Ban Tai

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. Not everything lands at the same level, but for coeliacs this is one of the safest addresses on the island.

ℹ Worth checking it's open before you head over

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

The breads here are baked every morning and run out during the day, so come early — 100% wholemeal sourdough, keto loaves and a gluten-free version of almost everything. Inside is air-conditioned, the shelves carry pistachio halva, Egyptian tahini and nut butters, and fresh pita usually turns up on Fridays.

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

Classic burgers and American pizza, sport on the screen, delivery that arrives hot

The classic burger — not a smash, with a touch of mustard — is the reason to come, and the American pizza covers the rest of the table. When there's a big match on, the broadcast here is as professional as it gets, with a proper sports-diner atmosphere. And if you're staying in, the delivery arrives hot and un-squashed.

ℹ Two branches: Ban Tai and Thong Sala

The Japanese egg salad sandwich and the sourdough — two reasons to stop

The Japanese egg salad sandwich is the obvious order, and the toast — done on the pan with plenty of butter — runs it close. Around them sits simple, comforting food: omelettes, a cinnamon roll, mushroom pie and good coffee. Tip: ask for your sandwich bread to get the same pan-and-butter treatment before it's served.

⚠ Apart from the sourdough, the other breads divide opinion

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

The grill fires up after six: choose a fresh fish at the counter, pay by weight, and it comes back with roasted vegetables — add potatoes if you want. The pizza, the fish and chips and the Thai menu all hold up nicely; just book a table ahead, because the evenings here fill.

ℹ Worth booking a table ahead

Steakhouse — Australian fillet, burgers, wings and glazed salmon

The island's standing address for a steak or a burger, near the Big C. The Australian fillet is the priciest thing on the menu and worth it, and thanks to shared ownership with the Mexican place above Pantip, the dessert menu is identical at both. Booking a table is simple — you call, and they answer.

Slow, home-style Thai: sweet-and-sour chicken and a vegetable soup worth the wait

The sweet-and-sour chicken is the dish that made the name here, alongside a fried papaya salad, a spicy tuna fresh roll and a vegetable soup packed with everything good (vegetarians — ask for it without fish sauce). It's all cooked fresh and in single file, dish after dish, so bring patience; the hours are flexible, usually from one in the afternoon onwards.

ℹ Very slow service and shifting opening hours

Khao soi with chicken, crispy schnitzel or fish — in a shaded yard by the sea

Khao soi is the reason to come: the classic, a version with crispy schnitzel dropped into the broth, or one with fish — an option that exists nowhere else on the island. The bowl is best eaten in the shaded yard behind the restaurant, right on the beach, or on the terrace that catches a good breeze.

⚠ Opinions are divided; in the yard, long sleeves are a good idea

Sourdough and sausages at a French deli — and a burger and chips too

A French deli at the Wok Tum junction, and the baker behind it is among the best on the island. Beyond the breads there are thin, spicy merguez sausages, pork sausages, salmon and even oysters. Get to the sourdough early — it runs out towards the end of the day — and whatever you take home can be sliced and frozen for the days after.

ℹ The bread is good on the day itself; the place has no atmosphere

An Italian in Ban Tai — carbonara at Italian level, house pasta and pizzas

One of the island's veterans — once the place to go out to in the evening, and since Covid a quiet room with a kitchen that has not slipped and a lovely host. Worth asking for the Popeye pizza: a white pizza with spinach, crumbled Italian sausage and ricotta, which he will make on request even when it is off the menu. Opens at six, with air conditioning and good wine for a calm evening.

ℹ Quiet atmosphere — the room is not always full

A café whose khao soi runs red, barely any coconut milk, among the island's best

The khao soi is the reason to come: served mild so everyone can sharpen it themselves, and the tofu version is at least as good as the chicken. Some days the pot empties early — better at lunchtime than at the end of the day. Inside it's cool and calm, and the lemon pie closes the meal.

ℹ The chicken version comes as thigh on the bone

Home-style Russian cooking — borscht, pelmeni and mashed potatoes like home

The pelmeni, borscht and mashed potatoes are found by the Alpha. The Russian classics come out home-style — meatballs in tomato sauce, a comforting buckwheat plate, Olivier salad — and with the borscht, the vegetarian beats the chicken version.

ℹ The main branch is in Ban Tai; the Pantip stall is a different thing

Coffee that other restaurants on the island pour, plus breakfast and a bakery

Directly across from Kilo Yogurt, with a wide-ranging breakfast menu, a bakery and prices that are low by island standards. The record deck and the music underneath make the mood, and upstairs hangs an exhibition of Koh Phangan as it once was.

Grilled fish across from the Ban Tai pier, with mash that steals the show

Right across from the pier, with grilled fish, salad and a side on the menu at 200–250 baht; the chips can be swapped for mash — do it. There's also a sausage brought over from Samui, and the pad kaprao holds up the Thai side of things nicely.

Naan baked on the spot and chicken tikka worth the ride to Ban Tai

A small Indian place with a twist: the owner is Nepali, so alongside the Indian menu you also get momo and homemade samosa. The chicken tikka is worth ordering with the raita beside it — that pairing is among the best bites here. Not every visit lands equally well, so it pays to stick to the tried and tested.

⚠ Opinions are divided, and the dal is best skipped

A roastery with some of the island's best coffee, and cheesecake to match

They roast the beans themselves here, and the bag you carry home is worth no less than the cup on the spot. If you sit, the cheesecake and the carrot cake are the right company. Easy to stop on the way to Haad Rin, just without plans for a long sit: the chairs are not built for it.

ℹ The chairs are not built for a long sit

Authentic Thai with southern-kitchen curries and an enormous menu

The aubergine curry is the starting point, and around it a row of southern curries you won't find everywhere — the menu is enormous and choosing takes patience. The flavours are authentic, strong and at times genuinely hot, and anyone who aims for the unusual dishes leaves with a carefully made Thai meal.

⚠ The flavours are strong and hot, and it doesn't land for everyone

Real Turkish doner in house-baked flatbread, and sauces that carry it

You'll spot them at the traffic-light junction, opposite the 7-Eleven. The doner is served in flat Turkish bread baked on site — crunchy outside, soft inside — with the beef tending to come out dry and the chicken the safer bet; and right next door there's a falafel stall doing meat plates as well.

ℹ The beef doner comes out dry — the chicken is the safer bet

Breakfast and brunch in Ban Tai, with a fresh tuna salad that steals it

The fresh tuna salad is the dish to keep an eye on, with a whole brunch menu around it. A handy point for lazy or rainy days — a real breakfast without crossing the island for it.

A beach club with a big pool and a sea view, and food that does the job

You come here for a whole day around the pool more than for a meal — shakes and a bottle of wine in an ice bucket at the water's edge set the tone. From the menu, look for the pomelo salad; its equal is hard to find on the island. The wide shallow end of the pool suits toddlers especially well, and when the rain comes you sit under the awning without giving up the view.

ℹ Little shade around the pool

A beach club with music from midday, decent food and room for kids

The music comes up at 2pm and that's the hour to show up: a beach club inside a hotel, with room enough for a big group and its children. On the menu, sushi, Thai dishes and chicken nuggets that didn't come from Makro — and you can pay by card.

A quiet brunch in Ban Tai — avocado bagel and tuna tataki

The draw is the quiet — a calm corner for a morning coffee, with no bustle. The avocado bagel is the obvious order, and tuna tataki stretches it into a proper meal.