Eat Phangan

Beef massaman you shouldn't skip, plus duck confit, sea bass and French toast

One of Hin Kong's best-loved kitchens, ranging from Thai curry to Western brunch and keeping the standard up across almost everything. The roast chicken arrives with mash on the side, and mornings bring bowls and bread with poached egg and avocado. It works with kids too — just remember that closing is around ten, and that a second branch has opened in Srithanu.

ℹ Closed Wednesdays

Ban Tai's seafood house — fresh catch and the island's most talked-about chips

One of the island's institutions when it comes to fish — the crab and prawns are still swimming right up until the moment they reach the plate. The kitchen is unusually switched on about gluten and turns almost every dish gluten-free, the flour-battered chips aside. The cooking is uneven, but for coeliacs this is one of the safest kitchens on the island.

ℹ Worth checking it's open before you head over

The island's best burekas, a knockout vegan breakfast and legendary halva

An institution for Israeli-style breakfasts, with unusual breads, smoothies and cookies that keep a regular crowd coming back. The vegan breakfast is really an 'omelette' built on lentil or chickpea flour with mushrooms and greens — worth the trip on its own. There's also a set menu that changes, and this is the natural address for a morning that feels indulgent and a little different.

ℹ Whole cakes to order in advance

Sourdough, gluten-free and keto loaves, plus cakes straight from the oven

A vegan deli-bakery in Ban Tai that has become an address for anyone avoiding gluten — almost everything here comes in a gluten-free version. Fresh bread is baked every morning and sells out as the day goes on, and the sourdough also comes 100% wholemeal; the shelves hold pistachio halva, Egyptian tahini and nut butters. Inside is air-conditioned and toddler-friendly, and if you're at the other end of the island you can simply order through the delivery app.

ℹ Bread sells out over the course of the day; gluten-free by advance order

A chef's tasting menu, one seating a night, fixed price, dishes that surprise

A whole evening rather than just a meal — a Tel Aviv chef's-restaurant standard transplanted to the island, exacting about every detail and priced to match. Among the plates that stay with you: a reinterpretation of brik with potato, egg, curry and caviar, where pouring the sauce over it pulls the whole thing together. This is the address for occasions — a birthday, an anniversary, a farewell dinner before you leave the island; just know it's closed on Fridays.

ℹ Booking ahead is essential

Ramen on chicken or pork broth, gyoza, poke and sushi-grade fish

Israeli-owned Japanese in Srithanu and one of the island's front-rank kitchens, with service that is consistently pleasant. The ramen is worth upgrading: ask for the rich pork broth alongside the chicken, and the lamb gyoza tastes like kebab wrapped in dumpling dough. Open from midday, and worth phoning ahead to book a table.

ℹ Closes early

Pick your fish at the counter, grilled every evening facing the sea

A beachfront resort restaurant in Ban Tai that works beautifully for a family dinner. The grill fires up after six: fish is sold by weight and arrives with roasted vegetables, with potatoes as an add-on — and the Thai menu holds its own too. Sunset is the hour to arrive, and if you have toddlers there's a bonus: a pool that is mostly shaded.

ℹ Worth booking a table ahead

King's Rice, booked in advance — the Persian kitchen's flagship dish

A Persian kitchen that runs evenings only, and one of the island's most sought-after tables for a meat feast. Alongside the flagship rice, which is held for you only if you order ahead, go for the chicken served with pumpkin purée — it tends to run out early. Messages are answered only from opening time, so ask for a table well in advance; this suits celebrations and hosting, less so a meal with kids.

ℹ Tables are hard to come by — book ahead

Some of the island's best fried fish, with massaman and pomelo salad right behind

A Thai kitchen in Srithanu where a weak dish is hard to find — from the fish through the curries — and the service completes the picture. Dessert is a banana spring roll that arrives scalding; give it a moment before the first bite. Opening hours are unpredictable and Saturday is usually closed, so call before you set out; there's no delivery, but you can order ahead and collect, or send a taxi driver to fetch it.

ℹ Opening hours vary — call before you go

Coffee roasted on site, and breakfast led by courgette fritters and French toast

Far more than a morning coffee and pastry — the kitchen also turns out layered salads, like the one with quinoa, quail eggs, almonds and a feta-basil whip. You can take ground coffee for the moka pot home, and granola too, and the air conditioning makes it an easy place to settle in with a laptop for a morning's work. There are two branches, and both are good.

ℹ The menu is less suited to kids

A sunset bar where cheese boards and carpaccio join the cocktails

The island's default for a drinking evening that feels, briefly, like somewhere other than Koh Phangan, with an atmosphere nothing here really rivals. From the menu, the vegetarian roll — a thin fried cigar — is one of the safe orders, alongside the aubergine in parmesan. Note that it opens and closes with the season and only wakes up late, so check it's open and time your arrival accordingly.

ℹ The food is secondary to the atmosphere, and the music is loud

Must-order spinach cannelloni, fresh pasta and lasagne by the water

An Italian kitchen on the water in Chaloklum that goes by two names — Cafe Della Moca and Cucina Italiana — and the freshness of the pasta comes through in every dish. The cannelloni arrives under béchamel, tomato and parmesan, and the lasagne travels well as a delivery too. The thin-crust pizza is more a matter of taste. Pleasant for an evening in Chaloklum, and on market days there's life all around it.

ℹ Closed Wednesdays

Slow-cooked pulled beef burritos and fish tacos, upstairs above the market

When you've had enough Thai food, this is the Mexican that beats the rest on the island. The steak — 200g for 600 baht — is enough for anyone who doesn't usually clear a plate, and the nachos arrive with a spread of sauces on the side; save room for the apple crumble with ice cream. Cocktails and tequila make it an evening destination too, and it stays open late.

ℹ On the second floor above the market — the entrance is easy to miss

Vegan café in Thong Sala — the Ananda sandwich, salads and good coffee

A guesthouse with a café opposite Limpipong, where the menu looks nothing like anything else on the island and the cookies are baked fresh every morning. Every dish arrives with a fresh Israeli salad, and the sauerkraut is made in house — purple or plain, and without sugar. A natural breakfast stop in Thong Sala, gluten-free bread included if you need it.

The spinach-cheese quiche, the salads, the pastries — a breakfast institution

An institution with two branches, in Thong Sala and Hin Kong — the kind of place you start the morning at and come back to late in the day for dessert, if there's any left. The one to know is the almond chia pudding, scooped up with a kouign-amann and a strawberry on top — an unlikely pairing that ranks among the best desserts on the island. Not every dish lands at the same level, but with kids it runs smoothly: pasta and avocado toast keep them happy.

⚠ Small portions; the hummus divides opinion