☕ Breakfast & coffee

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

Mornings are a different story entirely: French toast that makes other versions hard to go back to, bowls, açaí, and bread with poached egg and avocado. Stay through to midday and the beef massaman is waiting.

ℹ Closed Wednesdays

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

Mornings here start with the borekas — among the best on the island — or with the vegan 'omelette' made from lentil or chickpea flour, with mushrooms and greens. The unusual breads, the smoothies and the granola fill out the table, and it's open on Sundays too.

ℹ Whole cakes to order in advance

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

A small, very good spinach-cheese quiche, salads like the Japanese quinoa and the Tropicanela, and a goat cheese and pepper sandwich with omelette — that's the core of breakfast here. Fresh pastries come out alongside the coffee.

⚠ Small portions; the hummus divides opinion

A sabich-style aubergine sandwich, lamb katayef, and breakfast with a view

Mornings are the origin story: the place started as a breakfast restaurant, and breakfast is still a reason to climb to the high side of the island — the sabich-inspired aubergine sandwich, a tuna sandwich and apple tart; and if you let the morning run long, brunch with a view.

⚠ The burger divides opinion

Israeli breakfast on the sand — shakshuka, fresh challah, fish cigars

Breakfast facing the sea is the strong card here: shakshuka that arrives with tahini, chopped salad and soft challah, challah with avocado and a poached egg, and a toasted bagel. You sit right on the beach, and anyone who wants to stretch the morning out carries on to the pool.

ℹ Pool entry costs extra

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

They roast the coffee themselves, and around it sits a breakfast menu that earns a long sit: French toast with caramelized bananas, a breakfast sandwich with avocado and salmon, and zucchini fritters that pair nicely with the greens. On the sweet side, syrniki — cheese pancakes to close the meal.

ℹ The menu is less suited to kids

Some of the island's best açaí bowls, vegan sandwiches, cold tomato gazpacho

The açaí bowl is the morning magnet here, with smoothies, other bowls and bread with avocado and beetroot spread alongside it. Anyone passing through only for coffee and something sweet will find a good croissant too.

⚠ The soups and toasties are less of a sure thing

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

Mornings here mean pancakes, an omelette in a croissant or the Japanese egg salad sandwich, with very good coffee alongside. The rest follows suit — simple, comforting breakfast food, and butter-heavy toast done on the pan.

⚠ Apart from the sourdough, the other breads divide opinion

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

Coffee is treated with real respect here, alongside good matcha, chocolate cakes and cookies baked fresh each morning. Breakfast leans on sourdough sandwiches, toasties and salads — most of them vegan.

Bulgur salad, lentil soup, mash and meatballs — brunch in Thong Sala

Breakfast is the reason to come: an excellent omelet, a fresh yeasted bun filled with cinnamon cream, and an espresso alongside. Later in the day it turns into a salad-and-soup place — the bulgur and the lentil at the top of the list.

⚠ the salad and the coffee are hit and miss

Breakfast facing the sea, shakshuka, and a mushroom cream pasta that surprises

A good shakshuka, good coffee and an open view of the water — breakfast facing the sea is the genre this place plays strongest. From the plates that come later: a salad with chickpeas, fresh spring rolls and the pastas, so you can start in the morning and drift into lunch.

ℹ Kitchen closed on Mondays

The Reuben sandwich and the cheesecakes — this café's classics

The breakfast to order is the egg puff — a big, indulgent omelette with cheese, spinach, tomato and onion — and later in the day the Reuben takes over. Everything comes fresh and generous, and beside the coffee sits a display case that is hard to walk past without a cake or a cookie.

⚠ Opinions are divided

A long Srithanu morning: excellent coffee, open sandwiches, breakfast plates

The coffee is the star, and the sandwiches around it make a whole morning: goat cheese and beetroot, egg salad, or the open sandwich on upgraded bread. There are Israeli-style breakfasts and a generous gluten-free menu with bread from a local bakery, and the door opens at 7:30.

Breakfast by the water — eggs Benedict, oat pancakes and crêpes

Eggs Benedict is the signature morning order here, alongside oat pancakes and a French crêpe, and the tables sit right in front of the water. The kitchen has been going since eight in the morning — Wednesday is its one day off.

