Giva Restaurant – Raw Vegan in Chiang Mai

Giva Restaurant is definitely a diamond in the rough! It may be difficult to find, located on Tha Pae Soi 1 between Tha Pae Rd. and Loi Kroh, but it’s worth it. The raw, organic and vegan food prepared to order by the owner, Pomm, is a labor of love.

Open kitchen

The restaurant’s space is absolutely tiny, making it feel more like a casual dining room at home. In total, there are 4 tables and a couple bar stools facing the small, open kitchen.

While slicing and dicing and blending our order, Pomm was happy to chat about the food and the history of Giva. The name, pronounced “jee-vah” comes from the Sanskrit word meaning “life” or “living being” and he opened the the restaurant in 2009.

Slicing and dicing

The menu is quite vast, offering raw, organic and vegan versions of familiar dishes like lasagna, sushi and pad thai.

Barley Sushi

Pad Thai with zucchini, carrot and daikon noodles

Carbonara with zucchini noodles

To top it all off, we were extremely impressed with the desserts. We had the chocolate torte and strawberry cream. Decadence is the word that best describes the desserts at Giva. Something worth pointing out here, though, is that honey is used in some of the desserts. Had we known earlier, we would have asked for no honey in the strawberry cream.

Decadent chocolate torte

Strawberry Cream – strawberries, bananas and almonds, oh my!

We enjoyed a relaxed evening inside the restaurant’s cozy space. It’s important to note that Giva is not the place to go if you’re in a hurry. The food takes time to prepare, but when it arrives, it’s fresh and delicious. We’re already planning to return again and try some of the other mouth-watering meals!

Have you ever been to a raw restaurant? Where were you and what did you eat?