Description
Ma-Na Bistro & Cafe is one of our favorite Sakon Nakhon restaurants. Located on the outskirts of Sakon Nakhon city, between Wat Phrathat Dum and the lakeside monastery Samnak Song Phra Si An, this charming family restaurant has an outside play area for young kids, and picnic tables for outside dining.
For those who want a cooler and quieter experience, there is a chill cafe/bar separate from the main cafe building, which also has air-conditioning. The bar has a selection of nice spirits (such as Ballentines & Jack Daniels), as well as a curious selection of imported wine. They also of course have a variety of coffee and tea drinks, as well as fresh fruit drinks, including delicious lemonade (nam manao).
On the outside wall of the black bar building is a message that says, "The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in not having a goal to reach." The owner's goal undoubtedly has been to create a unique cafe experience in Sakon Nakhon, and they doing very well in pursuit of that goal!
Ma-Na (which translates to "Please come!) has a large menu of delicious Thai dishes, and they do an excellent job making grilled pork and beef (moo yang/neua) with nam jim jao sauce. They also have farang dishes like baked macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, fish sticks, french fries with cheese dip, and more. All at good prices.
The entire restaurant is charmingly decorated in a vintage theme, with lots of old signs, merchandise, motorbikes, and artifacts. It's located on the edge of a rice field, making the restaurant quite lovely to dine at during the rainy season when the rice fields are a lush green. The outside is artfully decorated with lights, which also makes it a pretty place to visit in the evenings for dinner.
Ma-Na Bistro & Cafe has an active Facebook page, so do check in on that to see what promotions might be running. They sometimes offer a Moogata buffet with excellent quality meats and vegetables to grill on your table's hot pan.
If you are planning a visit to Ma-Na, note that Google Maps can get you a little lost at the end. What you want to do is follow the directions from Google Maps until you see the first street sign pointing you in the direction of Ma-Na Bistro & Cafe. Then follow the street signs rather than listen to Google.
As you get close to the cafe, you'll go do down increasingly narrow streets through a residential area before you finally reach the wide open fields where the cafe and bistro has been built.
