Restaurant “Classic” Mae Nam.

Along the main road in the village of Mae Nam, opposite the Peace resort is restaurant Classic situated.

The Thai owned restaurant has a large garden on the front side with several “sala’s” , small open bamboo huts with a roof of palm leaves,  as well as an covered part for when the weather is really bad.

Classic serves a big variety of food from excellent Thai (also esan ) dishes to fresh seafood, European dishes like cordon bleu, schnitzel, steak, pasta and pizza to different kinds of sizzling plates and burgers.

Inside the restaurant you can find a nice collection of wooden handycrafts for sale.

Although the restaurant is next to the busy main road, it’s very relaxing to sit in the garden and enjoy your food or drink.

Prices are very reasonable and the staff is very attentive and friendly.

The restaurant is easy to reach with sawngtaew(shared taxi) , car or motorbike.

SPIRIT HOUSE

In the middle of rural Chaweng, hidden behind walls and trees, is the Spirit House.
The Spirit House is probably the most authentic Thai restaurant on the island, not only for the food and the interior, but with its beautiful garden it looks like an ancient village from the beginning of the past century.

The restaurant itself with its different dining rooms and highly polished wooden floors as well as the view into the garden and ofcourse the traditional Thai dishes served on and in hand painted plates and bowls make every visit an unforgettable one.
The menu is diverse and includes western dishes as well to ensure a visit will be a  thrill for everyone.
Spirit House has a well assorted wine collection for very reasonable prices per bottle and ofcourse they can make you any cocktail you like.




In the pictures you'll find the following dishes:
Salad from barbequed, caramelised pork strips with chilli, lime, garlic, fresh koriander, fresh mint leaves, cashewnuts and spring onions; 

"Miang Caem", which is a very traditional starter of beetlenut leaves stuffed with lemongrass, ginger, dried shrimps, chopped peanuts, chilli, garlic, fried coconut meat and lime and  is a true explosion of different tastes.

In the bowl there is "Chuchi Kung", which is a yellow curry with lots of coconut and fried Tiger Prawns.
The Spirit House is located next to the Chaweng Boxing Stadium on the corner of the "soi" leading to the beach.

HAPPY ELEPHANT

Currently celebrating it’s 18^th anniversary, Happy Elephant is a good place to visit when going to Fisherman’s Village.

Happy Elephant is a Thai owned and managed, beautifully decorated restaurant where the staff speaks English and is very friendly and helpful.

Try to get a table on the terrace right above the beach with a maginificent view on Koh Pangang, but also inside it’s very nice and relaxing.

Next to the entrance is a large BBQ and the display for their signature seafood, all on crushed ice.

Besides excellent Thai food they also serve very good western food.

Beware, though, the prices are above average for a Thai restaurant and it sometimes happens that the portions are a bit on the small side.

The last time we were there we’ve had mussels with white wine sauce as a starter and a ceasar salad and our main dishes were Lambshank with red wine sauce and Duckbreast with pepper sauce and it was perfect.

For vegetables they had spinach and grilled tomato and I’d chosen mashed potatoes with the lamb.

Together with a few carafs of house wine we had a very good dinner.

Getting there means entering Fisherman’s village at the main entrance, then take a left at the pier and walk about 150 meters till you see the restaurant on your right hand side.

ART CAFE

In many places worldwide, healthfood is a well known phenomenon. Biologically grown vegetables and fruits, homemade bread, fresh juices, smoothies, salads and herbal teas are all there to enjoy in a relaxing atmosphere.

Also on Koh Samui the number of health cafes is growing.

One of the first that comes to mind is the Art Cafe. The proprietor is Khun June and oh, is she doing something special!

Besides running a great menu for food and drinks, Khun June is also able to give you health advise according food and keeping your inner person clean and healthy.

She really stands behind her product and does all she does in a very warm and friendly way.

Visit the Art cafe for a healthy juice, like carrot with fresh ginger or Roselle Ice-tea, go for a vegetarian salad like the Tofu salad or a fresh salad with fried salmon or tiger shrimps or choose a maincourse like Pesto Vegetables with cashewnuts, or take one of their famous muffins with a fresh, and good (!!) coffee.

Art cafe wouldn't be called Art cafe if their wasn't any art inside which is all for sale.

Khun June has a nice collection of paintings and drawings made by local artists.

Art Cafe can be found on the mainroad from Bophut to Chaweng, about 500 meters past the Bophut traffic light across the road from the Trek bicycle shop.

MALEE, Thai restaurant

This local Thai restaurant you can find just outside Fisherman's village in Bophut, straight across the 7-eleven.

The owner does all the cooking  by herself in her tiny kitchen and everything she makes is very tasteful and the prices are low.

The place has about 10 tables, so beware of some waiting for your order when it's busy but it will be worth it.

On the menu are all the well known Thai dishes as well as some western ones.

Malee is open for lunch and dinner and dishes are around thb. 80,-

PREGO

One of my absolute “farang” favorites is located on the North-Side of the Chaweng beach road. 

Prego is one of the restaurants belonging to Amari Palm Reef Resort and can be found right across the road from the reception area.

In a wonderful open setting you can enjoy Italian food (and wine) the way Italian food is meant to be; the menu is a true palet of fresh ingredients, both imported and local and no matter if you are feeling for antipasti, maincourse, dessert or a complete menu, the Chef makes sure you’ll leave completely satisfied.

There is also a specialty menu which changes every few days with dishes that are real treats. The dishes we’ve eaten at Prego are way too many to name them all, but I’d like to pick out the tartare of tuna, the smoked salmon with artichokes, risotto with duck liver, black (squid ink) raviolis stuffed with green asparagus and gamba with a saffron sauce and the spaghetti seafood(!!)

For the Pizza lovers there’s a pizza station with a stone oven, turning dough and toppings into delicious pizza’s. Wines at Prego’s are plenty in choice and reasonably priced.

LAE LAY restaurant

Lae Lay restaurant (sea view in Thai) we first passed because we needed a little more excercise, so in the early morning, when the outside temperature doesn’t reach the meltingpoint yet , we try to walk a few K’s and that’s how we discovered this restaurant just around the corner. The reason I start with Lae Lay is because it has become one of our favorite places.

It’s near our house, the food is very good, the menu is diverse, the prices local and the view over the sea to Koh Pangnang is stunning.

For children it’s a great place because they can play on the beach and even go swimming while you enjoy your dinner.

Lae Lay is an Esan restaurant which means that they are cooking the way they do in the Esan province (north-northeast of Bangkok).

Besides the Esan specialties like “ som tam “ and “bamboo soup” they, ofcourse, also serve the common  Thai dishes like Fried rice, Masaman curry, Green Curry Chicken, Pad Thai and Tom Ka Kai, all just as good.

My absolute favorites at Lae Lay are their Pla Toht (fried fish) with both Esan and South Thai mixed herbs.

They take the fillets off a snapper, fry the fish and the fillets together and serve the dish with the two herb mixtures on a plate.

Another “must try” is their Hor Mok.

Hor Mok is a seafood custard usually served in a basket of banana leave, but not so at Lae Lay.

Here they serve the dish in a young coconut which makes it look even more gorgeous.

Ofcourse it’s impossible to write about every single dish on the menu, but for both the food as well as the location Lae Lay sure is a place to visit.

They are located on the road from Fisherman’s village in Bophut to Big Buddha just before entering the village of Bang Rak on the left hand side.

Look out for the big sign with the two chilli peppers in red neon lights and the open bamboo huts (sala’s) next to the road.