ℹ Closed Wednesdays

An organic farm looking out over lake and mountains, with the island's best shakshuka

Mornings start early here — coffee from 7:30, kitchen from 8:00 to 18:00 — and the shakshuka is the dish the visit gets built around, with house-baked bread and a gluten-free wrap option. Alongside it, mushroom salad from the farm, chicken salad and good coffee, and vegan coconut-milk malabi to finish.

The green salad — avocado, fennel and nut dressing, among the island's best

In the morning the omelettes are the safe bet — the French and the classic both come out precise — and beside them the green salad that made the place's name. Anyone lingering into lunch will find full plates like the fish with dill, and cheesecake to finish.

ℹ The green salad changes name and make-up with whatever is in the kitchen

A café on the water in Chaloklum — breakfast, Mediterranean sandwiches, deli

Doors open at eight, and morning is the right time: black coffee with cardamom, pumpkin toast loaded with toppings, and later in the day ceviche, a Mediterranean sandwich and Basque cheesecake. There is no air conditioning, and the midday heat makes that clear.

⚠ Fans only and it gets hot; opinion is divided

Poke bowls and pumpkin salad with feta and grapes, plus serious coffee and matcha

The coffee plays in the island's top league, the matcha isn't far behind, and the kombucha is good too. A light breakfast builds around the cup — poke bowl, salad or a chicken sandwich.

Black coffee with cardamom and home-style plates — the carrot salad steals the show

The black coffee is the headline — strong, spiced with cardamom and clove — and you can buy a bag of it to take home. The rest of the list builds around it: masala chai, Ceylon tea with thyme, and small breakfast plates served only until midday.

Some of the island's best khao soi, from a high terrace with a view

Mornings are a bagel with avocado and salmon, an acai bowl and an open view from the high terrace; linger long enough and you'll stay for the khao soi at lunch anyway.

ℹ Less suited to kids

Coffee at the island's top end — espresso, cappuccino and beans to take home

Espresso and cappuccino are the core — a level that competes for the island's best, with a sour-bitter profile that has real character. The beans can be bought to take home, there's a lovely matcha for anyone who prefers it, and pastries and coconut chips wait beside the cup.

Build-your-own breakfast, Turkish eggs and bagels — plus AC and a work corner

Salmon is the strong card here — on the breakfast plate and in the salmon spaghetti at lunch — and next to it, the build-your-own approach: you put together your own breakfast plate, with the bagel as the natural base.

Bagels baked on site, excellent coffee and a chicken sandwich you remember

Start with the bagel baked on site, with coffee that's half the reason to come. Avocado toast for anyone who swears by the classics, the chicken sandwich for anyone who needs a proper meal — and the hours are short, only until five.

ℹ Closes in the afternoon

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

As a café, the strength is the calm: air conditioning, quiet, and seating comfortable enough for a long rainy morning. You can come for breakfast and stay on, just time it so you catch the khao soi before it runs out — and a good lemon pie is waiting for dessert.

ℹ The chicken version comes as thigh on the bone

A contender for best coffee on the island, with croissants that go early

Slow-brewed speciality coffee that competes seriously for the island's best, even if some palates find it too sour on the finish. Catch the croissants early — only a few are baked each day — and the chocolate version wins over people who usually skip it. The matcha here is good too.

ℹ Closes early; some find the coffee too sour

Excellent sushi and tiramisu, at a big resort restaurant on the water up north

Breakfast has its own restaurant here, called Moon — the food and the drinks are something apart, and the seating faces the sea. A large table takes patience, since the dishes don't always arrive together; come back in the evening for the main restaurant's sushi and tiramisu.

ℹ at large tables the dishes don't always arrive together

Chaloklum's burekas — with hard-boiled eggs, sumac salad and black coffee

The burekas set is the order everything else is built around — pastry made from scratch, hard-boiled eggs and a sumac salad that tastes like home — with black coffee to go with it. This is one of those places where the sitting is as much the point as the food.

ℹ opening hours aren't always fixed

The most indulgent sandwiches on the island, plus a lemon cookie in its own league

Indulgent breakfast is the genre where this place plays in a league of its own — rich brioche sandwiches and pulled pork, the exact opposite of the island's average açaí bowl. It's the sort of morning after which you can skip lunch.

