Go for a walk in a rainforest cafe in Chiang Mai and swim with the fish
Only joking! Do not swim with the fish, you’d probably get in a ridiculous amount of trouble, and plus, who wants to swim with this many fish anyways?! The water at Carp Cafe is thick with carp. There appear to be so many fish that you could literally walk across them and get to the other side completely dry. The fish are just a distraction! The real attraction is tucked away in the back down a narrow pathway.
There are plenty of other family friendly nature cafes in Chiang Mai to check out too!
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Eat with the fish and explore a rainforest cafe near downtown Chiang Mai
Almost hidden away at the back left of Carp Cafe is a seemingly magical world that must have been transported from a fairy tale. A very carefully procured and expensive looking garden awaits you. Take a walk along the narrow wooden walkway that leads you around and through an incredible small scale rain forest. It’s only for the eyes to see as there are signs everywhere reminding you not to touch – anything. I’m not sure what the consequences are, but know how difficult it is to maintain such a masterpiece, it must be a big one!
After talking a stroll and a million selfies, you’ve got to visit the washroom, even if you don’t have to go! There’s a surprise waiting for you in there. Ok, so get your head out of the gutter, it’s nothing gross I promise. The walls of the toilet are actually fish tanks! Real fish swim past you as you use the washroom. It’s pretty surreal and was a crazy highlight of our visit here.
Obviously the carps themselves are pretty and are lovely to look at while you enjoy your drink or meal, or simply stare down at them from the cute little red bridge.
Seating
There are two main seating areas. If you have really young children who are crawling, just learning how to walk, or walk anywhere without looking, then this is probably not the safest place for them. But if you did want to bring them, then choosing the indoors air conditioned area might be best. Plus in here, there’s a wicked collection of Iron Man figurines and Avengers paraphernalia and trains.
The outdoor seats are pretty cool. My friend and I had never seen anything like them – your table is literally a waterfall! Each table top is made of clear glass and water is pumped through one side and it falls like a waterfall out the other right in the fish pond. So cool! The downside is that there is virtually no barrier to you yourself or young children falling in. Also, I recall there being an inexplicable gap between the floor boards and tables where very small children could fall through into the water below.
Needless to say, this really isn’t the best place to bring little ones unless you have complete command of the situation! Our older kids loved everything about it though!
When is the best time to go to Carp Cafe?
This is a very popular cafe, not only for the experience, but for the sushi and rainforest garden as well. We were lucky to get a table and this was at mid afternoon. You wouldn’t expect the place to be so busy during an ‘off’ hour, but it was! There was some seating inside, but of course everyone wanted to be seated next to the water.
I would suggest you try to reserve a table, but I’m not sure that they even accept that. It seems to be a show up and hope for the best scenario, but it would make sense to go during ‘off’ hours as much as possible. I suppose if you were just going for a walk about, you could order a drink and not ask for a table. That way, especially if you have younger children, you’re not taking up a table when you’ll probably be walking around making sure the kids don’t fall into the pond or touch anything in the rainforest.
What kind of food do they have at Carp Cafe?
Food
As you might have suspected based on their fishy name, they serve fish. Lots and lots of different kinds of fish. Mainly served in sushi style, you can try everything from soft shell crab, ikura (fish eggs), salmon, tuna, shrimp tempura, saba, unagi and so much more! It seemed really pricey to me, but I haven’t ordered sushi in a very long time, so I’m not sure. Is 1190 for a sashimi plate pricey? How about 99 baht for 6 salmon maki rolls?
Drink
The drinks also struck me as expensive as this isn’t a place you’re going to spend very long at. It’s 79 baht baht for a smoothie, 70 baht for iced coffee, and 100 baht plus for large local beers. What was neat is that they have sake available albeit for 390-490 baht a bottle. We decided to only order drinks as there is such limited seating we felt pressure to not be there for very long.
How to get to Carp Cafe?
Grab is the easiest solution if you don’t have your own transportation as it’s located on the 121 or Canal Road past Mae Hia. Of course you could also songtaew it or take a taxi as well.
To get here by yourself, drive south along Canal Road (the 121) past the turn off to the Night Safari. Keep an eye out on the right hand side of the canal for the signs to Mr Chan’s, as their signs can be easier to spot than Carp Cafe’s, which is just next to Mr Chan’s.
You’re going to take the next u-turn and come back on the cafe. Parking is available both on the street, and beside the restaurant in a small parking lot.
Hours: Open daily from 9 am – 8 pm
Good for ages: 4 and up
Phone: 061 268 7447
Kids Menu: No
High chairs: No
Playground: No
Wheelchair or stroller accessible: No
Pet friendly: No
Child friendly staff: No
Birthday parties: No
Prices: $$
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uricarpcafe/
Location: Google Maps
Things to consider
Do you kids like other types of animals? Then you’ll want to stop at Ma Chill Dee Cafe, which is one of a growing trend of bunny cafes in Chiang Mai. You may also enjoy dipping your feet and skipping stones and hunting for fish in a river at Valley Coffee.
