Srithanu

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

An institution for Israeli-style breakfasts, with unusual breads, smoothies and cookies that keep a regular crowd coming back. The vegan breakfast is really an 'omelette' built on lentil or chickpea flour with mushrooms and greens — worth the trip on its own. There's also a set menu that changes, and this is the natural address for a morning that feels indulgent and a little different.

ℹ Whole cakes to order in advance

Home-style Mediterranean, a different special each day, and hummus on another level

The standing address for anyone missing their mother's cooking — Moroccan fish on Friday, jachnun on Saturday, and midweek stews like roast chicken over crispy rice. You can also take schnitzels home, seasoned and breaded, sold by the kilo and fried fresh in your own kitchen. There's delivery through the app, and gluten-free options too.

ℹ The special changes daily, and it's worth ordering ahead

Certified kosher kitchen — challah, Jerusalem salad and Shabbat meals delivered

Plenty of people come here for the shelves rather than the table — this is the island's stop for spelt flour, silan, bulgur and Bamba. The challah is best caught the moment it comes out of the oven hot, and anyone staying at a hotel can order Shabbat food in advance, with delivery that will even arrive by taxi.

⚠ The regular menu is uneven; no deliveries on Shabbat itself

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

Shakshuka with fresh challah in the morning, chicken thigh skewers with roasted vegetables and tahini at midday, whole grilled fish towards evening — a menu that covers the whole day. Aim for early evening and the sunset comes with the table.

ℹ Pool entry costs extra

Ramen on chicken or pork broth, gyoza, poke and sushi-grade fish

Beyond the ramen the menu runs deep: beef fillet or ribeye skewers, the Umami salad with yakitori skewers for a lighter meal, and some of the best poke on the island. Come early — the door closes on the early side for an evening spot.

ℹ Closes early

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

This roastery has two branches, and the one here is the better liked of them. Past the morning coffee and croissant the menu runs a long way — buckwheat with mushrooms, parmesan and a poached egg, zucchini fritters with a side of sautéed greens — and you leave with ground coffee and granola for home.

ℹ The menu is less suited to kids

Some of the island's best fried fish, with massaman and pomelo salad right behind

The phone is part of the experience here: hours shift with the owners' mood, Saturday is usually closed, and there's sometimes a break between five and six — so call before you set out. When it's open, order the herb-fried fish, the massaman and the green curry, with pomelo or avocado salad alongside.

ℹ opening hours vary — call before you go

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

An easy stop for coffee and something sweet, but the reason to come is the açaí bowl and the vegan sandwiches — the caramelised pumpkin one above all. On a hot day the cold tomato gazpacho joins in, and on the way out you pick almond butter or good chocolate off the shelves.

⚠ The soups and toasties are less of a sure thing

A vegan kitchen with chef's takes on Thai dishes, all of it gluten-free

A vegan kitchen whose menu reaches well past Thai — lasagne, gnocchi in pesto, bowls and chocolate cake to finish. Among the plates, the cream-filled mushroom caps stand out. Just know that the experience swings hard in both directions, so if you're undecided, the Mexican bowl is a relatively safe opening move.

⚠ Very hit or miss

Green falafel and thin schnitzel in soft pita, on Srithanu's temple road

A small Israeli stall on the road to the temples, the kind of stop that settles a craving for home cooking. There is no culinary revelation here and that is exactly the point — simple, well made, and the falafel goes down easily with kids too. Breakfast deliveries are available and arrive well packed, croffles included — the waffle-croissant hybrid.

ℹ Pita packs — order a day ahead

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

Coffee among the island's best is the starting point, and around it breakfasts, open sandwiches and a menu that keeps changing — mujadara, Greek shakshuka, chicken livers with mash. It opens at 7:30 and stays open until ten at night, so it works for a long morning with a laptop as well as for dinner.

A run of stalls — falafel, shawarma, a fish counter and stuffed challah

You wander between the stalls — half of them Israeli-run — and build a meal one counter at a time. The fish stall right by the entrance has fish with potatoes and green beans waiting, possibly the best plate in the whole place, and tucked into the back left corner is a Thai sandwich stall that only opens in the evening. With kids? The poke bowl at the last stall on the right is a hit.

ℹ Some of the stalls are closed on Saturdays

Falafel in fresh pita with a table of salads — and seriously good chips

When you want home cooking: falafel in fresh pita with a table of salads, pita with liver or kebab, and chips among the best around. Time it right — Saturday it's closed, though Saturday is exactly when it pays to stock up in advance on salads like the egg salad and the matbucha.