ℹ Closed on Mondays

Views and sunsets above Haad Yao, with an avocado bagel and a surprising açaí

The bagel is the safe morning order — with avocado, and with salmon if you want it — and the açaí is a genuine surprise. Brunch here rolls easily into the pool and carries on into the afternoon, with a view that keeps the table sitting long after the plates are empty.

Good coffee and simple breakfasts — bagels, Turkish eggs, avocado

The coffee is the anchor that keeps bringing people back even when the food stays basic. Of the plates, the Turkish eggs are the menu's surprise, and the halloumi and pesto bagel does a clean job. Skipping gluten is easy here, and there is vegan cream cheese for the bagel too.

ℹ The food is fairly basic

Organic salads, green smoothies and breakfasts worth lingering over

Breakfast in its healthy register: mushroom toast with brie as the strong dish, pancakes on the sweet side, and a green smoothie that stands in for coffee without apology. One of the pleasant places to linger in the morning, even if the bill reminds you that organic costs money.

ℹ Expensive

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

The coffee is the story: several kinds, strong and decaf included, and quite a few restaurants on the island are in fact serving his coffee. Take beans or moka-pot grind home, and on the spot add breakfast from the wide menu or something out of the bakery.

A vegetarian Srithanu kitchen with Thai accents — buddha bowls, pancakes, lentil soup

A morning here opens with a pancake or a buddha bowl built on local beans, chopped lemongrass and coconut, plus cacao from a house blend of Vietnamese and Thai beans. It's all vegetarian and some of it vegan — like the 'chicken' sandwich and the khao soi.

ℹ Closed on Sundays

A family café with simple food, good coffee and a cinnamon roll

The coffee here is very good and it's the anchor; around it sit the cinnamon roll, the cheesecake and the mushroom pie. On the savoury side there's a Thai breakfast of chicken and rice — savoury, not sweet — a welcome departure from the usual breakfast menus.

⚠ Opinions are divided

Pancakes and breakfast bowls, plus a poke bowl and a kimchi tuna melt

For breakfast, order the pancakes — they survived the menu change with honor — or build a meal around the salad mix with mango. The coffee is worth remembering, and for bigger appetites there is a poke bowl with marinated salmon or miso tofu, and a kimchi tuna melt on sourdough.

ℹ The menu has changed and some longtime dishes came off it

Breakfast on the water — pancakes, sunset and grilled sea bass

Pancakes are the reason to come in the morning — a plate that arrives like a small performance — and the tables facing the sea do the rest. Later in the day, remember the whole sea bass off the grill, and if you're out of cash, cards work here.

ℹ you come mainly for the view

Hand-folded dim sum and dumplings alongside congee — mornings only

A real local morning: the door opens as early as 6:30, and steaming dim sum with a bowl of congee is a refreshing alternative to shakshuka and granola. Just give fifteen minutes' notice — it's a one-couple business, and everything is made by hand.

ℹ Worth ordering ahead; the vegetarian filling is weak

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

Coffee before anything else: a roastery that roasts its own beans, and the standard shows both in the cup and in the bag you take home. Beside the coffee wait an excellent cheesecake and a carrot cake, but keep the sitting short — this is not a place to settle into for a whole morning.

ℹ The chairs are not built for a long sit

A hillside terrace above Thong Nai Pan — mango duck at sunset

A morning stop on the way to or from the east coast: shakshuka on the hillside terrace, with the view over the bay as the real reason to pull in. Save the mango duck for a separate visit, at sunset.

⚠ The food is hit and miss — the view never is

The coffee is the reason to stop here; the breakfast is very plain

A café in Srithanu that doubles as a small shop: you can walk out with kombucha, and once with ground coffee too — except that the grinder has since been retired. When you want coffee near the beach, this is one of the reasonable options around.

Proper açaí, pancakes and tuna sandwiches — the brunch address in Hin Kong

A morning stop in Hin Kong, in a stunning-looking spot that's a pleasure to start the day in. The açaí is made by a Portuguese owner who knows the subject inside out, and with kids the pancakes do the job. The food isn't always as impressive as the setting, so treat it mainly as an easy brunch spot — less as a serious meal.

