The Cheapest Proper Hotel Buffet in Chiang Mai
Most hotel lunch buffets in Chiang Mai sit somewhere between 250 and 400 baht once you add service and tax. The White Elephant Restaurant at the Chiangmai Grandview Hotel comes in at 234 baht net per adult, no surprises on the bill. For that price you are not getting a scaled-down "budget buffet" with three chafing dishes and a sad salad bar. You are getting a genuine international spread: sushi, cold cuts, a carving station, Thai curries, pasta, and a dessert table that would not look out of place at a hotel charging double.
This is the kind of place regulars know about and tourists usually do not, because it is not sitting on a Nimman rooftop with a view built for Instagram. It is a straightforward hotel restaurant doing a proper job on the food and pricing it sensibly. If you are watching your baht but still want a sit-down buffet lunch with real variety, this is where you go.
What Is On The Buffet
The spread mixes Western and Asian sections rather than keeping them separate. On the Asian side there is a sushi and crab stick display, Northern Thai hors d’oeuvres like sai ua sausage and steamed pork, and a rotating line-up of Thai curries and stir-fries. A tom kha soup station is usually running, along with rice and noodle dishes.
On the Western side you get roasted meats, a carving-style protein station, pasta with a couple of sauce options, roasted vegetables, and a full salad bar with dressings made in-house. Fresh bread, jam, and a toaster station cover the simpler end of things if you want to keep it light.
Desserts Worth Staying For
The dessert table is where this buffet earns its keep. Expect Thai layer cake, green tea jelly, bread and butter pudding, and fresh fruit plates including local seasonal fruit rather than just watermelon and pineapple. It rotates, so a repeat visit usually turns up something new.
The dining room itself is nothing fancy: simple table settings, a view over the street and parking below, functional rather than scenic. Nobody is coming here for the atmosphere. They are coming because the food-to-price ratio is hard to beat anywhere else in the city.
Find it inside the Chiangmai Grandview Hotel & Convention Center on Chiangmai-Lampang Road in Chang Phueak, a short ride from the Old City.
Another solid option if you are working through the best of Chiang Mai.
Where It Is
Photo Gallery
Guru Tip
Go on the earlier side of the 11:30am to 2pm window. The dessert table and sushi display get restocked through service, but they look their best right after setup. This is not a huge sprawling buffet, so it fills and empties in waves rather than staying stacked all day. Arriving by noon gets you the fullest spread before the lunch crowd works through it.
How much is the White Elephant Restaurant lunch buffet?
234 baht net per adult, served daily from 11:30am to 2pm. It is one of the cheapest genuine international hotel lunch buffets in Chiang Mai, with no surprise service charges added to that price.
Where is the White Elephant Restaurant?
Inside the Chiangmai Grandview Hotel & Convention Center at 24 Chiangmai-Lampang Road, Chang Phueak, Chiang Mai. It is a short drive or songthaew ride from the Old City and Chang Phueak Gate.
What food is on the buffet?
A mix of Western and Asian dishes: sushi and crab stick, Northern Thai hors d’oeuvres, Thai curries and stir-fries, a tom kha soup station, roasted meats, pasta, salad bar, bread and jam, and a full dessert table with Thai and Western sweets.
Is the Grandview White Elephant buffet good value?
Yes, it is one of the better value hotel buffets in the city. At 234 baht net you get genuine variety across savoury and dessert sections, not a stripped-down budget version. The trade-off is atmosphere: the dining room is functional rather than scenic.
Do I need a reservation?
Not usually required for lunch. It is a hotel restaurant rather than a destination dining spot, so walk-ins are the norm outside of large group bookings or events at the hotel’s convention center.
