Anaview Restaurant and Bar - Chiang Mai Thailand: A bit pricey, but a lovely spot
Keep in mind that when I say "pricey" this is all relative. For someone visiting from overseas a $5 salad is definitely not expensive, but over here in Thailand, it is.
Located on a rather massive plot of land in a quiet "countryside" (which is a rarity when your restaurant is actually located near the center of a city with a million people in it,) Anaview is a very family-friendly establishment that doubles as a full day excursion for everyone.
source
In addition to the relatively massive restaurant, there is a huge 25 meter infinity pool, a splash pool for the kiddies, a water garden (area with sprinklers and a padded floor again, mostly for the kids), a playground and also a reasonably priced resort.
source
Immediately upon entering the grounds from the carpark the gardens and winding pathways let you know that you are in for one heck of a nice experience. There is an indoor restaurant area that spans 3 floors and each of the floors have terraces and decks that double as an outdoor dining experience (weather permitting of course.) We choose indoors since it was a million degrees outside.
source
The main courses focus on seafood, with a great variety of whole fish dishes. This is perfect if you have a large group like ours was and everyone can sample a bit of everything. It should come as no surprise that these are mostly Thai delicacies although the menu does have a pasta section as well. I did not order these but the couple of spaghetti dishes that were ordered at our table looked pretty average at best. Mainly, i would stick to the Thai dishes... you are in Thailand after-all.
A nice spicy papaya salad featuring an entire crab. A little difficult to tuck into, but really good
My favorite aspect of this place was the fact that despite the fact that this establishment is relatively upmarket, their prices for beer were very low. It is actually cheaper here for a large bottle of Chang or Leo (lagers) than it is at most of my local dive bars. They even have a beer buffet from 7-10 pm for around $10.
source
I don't know about you, but in 3 hours, i can drink considerably more than $10 worth of beer
The real highlight of this place was the pool, which on a hot day like yesterday was just a wonderful thing to have access to. Thankfully there weren't many people there so our drunken shenanigans didn't irritate anyone.
source
All in all, this is now one of my favorite places to eat in all of Chiang Mai and it is routinely ranked in the top "15 places to dine" by multiple online and print publications. The combination of a quiet environment, a relatively massive menu, large portions and reasonable prices on both food and booze makes this a great place to spend not just a meal, but the entire day.
We were there for around 4 hours and I don't think anyone spent more than $25. This is certainly considerably more than eating at a bunch of other options in the city. However, if I was going to do a price / benefit analysis, i think this might be one of the best places to go in the entire city.
Location including GPS coordinates
+66 (0) 089 499 4420
unsourced images are my own
OMG!!! I really love seafood.😍
The place is beautiful. Not that expensive
Posted using Partiko Android
I am noting down this place's name in my to do list, for chiang mai.
keep flourishing.
Wow! This place sounds so cool! I’ll have to ask my friends to take me there one day when I visited them! But they would just say we could swim in their swimming pool!
That is pretty awesome. I don't think I could do the whole fish thing though. I prefer my fish fried in batter. Unless it is salmon of course. I haven't really had much other seafood beyond that so I am not sure how I feel about it. The whole waterpark/restaurant kind of reminds me of some of the indoor water parks we have. They are much more expensive than that though.
The food looks like Indonesian food. :)
Looks yummy. Greetings from Indonesia
I was running through your photos when I came across this review and had to weigh in here. I have always known the visual yumminess of Thailand and its endless trails of food everywhere you look. It is a well-known fact that most don't even need to cook as it is easier and cheaper to pick something up on your way home for dinner.
I am going to Maine in two weeks (I now live in Washington, DC) but, most of my lobster was always eaten in Connecticut or Massachusetts. Still the same lobster, with half the price. There is such a huge taste difference in cold water vs warm water lobster.
If you ever go again, grab a lobster roll. Usually has more meat than a tail and i/4 of the price.
I am so jealous of how wonderfully over the top amazing everything is in Thailand. Do you live there now? Then I am fully jealous. It always looks amazing in every way.
Thanks for the great shots of this wonderful restaurant. I love the pictures of whole fish with the edible decorative styling. Lovely shot.
!tip.20
Yes I live in Thailand, I have been here for 14 years but that may come to an end soon as the visa situation is becoming more and more difficult. I actually hail from Virginia, not too far from DC... small world huh?
You are correct about eating out. I rarely keep any food of substance in my house because I can go around the corner and have a dozen different dishes made for like $1. It doesn't make sense to cook on your own here and very few people actually do it unless it is something exotic.
I'll keep that in mind about the lobster roll. I have many fond memories of Maine but I suppose a lot of that has to do with the fact that i was there for the summer and fall. Don't know if i could handle one of their winters.
Cheers for the compliments.
Very small world!
I have had several friends who have already been booted and had lived there for years, helping build their economy. That is too bad. Most came by Thailand via military or civil service jobs and loved it and stayed.
I hope the visa problem works out, but, know that there is a slim chance, but, I wish you much luck.
I have been skiing in Maine, but other than that, I won't go there for one of those endless winters. Or Massachusetts. Washington, DC and Northern Virginia seem to have moderate winters, although I have seen some real snow here. ;)
Much luck!