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

A neighbourhood brunch spot in Ban Tai, and the standing answer when you want a good breakfast in this part of the island. Most useful if you are sleeping around Ban Tai and Siripanya — a full morning without a long drive, including on rainy days when going far holds no appeal.

Breakfast facing the sea: pancakes, cakes and an unusually deep matcha list

A hotel restaurant in Hin Kong that long ago came to stand on its own — calm, with welcoming owners and food that always arrives fresh. The avocado toast is built on precise sourdough with roasted tomato slices, and the service is polished to a degree that surprises for the island. The sea is just across the road, and the pancakes go down smoothly with children too — an easy family morning.

Breakfast with one of the island's finest views, on the way to Haad Rin

An obvious stop on the road to Haad Rin for anyone after coffee or breakfast in that area. The food is sweet and doesn't pretend to be more than that — the real reason to pull over is what you see from the table. Lovely as a stop for two or three on the way to the beach; a group hunting for a table of eight will struggle to squeeze in.

ℹ The place is small

Breakfast facing an open view, with buckwheat crêpes and sandwiches

The green buckwheat crêpe is the order the place is known for, with sandwiches in the same style and a buckwheat loaf with nothing added. The coffee holds its own against the cafés on the shore, and from eight in the morning you can already take a table.

ℹ Looks less inviting from the outside than it is

Açaí and smoothie bowls, and a vegan croissant that stands on its own

A bowl is the order — açaí or smoothie, thick and sized to close a meal — and on the sweet side a croffle and an excellent vegan croissant. Portions run larger than usual, so plan accordingly.

The thickest coconut yoghurt on the island, and you can take it home

A quiet morning spot on the edge of the lake, and particularly pleasant on a rainy day. The yoghurt is made without sugar and comes out thick enough that it never turns to liquid under the fruit. To take some home, look for the sealed tubs in the fridge to the right of the entrance.

ℹ The yoghurt sometimes runs out — worth ordering ahead

A quiet Thong Sala spot with avocado toast and egg, bowls and seared tuna

Avocado toast with egg, counted among the island's best, is the starting point, and from there you move on to the bowls or the seared tuna salad with quinoa. The pace is slow and the room is almost always quiet, so this is the kind of breakfast that stretches pleasantly into the afternoon.

⚠ Opinions on the pancakes are divided

A cafe in Thong Nai Pan Noi — desserts, breakfast and pesto pasta

It sits in the middle of Thong Nai Pan's restaurant strip, and the leaning here is sweet, with a few savoury plates alongside. On the savoury side the pesto pasta with red tuna is the pick; and if you're after Basque cheesecake — sometimes there is, worth asking. A convenient breakfast option if you're on that side of the island anyway.

A breakfast buffet in Haad Rin — pretty and good eating without it too

One of Haad Rin's morning spots, the kind where it is pleasant to open the day slowly. The buffet is 400 baht a head and runs every day until 11am, so this is a plan for a real morning — not for a late risers' brunch.

ℹ Buffet until 11am only

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

The avocado bagel is the opening order here, with tuna tataki for anyone wanting something less routine. The mood is calm and easy — one of those places you stay in for a long hour over coffee rather than grabbing and going.

A café for getting work done — comfortable table, good coffee, pumpkin cookie

An open, easy-going space of the kind you sink into for a few hours — the seating is out in the open air, with a pleasant through-breeze instead of air conditioning. Beyond the coffee the food is good too, and the staff are friendly in the way that makes you want to come back. Best caught in the hours when the heat is still bearable.

ℹ No air conditioning

A cafe on the main road — the croissants are the reason to stop

More a stop on the main road than a destination in its own right — you pull in, take a croissant and a coffee, and carry on. And once you have parked, a bonus: the khao soi stall of the older vendor, one of the local Thai favorites, runs right next door.

Sea views and good coffee — a place you come to for the experience

A compound with a restaurant and a café in the Srithanu area, one of those stops worth the drive even without a full meal. The sweet little café inside makes it a pleasant morning point for anyone moving between Srithanu and Haad Salad.