🌅 Sunset & views

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

The view starts at breakfast here: the restaurant sits in a resort on the high side of the island, and a long brunch facing it — vegetarian option included — is the way to use the altitude.

⚠ The burger divides opinion

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

Early evening rolls into sunset here without anyone leaving the table — you are sitting on the beach, and the timing makes the difference. Come a little before the sun drops, order the whole fish off the grill, and stay until the light is gone.

ℹ Pool entry costs extra

Pick your fish at the counter, grilled every evening facing the sea

The right hour here is the end of the day: you sit right on the water, and after six — roughly as the sun drops — the fish and seafood grill fires up. Dinner that starts at sunset facing the water and carries on into the evening; book a table ahead.

ℹ Worth booking a table ahead

A sunset bar where cheese boards and carpaccio join the cocktails

A sunset date finds a natural home here — the room itself is beautiful, the hosting is polished, and the atmosphere finishes what the sun starts. Open with a drink in the last light and stay into the evening; settle dinner somewhere else beforehand.

ℹ The food is secondary to the atmosphere, and the music is loud

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

When the sun drops the place comes into its own: a seat on the sand, a cocktail in hand and the sea in front of you, then on to lasagna or pizza once it gets dark. A Friday-night dinner on the beach works nicely here too.

⚠ Opinions on the pizza are split; no air conditioning

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

The sunset view here is genuinely lovely: you sit right on the sand, and the food side holds up too — a good Thai section, pastas and a salad with chickpeas for dinner in front of the colours.

ℹ Kitchen closed on Mondays

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

The view faces inland — lake, mountains and jungle — and the outdoor corners hold it right through opening hours. It is already there with the morning coffee, and it turns an ordinary lunch into a stop that stretches.

An eight-course tasting menu of original, precise Middle Eastern fusion

The view from here is stunning and the seating is comfortable — a combination that turns dinner into a whole occasion rather than just a good plate. Keep it for a celebratory evening, and book a table ahead.

ℹ The tasting menu is served on Fridays, and prices are high for the island

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

The view is part of the order here: the terrace sits high, open and looking far out, and in the morning hours it is a particularly lovely place to eat facing it.

ℹ Less suited to kids

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

Facing the sea and down on the sand, this is a sunset spot with a drink in hand; there's a fire show too, and play equipment off to the side for the children. Anyone hungry orders the blue crab salad — and not much beyond it.

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

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

The view is a resort view, sitting on the water on the north of the island, and anyone who wants it alongside the food should aim for the morning — Moon, on the grounds, serves breakfast facing the sea, and the whole place is polished and good-looking.

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

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

Sunset is the right hour to arrive: the view from here is lovely and the sunsets are spectacular. Come early, linger in the pool, and close the evening with pad kra pao made with Australian beef, or with the avocado bagel.

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

Time your arrival for sunset — the strong suit of this spot — and pair it with a margarita or a gin from the long list. Once the sun is down, stay on for a meal: ceviche, fried calamari or sea bass with mash.

ℹ Not a gourmet destination

Duck with green noodles and pomelo salad, facing the sunset

The sun drops here over a small bay with a knockout view, and it doubles as a good date. Time the pomelo salad and the duck with green noodles for exactly that hour of the evening.

Seared sea bass and calamari, right on the sand at Secret Beach

You sit on the sand itself, with the sea a few steps from the table — a view that needs no additions. Between swims, order the seared sea bass or the calamari, and the beach stays with you to the end of the meal.

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

Sunset is the strong hour here: a table on the waterline, the view you came for, and a whole grilled sea bass that proves good things come out of the kitchen too. There are corners with some privacy for anyone after a quiet evening.

ℹ you come mainly for the view

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

From the terrace up on the hill you look down over the bay — one of the finest views on the island — and the right hour is sunset, with mango duck and tamarind prawns on the table.

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

Sea bass fried with garlic and pepper, out on the Chaloklum pier

You sit inside the view instead of watching it from a distance: the pier runs out into the sea, the tables hang over the water, and the sea spreads out in every direction. The strong hour is actually midday, when the colours of the water are at their best, and the sea bass with garlic and pepper completes the picture.

Sunset, cocktails and fish tacos — a kitchen leaning on fish and seafood

Arrive a little before the sun drops, open with a cocktail and let the place do its work — the whole design points at that moment. Fish tacos and ceviche fill out the evening, and just remember: entry is 18 and over only.

ℹ adults only, and sometimes closed even in season

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

The sea sits right opposite the restaurant — only the road in between — and this is breakfast with open water in view and a great deal of quiet. Order coffee and the lemon layer cake, and in front of that view nobody is in a hurry to be anywhere.

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

The view from the table is the main course here — among the finest on the island — with the coffee and breakfast only filling in around it. The natural hour is morning, not sunset: you pull over on the way to Haad Rin, order something simple, and take your time in front of the view.

ℹ The place is small

A beach club with a big pool and a sea view, and food that does the job

The view is the strong point: the restaurant sits on the sea, the beach is in sight from the tables, and even rain does not spoil it — under the awning you still see everything. Especially good for lunch facing the water.

ℹ Little shade around the pool

Breakfast facing an open view, with buckwheat crêpes and sandwiches

A pleasant, open view is part of the pull here — one of those places you go to sit facing open space — and with it a breakfast of green buckwheat crêpe and coffee that holds its own against the cafés on the shore.

ℹ Looks less inviting from the outside than it is

Fish on the Chaloklum pier — barracuda, sea bass and a view hard to beat

The pier does half the work: the tables sit above the water and the view from there is stunning — a setting that turns even a simple meal into an occasion. Order barracuda or sea bass in garlic and pepper, and take your time.

ℹ the fish are the strength — the tom yum less so

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

Everything here is built around the view — a meal or a coffee break that is first of all an excuse to sit facing it. If you don't want a full meal, the sweet little café on site does the job: good coffee, same view.