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

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

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

The khao soi, at a modest price, is what you come for — the chicken arrives already off the bone, and you can ask for a tofu version instead. 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 lasagne, right on the water — plus vegan pizza that works

The lasagna is what the whole visit is built around; the vegan pizza, with real vegan cheese, holds its own beside it, 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

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

The display case works overtime here — cinnamon rolls, a cookie-monster cookie and a whole run of cakes and pastries — but the savoury side is just as fresh and generous. Worth knowing about the egg puff: a big, indulgent omelette with cheese, spinach, tomato and onion. The pool makes it comfortable for families, though not everyone walks out in love with the place.

⚠ Opinions are divided

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

A mother and son run this place with their whole heart, at sane prices and with warm service — the kind of spot where it's easy to become a regular. The burger, 190 baht for 130 grams with an organic green option, has already established itself as one of the best on the island. And if you're planning ahead, the tiramisu needs ordering a day in advance.

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

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 and mushrooms are grown on site, and even the fish are raised here; 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, but only until early afternoon; 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 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're ordering food, the blue crab salad at 150 baht is the safe pick. Come for the drinks 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

Indian that delivers dish by dish — naan and raita go with every curry here

An Indian kitchen next to Indigo, the kind you come back to — a farewell meal on the island could easily happen here twice. The baingan bharta carries a surprising hummus-like note, and alongside the raita — essentially seasoned yoghurt — the combination works beautifully. Open seven days a week, and aimed mainly at people who genuinely love the genre.

Organic salads, green smoothies and breakfasts worth lingering over

A health café in Madua Wan where organic isn't just a word on the menu — the salad leaves really are organic, and you can pick up organic eggs to take home. From the menu, the mushroom toast with brie is the combination worth coming back for. Pancakes make it kid-friendly; just come knowing that the quality is priced accordingly.

ℹ Expensive

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 runs away with 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 as well

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 you're glad to sit in for the look of the place alone, before the food even 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 inside out — 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. From outside it's easy to walk straight past, but inside there's a menu that comes as a pleasant surprise, and it's a good call on a wet day too.

ℹ Looks less inviting from the outside than it is

A fixed-price tasting menu, set by that day's catch

A choice for an evening you want to be an experience — a birthday, a date, an occasion — rather than just another meal. The restaurant appears in the Michelin guide, without a star but with a mention, and that is rare on this island. Say in advance what you don't eat, and bear in mind that the tasting menu isn't available every evening.

⚠ By advance booking; opinions are divided

Beachfront Thai with a garden for the kids and plenty of vegan options

One of those places families adopt as a weekly habit — an unhurried Thai meal while the children disappear to play and come back only when the food arrives. The owner isn't always the warmest host, though on most evenings that doesn't spoil anything. A natural pick for a family dinner at the end of the week.

⚠ Service divides opinion

Good Thai for delivery, with some of the best spring rolls on the island

An answer for an evening at home — Thai that comes to you rather than the other way round, relevant mainly around Thong Sala. Add the spring rolls to every order, whatever else ends up in the bag. And before you count on it, check they still deliver to your area.

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 good reason to plan a 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