ℹ Closed Saturdays

Home-style Thai — pad thai, chicken nuggets, fried rice, and they deliver

There are two branches, and the rule is simple: the regular one — not the one on the beach — is the right one, by a wide margin. Order the things that are hard to miss: pad thai, chicken nuggets, fried rice and vegetable gyoza — sit in, take away or delivery.

ℹ Two branches — the Srithanu one is far better than the beach one

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

Breakfast or a light lunch is the right slot: a poke bowl with salmon or tuna, a chicken sandwich, and an excellent salmon plate for anyone after a more serious dish. There are two branches close together — the one beside Big C is convenient, but the other has a bit more atmosphere.

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

The signature plates are clear: the most expensive steak on the menu, bone marrow and oysters gratin, and a Belgian chocolate soufflé with cream and ice cream to finish. Sit upstairs — that's where the atmosphere is — and bear in mind the cooking isn't always even from one visit to the next.

⚠ not always consistent from one visit to the next

Green falafel straight out of Israel, with kebab, schnitzel and shakshuka in pita

The pitas are baked on the spot, and that is the foundation for everything that goes inside them. Beyond the familiar plates there is a picanha pita and meat cigars with tahini, and the falafel divides opinion — some crown it the best on the island, others walk away unmoved. Exactly right for a fast Israeli lunch.

ℹ Closed Saturdays

Challah stuffed with schnitzel or pulled asado, at the Srithanu market

Stuffed challah is the point: schnitzel, sabich and Moroccan fish, and above all pulled asado from a long braise with matbucha. The stall sits in a corner of Mama Market, and even arriving after six in the evening you'll still find the full range; on the lighter side there's coffee, an egg salad sandwich and pancakes.

ℹ Parking at the market is difficult

Ragù and thin-crust pizza from a one-chef kitchen, plus date-sweetened mousse

Toto, the chef, cooks everything here himself — which is why dishes come out slowly, but the ragù, the carbonara and the thin pizza justify the wait. Leave room for the chocolate mousse, sweetened with dates and almost no sugar.

ℹ Dishes come out slowly and the standard isn't always consistent; gluten-free pizza by advance order

Classic pad thai loaded with fresh vegetables, and schnitzel strips by the pile

An unobvious combination of a Thai kitchen and a whole vegan section, so the vegetarians at the table are sorted too. Tucked into the menu there's also a fish dish with garlic and pepper, and to finish a Belgian waffle buried in Nutella. It works just as well on delivery, and for families with children it's an easy address.

Handmade pizza and pasta from Italian ingredients, open until five in the morning

Beyond the pizza there are reasons to sit down: a creamy mushroom pasta that has made a name for itself, a Nutella calzone and rugelach for dessert, and vegan cheese made in house. The room also works for an evening with football on the screen, and for late finishers it's open until five in the morning, delivery included.

The vegan burger that surprises people who weren't looking for vegan

Beyond Meat in a bun — regular or gluten-free — is the order you come back to here, alongside Belgian-style waffles, pumpkin soup and vegan cookies sold by the piece. Air-conditioned and open until nine or ten at night, late for a café.

Toasted bagels and feta-eggplant shakshuka, late into the night

The menu covers just about every craving — toasted bagel, feta and eggplant shakshuka, schnitzel and Israeli salad — plus gluten-free bread and an ice cream freezer with a wide selection. It stays open past eleven at night, when almost everything nearby has already closed.

Everyday Thai in Srithanu, with precise fried rice and tofu khao soi

A neighborhood Thai place on the road between Tops and Pure, the kind you walk into for lunch without thinking twice. The lunch plate of chicken meatballs, mash and salad is a fun pick — and it's worth a few extra baht for a side of carrot salad. If you want to play it safe, the Thai side of the menu is steadier than the pastas.

⚠ uneven, mostly around the pastas and the service

A beach restaurant with burgers, massaman and barbecue on Mondays and Fridays

Thai food that is a pleasure to eat facing the water, with a broad western wing to the menu for anyone who needs a break from local cooking. The burger can also be ordered in a mushroom version. Families manage here easily — there is even an oat pancake cut to a child's measure.

⚠ The burger divides opinion

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

A quiet vegetarian corner that suits a slow morning as much as a few hours with a laptop. The buddha bowl leans on local beans, chopped lemongrass and coconut, and the cacao is a house blend of Vietnamese and Thai beans. Just factor in that the pricing here isn't among the island's cheapest.

ℹ Closed on Sundays

Sourdough straight out of the morning oven, with good coffee beside it

A cafe on paper, a full sourdough bakery in practice — there are people who cross the island for a loaf, baked here in the classic style. The shelf holds dates as well, and it's a pleasant place to sit for more than the morning coffee; midday passes here nicely too.

