🍔 Burgers & meat

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

Not a smash and not trying to be: a classic patty with a precise meat-to-fat ratio and a little mustard to lift it — just know that it's modest, 150 grams. Around it sits a full diner menu — pizzas, Indian dishes — and the chicken is usually especially good.

ℹ Two branches: Ban Tai and Thong Sala

Steakhouse — Australian fillet, burgers, wings and glazed salmon

The burger is the safe card, and the fillet — Australian grass-fed — is the upgrade for anyone arriving serious. Around them sit wings, fried calamari and glazed salmon, and the vegetable dish can be ordered on its own for whoever is just along for the ride. Tables are booked with a phone call.

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

On the meat side the burrito, filled with slow-cooked pulled beef, is the flagship, and the steak gives you 200g for 600 baht, enough for anyone who does not usually finish a plate. Same owners as The Salon, with a similar price-to-portion ratio; there is also beef in a sizzling pan and beef tacos.

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

A burger on a bun baked in-house, after years as a talked-about pizzeria

The buns are baked on site, and that's half the story: a sanely priced burger that turned a talked-about pizzeria into a meat address. There's an organic green version, and the personal touch of a mother and son completes the picture. If you came for pizza — the oven is out of action for now.

ℹ The pizza oven is out of action and the menu has moved to burgers

The burger that splits the island, plus lobster bisque and duck

The burger is a question of camps: some find it juicy in a bun that works, others are put off by how soft the patty is. Less contested is the Beyond-based vegetarian one, which lands well by any measure. And Burger Shack? That is their own offshoot, doing burgers and nothing else.

⚠ The burger divides opinion

Smoked meats and smash burgers, with the island's most talked-about chips

Among the burgers, the smash — four patties — is the order here, and the Gringo with jalapeños is for anyone after a chilli kick. The second strength is the smoker: a ribs and brisket platter, pulled meat sandwiches and meaty tacos — and do not skip the chips.

ℹ Beyond the smoked meats and burgers the cooking is less consistent

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

It takes a French deli to turn out one of the better burgers on the island — on a bun from the house oven, with chips ordered separately and worth it. For cooking at home there are thin, spicy merguez sausages, pork sausages, and cuts that do well in stews and roasts.

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

A steak and seafood house, with Belgian chocolate soufflé to finish

Steak is the point: if you're willing to pay, take the priciest one on the menu, with bone marrow or oysters gratin alongside. The burger is a mixed bag — good patty, weaker bun — and the kitchen can shift from one night to the next, which makes the steak the safer bet.

⚠ not always consistent from one visit to the next

Salmon burger and beef burger, with a vegetarian option

A burger place with two branches — Chaloklum and Thong Sala — whose real draw is the burgers from the sea. The fish burger can be loaded with pickles and vegetables and the sauce swapped for a house-made mayo; vegetarians get a patty of their own and chilli cheese nuggets as well. Not every visit comes out the same, but anyone after Western food in Chaloklum will find an anchor here.

⚠ Opinions are divided

Mexican with good cocktails and a quinoa salad that steals the show

Of the meat dishes the burrito is the steady order, and the tacos — when they land — bring back a trip through Mexico; the guacamole you can skip. The cocktails are good, and it's the quinoa salad, which has nothing to do with Mexican food, that surprises most of all.

⚠ Opinions are divided

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

Shawarma is the craving this doner answers: chicken that comes very close to it, beef that runs drier in style, and sauces and house flatbread that close the deal. The surprise is the schnitzel side — cordon bleu and cheese spatzle — and all of it comes on delivery too.

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

A chef's restaurant: pork ribs, duck confit and shrimp-pomelo salad

The meats are the heart of it: tender pork ribs, ribeye with mango, duck confit in small buns and even a duck burger, alongside chicken kebab on a lemongrass stick and wings. One departure worked less well — pasta with meatballs in red curry — and everything else is on form.

ℹ Opens in the evening only

The Fisherman burger — crispy tofu in tartar sauce, with truffle fries

Fisherman is the name to remember: a slab of tofu in a crispy coating with a tartar sauce that throws you straight to fish and chips — a vegetarian burger that stands on its own. Around it, truffle fries and a lemony salad with parmesan and almonds, and the regular burger arrives in great shape when you order it home.

Proper Belgian frites, steak and mussels — a Belgian bistro for meat lovers

The steak here is a serious contender for the best on the island — expensive, and worth it. Around it: burger, mussels, bone marrow and proper Belgian frites as the obvious side. And for the people at the table who don't eat meat, the fish is good and the specials hold a few vegan options.

ℹ Steak prices run high

Burgers in Thong Sala, delivery included — the fries are not the point

The burger comes from the Coco Loco people and it is far from bad — just keep the order to the sandwich itself, because the fries are not at the same level. Anyone after a juicy burger that also travels by delivery has an answer here, even if not everyone signs off on it.

⚠ Opinions are divided

Smash burgers in Thong Sala — the French one, with truffle mayo

The joke in the name is part of the experience, but the burgers are entirely serious — smash-style, rich and messy. Once you're done with the French one, move on to the Mexican, an indulgence in its own right. The heavy hand with sauce is a matter of taste, and the prices aren't among the cheapest — anyone who likes a minimalist burger will feel less at home.

⚠ Opinions are divided over how much sauce lands on it

Fried chicken and gyoza from a small stall, fast-food chain style

Several stalls of the same chain are scattered around the island, and they're the closest answer here for anyone missing KFC. It's chicken only, no pork, and beyond the fried there's rotisserie-style grilled chicken — which runs out fast. Better to leave the stall opposite immigration aside and aim for the branches in Ban Tai or Chaloklum.

ℹ Hygiene is doubtful at the stall opposite immigration

Rotisserie chicken off the grill, at the yellow spot on the Ban Manali road

A classic roadside stop — pull over, buy, carry on. The menu also hides a borscht, which isn't what you expect to find at a stall like this. And anyone who'd rather not gamble on a wasted trip will find them on the Delivery KPG site, with an order brought to the door.

ℹ The rotisserie chicken isn't always available

One of the island's best Mexican options, fish tacos included

A likeable Mexican place that holds its level right across the menu — not a one-dish story. The fish taco is what stays with you long afterwards, but you can range beyond it with an easy mind. A simple choice for an evening when you fancy a tortilla instead of rice.

Mexican in Thong Nai Pan Noi, with pork ribs as the strong suit

The experience depends on what you order: some evenings land beautifully and others fall flat, and the difference most likely runs through the pork ribs. If you are going, that is the dish to build the evening around.

⚠ Opinions are divided