of a rough time of love and business, By Hand Pizza began as a home-style cafe setup that has transformed over the years into a fully fledged artisanal pizza parlour specialising in naturally fermented flour blends, given life over several days before they hit the wood-fired Neapolitan oven.

Focusing on serving the best quality ingredients, they avoid all palm oils and top their thin crust pizzas with 100 percent milk mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil. The service is slow and simple – by design – as everything is made fresh to order and carefully crafted. Loyal customers say it's worth the wait, and we’d tend to agree. If you’re stuck on which one to choose, we recommend either the Summer Pizza, topped with italian cured ham, sundried tomatoes and fresh ricotta cheese, or the hard-to-find-elsewhere Merguez, topped with spicy lamb sausage, onions, capers and cheese. 

By Hand Pizza. 25 Moon Muang Road, Old City. Open everyday, 11am-10.30pm