Ban Mai Chay Nam, Khao Yai – Famous Riverside Thai Restaurant With Amazing Vintage Museum and Hotel

Ban Mai Chay Nam is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful and interesting restaurants I’ve ever visited. It is no wonder that many people list this as a must-visit in Khao Yai!

Ban Mai Chay Nam

Ban Mai Chay Nam is a Thai restaurant, museum, and hotel rolled into one. It is located by the river, offering pleasant views for customers while they dine.

Museum

As I walked through Ban Mai Chay Nam’s entrance (guarded by Spiderman), it was immediately clear why this place is so popular with tourists.

Boasting an incredible variety of childhood toys, antiques and pop culture artifacts, the whimsical museum looks like something right out of a fantastical world.

It’s definitely worthwhile to slowly walk around the premise before or after your meal and enjoy the kaleidoscope of colours that fill the entire place.

Captain America was the first famous character I saw. However, he was a little snobbish and refused to look in my direction. I guess Hollywood fame got to him.

There are plenty of photo ops available! This is a photo of the wife with Marilyn Manroe behind doing her iconic pose.

I was happy to see Ultraman, a favourite cartoon of mine when I was young.

My nieces and nephews were super excited to explore this unique museum. As you can tell Colonel Sanders looked really happy to see them too.

Other than static displays, I also saw fun old school arcade games like Table Soccer, Air Hockey, and Whac-A-Mole. You need to pay to play these games though.

We even came across an adorable puppy wandering around the museum!

Restaurant

Ban Mai Chay Nam offers delicious traditional Thai food. The price of most of the dishes range between THB150 to THB200.

Many of the tables offer pleasant views of the river. However, we were allocated an inner table, which was fine too because we were surrounded by colourful pop art posters and hanging horticulture.

We started our meal with the Pork Satay With Bread (THB100). The satay was surprisingly tender, and tasted good with the luscious satay sauce.

The Fried Prawn Cake (THB180) was another delicious appetiser. The fried skin was crunchy and the shrimp fillings were succulent. The dish tasted even better with the sweet sauce.

Next, we had the Souffle Fried With Crabmeat (THB180), which is basically a Thai egg omelette. It was delicious – can’t go wrong with this one.

One of my favourite Thai dishes is the Fried Chicken Wings (THB180). Somehow, these little winglets are always just so tender, juicy, and savoury!

The Tom Yum Kung (THB200) was feisty without being overwhelming. The ingredients were extremely fresh and delicious too.

For our greens, we had the Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables (THB150). It was savoury and I liked that it was not too oily.

Finally, I washed down all the Ban Mai Chay Nam goodness with a glass of ice cold Thai Milk Tea (THB50). It was sweet and had a lovely velvety texture – very satisfying!

Other than the food we ordered, the menu also offers many other tantalising Thai dishes. Above is the entire menu for your reference. Click to enlarge!

Hotel

Not many people know this but Ban Mai Chay Nam is home to a resort too. It is linked to the restaurant by a short suspension bridge over the river.

The rooms are basic but spacious. There is also an outdoor pool with lounge chairs around for chilling out.

Conclusion

I had a wonderful experience at Ban Mai Chay Nam in Khao Yai! The whimsical museum was amazing and I had fun browsing through the interesting artefacts and displays. The food was quite delicious and not too expensive – our meal for 9 adults and 4 children came up to just THB2590. I did not have a chance to check out the adjacent hotel, but I wouldn’t really recommend staying in this location because it’s quite far from many popular attractions. There are plenty of other hotels in Khao Yai which are much more conveniently located.

Ban Mai Chay Nam
Address: 21 Mittaphap Road, Tambon Pak Chong, Amphoe Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima, 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.6972883,101.408026 / Google Map
Phone: +66 4431 4236
Opening Hours: Daily 9am to 9pm