Best Restaurants in Ipoh: 15 Picks for 2026
The best restaurants in Ipoh are sit-down Cantonese kitchens in Kampung Jawa and Old Town, plus a smaller scene of halal Chinese-Muslim, Indian, Malay and Western places. The city is better known for hawker food, but these restaurants suit groups, families, air-conditioning and evening meals.
This guide covers 15 restaurants checked for October 2026. Each entry gives the area, hours where we could confirm them, price level and a halal flag. Prices are in Malaysian Ringgit (RM). Several sources gave hours but not exact prices, so we say "check menu" rather than guess. Hawker stalls and kopitiam are in the Ipoh hawker food guide.
Ipoh has no MICHELIN Guide restaurants: the guide's Malaysia selection, checked on its website in October 2026, lists 146 restaurants, all in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, with none in Ipoh or elsewhere in Perak. Many restaurants here close for several hours in the afternoon and for one day a week, so check the hours before you go.
Pergi ke tempat (15)
Cantonese and Chinese Restaurants in Ipoh
Pusing Public Restaurant
Pusing Public is a Cantonese tai chow restaurant in Kampung Jawa, and local roundups of Ipoh seafood regularly put it first. The dishes people order are steamed fish, butter prawns, fried cod and braised abalone, plus roast meats.
It is popular for family celebrations, so book ahead for weekend dinners. A 2026 Newswav list gave lunch and dinner sittings, but we could not confirm the current hours in October 2026, so call before travelling, especially around festivals.
Sin Hup Kee
Sin Hup Kee is a neighbourhood Chinese restaurant in Kampung Jawa known for steamed patin (silver catfish), assam seafood and braised dishes. It is a cheaper alternative to the larger seafood restaurants nearby.
It closes on Tuesdays, according to a 2026 Newswav seafood list. Its Grab Food listing, live in October 2026, places it on Jalan Leong Sin Nam.
East Ocean Seafood Restaurant
East Ocean is a seafood restaurant in Menglembu, south-west of the city, known for white pepper crab and a prawn hor fun in broth. It also sells set dinners for groups.
Its Grab Food listing, live in October 2026, places it on Hala Perusahaan Menglembu 17. We could not confirm current opening hours, so call ahead; reservations are strongly advised at dinner. It is about 10 to 15 minutes by car from the Old Town.
Hoong Tho Restaurant
Hoong Tho is a family-run Cantonese restaurant on Jalan Bandar Timah that has operated since 1957. It serves wonton noodles, fried rice and wat tan hor (egg-gravy noodles), which makes it an easy lunch stop between Old Town sights.
Earlier listings gave a Tuesday closure and an afternoon break, but we could not confirm current hours in October 2026, so check before visiting and avoid planning a mid-afternoon stop.
Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken
Aun Kheng Lim sells Ipoh salt-baked chicken: a whole chicken baked in coarse salt with Chinese herbs, served as moist, lightly salty meat with the juices. It is eaten with rice or bean sprouts, and many diners also take a chicken away.
A January 2025 TheSmartLocal guide gives the address, the hours above and the phone number 05-254 2998; an October 2025 Newswav roundup gave 9 am to 6 pm daily, so allow for an earlier close on Mondays. We could not confirm the dine-in seating or halal status, so check before bringing guests who need halal food.
Foh San Dim Sum
Foh San is a large, family-friendly dim sum restaurant on Jalan Leong Sin Nam, running since 1971 and listing more than 150 handmade dim sum items. Its size makes it easier for groups than the smaller stalls.
An April 2025 Newswav list shows it open, but it gives no opening hours or prices, and we could not confirm them in October 2026. Go for breakfast or early lunch and expect queues on weekends. Smaller dim sum places are in our Ipoh hawker food guide.
Halal and Chinese-Muslim Restaurants in Ipoh
Mohd Chan Restaurant
Mohd Chan is a halal-certified Chinese-Muslim restaurant in a converted cinema building, part of a chain of about 18 branches founded in 2007. The Ipoh branch serves Cantonese-style dishes with Southeast Asian touches: sweet and sour fried fish, sizzling seafood, beef pepper and Thai-style chicken chop.
A blogger reviewed it on 21 October 2025 and gave the hours above and the phone number +6012 790 0914. It is a good option for halal diners who want a sit-down Chinese meal.
Assam House Greentown
Assam House is a halal Chinese restaurant in the Greentown Business Centre. Its signature is assam (tamarind) fish fillet curry, with butter prawns and kailan in garlic as side dishes.
It is listed in a 2026 Traveloka guide to Chinese-Muslim restaurants in Ipoh, which gives the hours above. Greentown is a short drive from Old Town and has plenty of parking.
Indian and Malay Restaurants in Ipoh
Sri Ananda Bahwan
Sri Ananda Bahwan is a South Indian restaurant in Old Town, a short walk from Ipoh Town Hall. The banana leaf rice set, chicken kothu parota and Madras coffee are the usual orders. Breakfast brings dosa and other crisp fermented-rice crepes.
