Spicy Thai curries to fresh seafood - Koh Samui restaurants offer them all and at prices to suit all budgets. The beach areas are full of busy restaurants, especially the beach on north Chaweng. Chaweng Main Street and Lamai are also popular places to eat. Bars are open late into the night, and besides offering cheap drinks as well as the more expensive imported ones, they are also popular for dancing, live sports and enjoyable company. Lamai's "naughty nightlife" is quite well known, although to a lesser degree than Bangkok.
On the other hand, if you just want to catch the sea breeze, there are several up-market restaurants where you can to do that too.
This Koh Samui restaurant guide gives a brief rundown eating out in Koh Samui, as well as listing some great Koh Samui restaurants. Information about traditional Thai cuisine can be found on our Thailand restaurant guide. And on your way to that perfect little restaurant, why not do a bit of shopping.
Food and Cuisine in Koh Samui
The Koh Samui lifestyle is a laid back one, with little fuss. The cuisine too is simple and includes ingredients that can be obtained easily and locally. Seafood is a natural favourite, with octopus and sea urchin eggs being popular seafood ingredients. During high season, however, the demand is often too high to be fulfilled by the local supply alone.
Other popular and local ingredients are fresh herbs, a local seaweed, and of course, plenty of coconuts. Tasty coconuts are available everywhere in Samui.
International restaurants are quite easy to find on the larger beaches - they are often owned by Thai-farang couples. Bophut is reputed to have excellent international restaurants.
Local delicacies
Yam khai men is a salad of sea urchin roe, and Tom som waay is a sour soup made of waay, a small octopus found offshore. Both these local specialties go well with Khao man thua khiaow, which is a rice dish cooked in coconut milk with dried beans and salt.
A fresh seaweed dish is another local favourite. Seaweed is known as saraay khor and it is collected locally, washed, par-boiled, cut into thin slices and then mixed with other ingredients. The result is a spicy and sour Thai salad.
Eat with the locals
Eating traditional meals the local way is the best way to embrace the culture of a foreign country. In Thailand, the local way is to eat many dishes at the same time. The diner discovers the different flavours by eating a spoonful of each dish with a spoonful of Khao plow or steaming fragrant rice. This stops the flavours from mixing. A sip of Cha Jin or Chinese tea between mouthfuls also prepares the palate for the next interesting flavour.
In Koh Samui, stepping off the main beach areas allows visitors to sample Thai culinary delights at astonishingly good prices. Small family run restaurants with minimal décor are the promising ones. Also, if a restaurant is frequented by Thai people, it is sure to offer authentic Thai cuisine.
Language may be a problem here since English is not well known but the menu is usually available in English or another foreign language. Unfortunately, restaurants often have two menus, one for the local people and another for tourists, with prices about 75% higher! A main course in such restaurants should cost less than 100 baht, although some seafood dishes do cost more. If prices seem rather high, it is best to move on. With many restaurants offering authentic Thai food, the right price might be available just next door.
Drink
While in Chaweng, there are many places to choose from for a drink. There are the noisy pubs frequented by tourists and then there are the bars that offer "company" with their drinks. Bophut, on the other hand, is popular for its romantic candlelit bars.
Local beer such as Chang, Singha or Tiger costs around 80 baht while the imported varieties cost double.
