The year 2025 marks a significant turning point in the realm of plant-based cuisine in Thailand’s Michelin Guide, as the “Vegan” category is officially introduced. This change reflects Michelin’s strategic shift toward emphasizing plant-based food as a distinct and prominent category. This transition has not come suddenly, but rather gradually, following earlier trends including the growing acceptance of vegetarian and vegan menus in Michelin-starred restaurants and the introduction of the Michelin Green Star, which focuses on sustainability.
“Tammang: The First Vegan Restaurant Recognized in the Michelin Guide Thailand”
In 2025, “Tammang” became the first vegan restaurant in Thailand to be explicitly recognized in the Michelin Guide’s mid-year edition. This is currently the only vegan restaurant included in the guide.
The Highlights of Tummung
Tammang was founded by Kittichoke Veratecha, Gornphiphut Garunyalerth, and Peeraya Garunyalerth, and currently operates two locations: one in Rama 2 and another on Sathorn-Charoenraj. The restaurant offers traditional Isaan (Northeastern Thai) dishes and Thai popular street foods, all prepared without any meat, dairy, or eggs. (Pure Vegan)
- Homemade Plant-Based Meats: Unlike many processed plant-based foods, Tammang creates its own plant-based meats using natural ingredients such as mushrooms, soybeans, and wheat, without resorting to industrial-level processing.
- Organic, Locally sourced, and Pesticide-Free Ingredients: Tammang places great importance on the quality of its ingredients, using local herbs grown in its own organic garden, free from pesticides. The vegetables are also washed with ozone to ensure they are clean and safe from residual chemicals.
- High Customer Ratings: Tammang consistently receives stellar reviews across multiple platforms, such as Google Maps, Grab Food, Lineman, and Robinhood, with ratings consistently between 4.9 to 5 stars.
Why Tammang Was Chosen as the First Vegan Restaurant in the Michelin Guide
While Michelin Guide does not explicitly state the reasons for its selection, we can infer several factors based on the restaurant’s qualities and Michelin’s evaluation criteria:
- Quality and Culinary Technique: Tammang excels in offering traditional Isaan and Thai dishes with a focus on plant-based ingredients. For example, it uses fermented soybeans as a substitute for fish sauce and fermented fish, showcasing excellent culinary skills.
- Unique Identity and Character: The restaurant has a clear vision of serving truly plant-based food, using homemade, unprocessed plant-based meats that stand out in the market. The personal touch of the chefs is clearly reflected in the food.
- Affordability: Tammang is classified as “฿” (on a budget), indicating it offers an impressive dining experience at an accessible price, with dishes starting from just 65 baht. This aligns with Michelin’s philosophy of recognizing high-quality establishments that cater to a wide range of budgets, not just luxury restaurants.
“Tammang’s Recognition in the Michelin Guide”
Tammang is listed as a Michelin Selected restaurant, which acknowledges its quality but does not yet award it a Michelin star or Bib Gourmand. However, the fact that a vegan restaurant has been explicitly mentioned in the guide represents a significant step forward in Michelin’s recognition process and paves the way for possible promotion in the future.
The Ongoing Recognition of Plant-Based Cuisine by Michelin
Before the official introduction of the vegan category, the Michelin Guide had already acknowledged several restaurants with notable plant-based menus:
- Gaa (2019): An Indian restaurant awarded 1 star, known for its full vegetarian tasting menu.
- PRU (2021): A contemporary restaurant that became the first in Thailand to receive a Michelin Green Star, focusing on locally sourced plant-based ingredients.
- Haoma (2023): An Indian-inspired restaurant that earned 1 star and a Michelin Green Star, with a 10-course vegetarian tasting menu.
- Tammang (2025): The first vegan restaurant in Thailand to be explicitly listed in the Michelin Guide.
The Global Movement of the Michelin Guide
The introduction of the “Vegan” category in the 2025 Michelin Guide Thailand edition is part of a broader trend across Asia. In the same year, Légume in Seoul, South Korea, became the first vegan restaurant in Asia to receive a Michelin star. The simultaneous recognition of vegan restaurants in both Thailand and South Korea is no coincidence but a strategic move by the Michelin Guide to align with the rapidly growing plant-based food market in Asia.
The inclusion of both Tammang and Légume in the same Michelin Guide edition marks a turning point for the food industry in this region and is expected to pave the way for many more plant-based restaurants to emerge in future editions. This trend shows that the Michelin Guide is responding to the growth of plant-based dining and sustainability, offering more recognition to these innovative food movements.
