Hin Kong

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

Catch an early evening here — they close around ten, and on Wednesdays they don't open at all. On the table: beef massaman, duck confit, sea bass and roast chicken with mash, and in the morning bowls, French toast and bread with poached egg and avocado.

ℹ Closed Wednesdays

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

Mornings here open with a quiche — spinach-cheese or mushroom — alongside a Japanese quinoa salad or a Tropicanela. On the sweet side, the almond chia pudding with kouign-amann sounds strange and works beautifully. Arrive late in the day and you may find the shelf thinned out; there's a second branch in Thong Sala.

⚠ Small portions; the hummus divides opinion

Kingfish carpaccio and house pasta in a small Italian locanda

The carpaccio — kingfish or beef — is the strong opener, and the pastas follow: tomato with ricotta, pesto, or the vegan cauliflower cream. The salmon and lamb skewers arrive with the taste of the coals, and the tiramisu closes the evening. Not every dish holds the same level — the first, cheap pastas on the menu do.

⚠ Opinions are divided

The island's talked-about khao soi at a modest price, plus massaman and lime-steamed fish

The khao soi at its modest price is what people come for — the chicken arrives already off the bone, and a tofu version can be asked for. Around it, a massaman curry generous with peanuts, crisp chicken gyoza and fish steamed in lime sauce, and seating among the trees that does half the work in the evening.

⚠ Opinions are divided

The island's most talked-about lasagna, right on the water — plus vegan pizza that works

The lasagna is the flag the whole visit is built around; the vegan pizza, with real vegan cheese, holds a line of its own, and the gnocchi is the fallback if regular pizza doesn't speak to you. You sit right on the water with no air conditioning, and the right hour is toward sunset.

⚠ Opinions on the pizza are split; no air conditioning

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

A working farm before it is a restaurant — the vegetables, the mushrooms and even the fish are grown on site, and alongside the food there is produce for sale: organic eggs, greens by the season and herb seedlings. It shows on the plate: the avocado toast with mushrooms arrives with genuinely ripe avocado, which is not a given on this island. And if you turn up with a laptop — quiet, good coffee and seating corners outside.

An Israeli bakery — challah, chocolate babka, croissants and focaccia sandwiches

Close to Zen Beach, and an air-conditioned stop for coffee and a pastry: croissants, a za'atar croissant, and focaccia sandwiches — avocado-feta or caesar. Fridays bring challah and babka, and that is an early-afternoon affair; leave it late and you go without.

ℹ Prices run high

A sunset beach with cocktails and a fire show, and play equipment off to the side

The evening hour is the story here: you arrive as the light softens, settle onto the sand with a drink and stay until it goes dark. If you are ordering food, the blue crab salad at 150 baht is the safe pick. Come for the drinking and the atmosphere — and don't hang a whole dinner on it.

⚠ The food is uneven, and prices are high for what arrives

A bar with a real kitchen — cocktails, a gin list and sea bass at sunset

The fixtures on this menu: fried calamari, ceviche, a burger and a sea bass fillet with mash and vegetables — with a margarita or something from the wide gin selection alongside. Arrive towards sunset and stay into the evening. Not gourmet, but comfortable and pleasant.

ℹ Not a gourmet destination

Thai seafood on the sand — fish in Thai herbs and crab curry

Early evening is the smart time to arrive, and the menu handles the rest: fried fish in Thai herbs or in a larb version, a seafood barbecue, and sometimes lobster. The safe order for the table is the garlic shrimp, on an enormous plate.

ℹ Quality swings from one day to the next

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

It isn't easy to predict how an evening here will turn out: the tacos can bring back a trip through Mexico, but not every dish is at that level — the guacamole comes out blitzed in a blender, warm and runny, and the pricing isn't among the island's lowest. If you're going full Mexican, the beef burrito is the safe bet, with the quesadillas pleasant beside it.

⚠ Opinions are divided

New in Hin Kong, in the old Summer space — and a wine bar address too

In the compound that used to house Summer, next to Pura Vida, a new place has opened that splits the evening between good plates and a wine bar. It still doesn't appear on the maps, so book a table by phone in advance.

⚠ Opinions are divided

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

A small business run by a Chinese couple, almost no English but a warmth of welcome that needs no translation. The dumplings are wrapped in fresh dough and reach the table hot, and among the fillings — beef, shrimp and chicken — the beef beats them all. The place has moved to a less central spot, so the smart move is to call your order in fifteen minutes before you arrive.

ℹ Worth ordering ahead; the vegetarian filling is weak

Evening Thai in Hin Kong — tofu larb, pad krapow and khao soi

A corner with a look that's a pleasure to sit in, and that's before the food arrives. The pad thai wins over even people who don't care for the genre, and the som tam rounds it out nicely — though not every visit turns out the same. Anyone sensitive to MSG can simply ask for it left out.

⚠ Open mainly in the evening, and opinions are divided

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

Açaí is the reason to come — the Portuguese owner knows it deeply — and beside it, pancakes that land well with kids, a tuna sandwich and mushroom toast. The drinks are good and the place is beautiful; aim your expectations at an easy brunch, not a full meal.

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

A morning that starts with coffee or one of the matchas — the range of powders here is among the widest on the island, from plain to premium — and carries on to something sweet: a delicate lemon layer cake, banoffee and pancakes. Anyone arriving hungrier will find massaman on the menu too.

A charming Mexican spot with atmosphere and cocktails worth starting with

Fun Mexican food with a charming atmosphere, one of the natural picks for a night out as a couple. The food lifts the mood, the cocktails are good, and between them they hold a whole evening in one place.

Breakfast facing an open view, with buckwheat crêpes and sandwiches

Open from eight in the morning, with an unusual speciality in green buckwheat — crêpes, sandwiches and even a buckwheat loaf with nothing added to it. It's easy to walk past from the outside, but inside there's a menu that surprises for the better, and it's a good call on a wet day too.

ℹ Looks less inviting from the outside than it is

Turkish and Moroccan cooking in Hin Kong — book a table ahead

Demand here runs ahead of supply, and there are days when there is simply no free table. Anyone after an evening of different flavours — a break from the local kitchen — has found good reason to plan one step ahead.

Handmade ice cream — dark chocolate, Madagascar vanilla, apple cinnamon

Order online, careful packing, and a delivery that arrives fast without a drop melted — that's how it works here. One person makes all of it himself, and the dark chocolate has a vegan version too. Hours are 10am to 10pm, but it sometimes closes for a few days at a stretch — worth checking before you order.

ℹ collection or delivery only, no seating on site