🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
If you come to Chonburi thinking only about the beach and Koh Larn, you're missing half the trip's worth of good food. The eating here breaks down clearly by area. Bang Saen and Ang Sila are all about fresh seaside seafood and local crab dishes. Nong Mon market is the souvenir stop you pull over for when you're driving through. And Sriracha, with its large Japanese community, has plenty of restaurants run by Japanese chefs themselves, which is why people who love Japanese food make the drive on purpose. We've picked real dishes and real spots, sorted by category below.
Chonburi Seafood — Fresh by the Sea in Bang Saen & Ang Sila
Chonburi's signature is seafood, and the busiest zones are Bang Saen beach, Ang Sila, and the Tai Hat Won stretch. Many places let you sit right by the water and catch the breeze. Common orders include steamed blue swimmer crab, grilled prawns, blanched cockles, surf clams stir-fried with chilli paste, egg squid in dark sauce, and sea bass fried with fish sauce. The ingredients are fresh because they come straight from the small fishing boats around Ang Sila.
Pakarang Ruean Nam Bang Saen
A well-known seaside seafood spot on Bang Saen with a section looking out over the water. Standouts are steamed blue crab, grilled prawns, and seafood tom yum. Good for a breezy dinner or for sharing a big spread with a group.
Hoy Jor Pu Mae Wanna (Ang Sila)
The go-to name for crab spring rolls — packed with crab meat, crisp outside and soft inside. It sits right along the Ang Sila coastal road. Beyond the spring rolls there's pu ja (stuffed crab) and other processed seafood. Eat in or take some home. Open morning to evening.
Krua Pa Mai Ang Sila
A seaside seafood restaurant in the Ang Sila zone with fresh ingredients and friendly prices. There's live seafood to choose from and a long menu, so it works well for a family that wants to order a few things to share.
Krua Khao Hom Seafood (Tai Hat Won)
A seaside seafood restaurant on the Tai Hat Won stretch where you can sit and catch the cool breeze. Frequent orders are egg squid in dark sauce and garlic-fried prawns — simple, homestyle, easy to eat.
Seafood Club Bangsaen
A nicely decorated seaside seafood spot on Bang Saen with photo corners and a private beach. Plenty of seafood to choose from, from blue crab and scallops to oysters. Good for the photo-and-chill crowd.
Bluefin Beach Bar Bang Saen
A laid-back spot by the water with both air-conditioned and open-air sections. Recommended dishes are surf clams stir-fried with chilli paste, grilled prawns, grilled squid, and sea bass fried with fish sauce.
Tips for eating seafood
The seaside spots in Bang Saen and Ang Sila get very crowded on weekend evenings, so if you're going as a group it's worth calling ahead to reserve a table. Also check the "market price" seafood before ordering, because crab and prawns can shift up or down on any given day depending on the catch.
Want to taste deeper? Try a Chonburi food tour or cooking class
Half a day with a local who knows the lanes — or cooking a dish yourself — teaches you more than just eating. Book ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide.
Nong Mon Souvenirs — Sticky Rice & Crab Rolls Steal the Show
Nong Mon market sits right on Sukhumvit Road in the Bang Saen area, and it's the souvenir stop anyone driving through Chonburi pulls over for. The most famous item is Nong Mon khao lam — fragrant, rich bamboo-grilled sticky rice in several fillings: black bean, taro, and black sticky rice. Next up are hoy jor (crispy fried crab rolls), khanom jak (palm-leaf dessert), toffee cake, khanom go, dried seafood, shrimp paste, and real fish sauce. The market stays open from morning until late, so it's easy to swing by and grab things to take home.
Nong Mon Khao Lam (Mae Wanna / Mae Jarin / Mae Charoen)
Three big, long-established names in Nong Mon market. They grill fragrant bamboo sticky rice and sell it all day, with fillings to suit your taste. It's an easy souvenir to carry home and doesn't cost much.
Crab Rolls & Processed Seafood
Crispy fried crab rolls are the classic partner to sticky rice — snack on them or take some home. The market also has dried shrimp, dried squid, shrimp paste, and fish sauce to carry back.
Tips for buying souvenirs
Sticky rice doesn't keep for long, so if you're carrying it far, tell the vendor what day you plan to eat it and they'll point you to a freshly grilled batch. You can also taste before buying a whole set, since each shop's balance of sweet and rich differs a little.
Sriracha Japanese Food — The Real Thing, Cooked by Japanese Chefs
Sriracha has a large population of Japanese people working in the industrial estates, so there are plenty of Japanese restaurants opened for an actual Japanese clientele, which keeps the flavours close to the original. The area with the most restaurants is around J-Park, decorated like a Japanese village, with ramen, sushi, grills, and izakaya. Prices run from a couple hundred baht a plate up to premium beef restaurants in the thousands.
Ohana Shokudou
A Japanese restaurant run by Japanese owners that keeps the flavours traditional. There's plenty to choose from, including various rice bowls and fried dishes. It's a spot that fans of authentic Japanese food in Sriracha recommend to each other.
Tonkotsu Ramen Rinko
A rich pork-bone broth ramen shop with chewy noodles and a long-simmered soup. It's the ramen place people in Sriracha mention when they want a serious bowl.
Oniku to Gohan (Sriracha)
A spot focused on premium beef with good Japanese rice, served à la carte. Good for a special meal if you're a beef person. Pricier than the average place, but the beef quality clearly shows.
J-Park Sriracha
A Japanese-village-style community mall that gathers many Japanese restaurants in one place — sushi, grills, izakaya, and cafés. You can walk around and pick whatever you're in the mood for, which makes it handy when you can't decide.
Pattaya Eats — Everything from Noodles to Seaside Spots
The Pattaya side leans into variety because it's a tourist town. There are seaside seafood spots, international food, and local places where Pattaya residents actually eat. If you want to keep the budget light, try the noodle and late-night rice porridge spots. For seafood, there are plenty of beachfront places to sit and take in the view — just pick by the zone you're staying in.
- Racha Khao Tom Pak Bung Loy Fah (Pattaya Soi 3) — a rice-porridge-and-dishes spot for late nights, open from evening until 2am, good for when you're hungry after a night out.
- Porntipa Hoy Jor (Pattaya City) — large crab rolls packed with crab meat, a well-known shop you can take home as a souvenir.
- Pattaya beachfront seafood spots — several seaside zones to choose from, good for a dinner with a view; check the market price before ordering, just like on the Bang Saen side.
Eat by Area — Pick by Where You're Staying
- Bang Saen / Ang Sila — seaside seafood, crab rolls, Nong Mon souvenirs. Good if you're staying in the north of the province or coming up from Bangkok for a day trip.
- Sriracha — authentic Japanese food around J-Park, plus seafood out at Koh Loy. Good for people working near the industrial estates or stopping over on the way to Pattaya.
- Pattaya — a wide mix of beachfront seafood, international food, and late-night spots. Good for anyone staying in the tourist beach zone.
Want a full eat-and-explore plan for Chonburi? Check the whole-province travel guide
See the Chonburi travel guide →