Moroccan cooking: slow tagine in a clay pot over coals

Start with salads, move on to a tagine cooked over coals, and finish with cheese-filled pastry parcels dipped in honey. You'll find it on the road to Hin Kong, a little past the shish kebab place, and it deserves an evening genuinely left free: book a table ahead, and expect the food to take its time.

⚠ The wait for food is long, and opinion is divided

A fully vegan café — zen bowls, mushroom wraps and desserts

The zen bowl with house-made tempeh is the safe order, and the cheesy mushroom wrap is a good reason to come back. There's a pool and a day pass that includes a meal — a format built for long afternoons — and just remember that everything here is vegan, the coffee milk included.

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

A coffee stop rather than a meal: the cup here is good, the breakfast very plain, and off the shelf you can grab a bottle of kombucha for the road. Convenient if you are passing on the way to the beach anyway.

A mango sticky rice stall in Srithanu, green rice version included

A yellow kiosk at the roadside, directly opposite the gym: a mango sticky rice stall that holds its level, visit after visit. If you want a change, there is also a version made with green rice instead of the usual white.

A surprising room and open mic nights, a good burger and an excellent date cake

On open mic nights the people who get up genuinely know how to sing — good reason to time a visit around them. On the table: a good burger, wine if you came only to drink, and the date cake as the obvious last order.

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

Next to Warung, and people come mainly for the bowls: açaí or smoothie, the size of a full meal and properly thick. The croffle and the vegan croissant complete the picture, and the whole line is vegetarian and health-leaning — a natural fit for a slow morning.

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

The food here is unapologetically indulgent, and that's exactly the point. It's the salad that steals the show — extra lemony, with lettuce, parmesan and sliced almonds, the right counterweight to a burger. And on lazy days it travels well by delivery.

An ice cream shop at Yang San, plenty of flavours and a play corner outside

A relatively new sweet stop, easy to fold into a visit to Yang San. The interesting reason to come is the matcha ice cream — a flavour that is hard to find on the island — and the ice cream in general is genuinely good. You can leave the Belgian waffle aside and stay with the scoops.

ℹ The Belgian waffle is less worth it

Plain-looking Thai with a precise tea-leaf salad and pad krapow

Next to the church, in about the most modest-looking setting going, hides a kitchen that gets everything right: Burmese tea-leaf salad with prawns at 80 baht, pad krapow, larb and cashew chicken, plus grilled fish in miang style. It's Yummy's neighbour — and no less good.

An Italian in Srithanu where the pizza and the seafood pasta are the point

One of those Italians where the right order decides the evening. The pizzas, even if they are not especially large, are the anchor, and the seafood pasta holds up well too; the fish dishes, by contrast, convince less for the price. Stay on the pizza and pasta side — that is where the place is at its best.

⚠ Opinions are divided; prices are high

Pasta in tomato sauce, simple and good, delivered straight to your door

An order for a quiet night in — a comforting plate that shows up exactly as you expect it, no surprises. Beyond the pastas, the menu also hides a borscht, an unexpected answer for anyone after a vegetarian soup by delivery. Order through the KPG delivery app.

Vegan with plenty of gluten-free options — teriyaki tofu bowl and pumpkin soup

Entirely plant-based, with a wide spread of bowls and plates — the teriyaki tofu bowl is the order people come back for, and the pumpkin soup is there for a day that asks for an orange soup. Anyone avoiding gluten has plenty to choose from.

Challah and chocolate babka from a home kitchen, pre-order only

A home bakery in the fullest sense — there's no shop, there's a baker turning out large challahs (200 baht each) and cakes to order from her own kitchen. The chocolate babka is the proof: the sweetness measured exactly, never overdone. You order ahead for Friday, and some weeks the orders close — best to be early.

ℹ Pre-order only, with pickup in Srithanu

Excellent Vietnamese food, and the chicken sandwich is the safe order

Right beside the 7-Eleven, opposite the Ratatouille massage — Vietnamese food that's genuinely excellent, with the chicken sandwich as the order to start from. Anyone moving around Thong Sala will find a branch there too.

MSG-free Thai kitchen in Srithanu, with a few Indian-style dishes

Everyday Thai that cooks without MSG — not something to take for granted — and also keeps a small Indian corner with yellow dal at its head. It sits right next to Pum Poy, and it's easy for a simple meal with no production.

Japanese in Srithanu where the miso soup and gyoza are the thing to order

A Japanese place with an odd gap: the ratings run very high, but on the ground most of the menu never takes off. Better to approach it as a light stop than to build a whole sushi evening around it.

ℹ Opinions on the rest of the menu are lukewarm

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

The view is the reason to come — this is first of all an experience, and the good coffee joins it. The sweet little café on site turns the place into a pleasant morning stop on the way north toward Haad Salad.