It still appears in a 2026 Traveloka guide, but we could not confirm current opening hours in October 2026, so check before visiting. Older listings give the phone number +605 253 9798. We could not confirm halal status, so ask if it matters to you.
Pakeeza Restaurant
Pakeeza is a North Indian restaurant that has traded for more than 40 years and is listed as halal. It is known for naan, lamb biryani and butter chicken, and the portions are cheap.
The 2026 Traveloka guide that gives these hours calls it a first stop on an Ipoh Indian food trail. We did not find current menu prices.
Restoran Saffani
Restoran Saffani is an air-conditioned Malay restaurant run by a former hotel chef, in Taman Muda, Simpang Pulai, on the southern edge of Ipoh about 20 minutes by car from the Old Town. Reviewers praise the grilled catfish (ikan keli panggang), plus ayam bakar, fish curry and sayur rojak.
It closes at 3:30 pm and on Fridays, and popular dishes sell out early, so arrive before noon. Smoking is allowed indoors. Phone +60 17-560 5250. We could not find a halal certificate listing, so it is flagged Muslim-friendly.
Western and Fine Dining Restaurants in Ipoh
Plan B
Plan B serves all-day Western comfort food in a contemporary shophouse setting on Jalan Panglima, a few minutes from Concubine Lane. It suits a sit-down lunch away from the hawker crowds.
A 2026 Newswav list of Western restaurants in Ipoh gives the hours above. Menu prices were not listed, and the list says halal status is only "likely", so check if that matters.
Red Brick Kitchen
Red Brick Kitchen is a glasshouse restaurant in Taman Panorama, Rapat Indah, with views of the limestone hills. The menu is Western comfort food. It is close to the Gunung Rapat cave temples, so it works as a lunch stop on a temple day.
Hours come from a 2026 Newswav list. It is outside the city centre, so use a car or e-hailing.
Miners Arms Ipoh
Miners Arms is a British-style gastropub in Old Town. The menu covers fish and chips, roasts, burgers and pies, and it is open from 5 pm.
It shares the STG tea house building on Jalan Tun Sambanthan, which Ipoh Echo described as STG Miners Arms in March 2025. The hours come from an October 2025 Newswav list, and menu prices were not available.
Jeff's Cellar
Jeff's Cellar is the fine dining restaurant of The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, set in a cavern cut into a limestone hill said to be 260 million years old. The dining room is candlelit, with fine wines and a small cave bar next door. The resort lists Tatler's Malaysia's Best Restaurant award for 2025 and 2026 among its accolades.
The resort's own page, read in October 2026, gives daily hours of 6 pm to 11 pm after a three-month renovation and lists Tasting, De Saison, Terroir and Vegan prix fixe menus from RM645 to RM990 nett per adult. Book at least 48 hours ahead on +605 210 7777; the dress code is smart casual and diners must be 12 or older. It is about 20 to 30 minutes by car from the city centre.
How to Choose a Restaurant in Ipoh
Ipoh's Chinese restaurants are clustered in Kampung Jawa, Old Town and Greentown, all within about 10 minutes of each other by car, so you can compare two or three on one trip. East Ocean in Menglembu is 10 to 15 minutes further out.
Most Chinese restaurants open for lunch and again for dinner, with a break in between of about three hours. Plan lunch before 2 pm and dinner after 6 pm. Check the weekly closing day, because many Ipoh restaurants rest on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.
For halal food, look for the JAKIM halal certificate at the door. Several Chinese-Muslim restaurants here are certified, while the seafood, salt-baked chicken and pub entries are not. Fine dining and the pubs listed here serve alcohol.
Ipoh Restaurants: FAQ
What are the best restaurants in Ipoh?
For Cantonese seafood, Pusing Public Restaurant in Kampung Jawa is the name most Ipoh lists put first, with Sin Hup Kee as a cheaper option. For salt-baked chicken try Aun Kheng Lim, for dim sum Foh San, and for a special dinner Jeff's Cellar inside a limestone cave at The Banjaran.
Where can I find halal restaurants in Ipoh?
Mohd Chan and Assam House Greentown serve halal Chinese-Muslim food, Pakeeza serves North Indian dishes, and Restoran Saffani serves Malay food. Always look for the JAKIM halal certificate on display, because status can change.
How much does a restaurant meal cost in Ipoh?
Most sit-down Chinese, Indian and Malay restaurants in this guide are budget to mid-range, and seafood dinners cost more than lunch. We could not confirm menu prices for most places, so check the menu. Prix fixe dinners at Jeff's Cellar cost RM645 to RM990 nett per adult.
Do I need to book restaurants in Ipoh?
Book Pusing Public and East Ocean for weekend dinners and large groups, and reserve Jeff's Cellar well ahead. Most other restaurants in this guide take walk-ins, though lunch around 12:30 pm is busy.
What time do Ipoh restaurants close?
Many Chinese restaurants shut between 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm and close by 9:30 or 10 pm. Several also close one day a week, such as Tuesday for Sin Hup Kee and Monday for Assam House.