Thong Nai Pan

Fish, aubergine salad with prawns and seafood curry — plus an Indian menu

The Indian menu is the lesser-known card here, and it is a good one; on the Thai side, the crispy pork and the red seafood curry do the job. You are sitting in a beachfront resort restaurant — come to eat, and don't count on the pool.

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

Up on the hill facing the bay, and the timing makes the meal: roast duck with mango and prawns in tamarind sauce at sunset, or shakshuka in front of the view in the morning. The kitchen has excellent days and more middling ones — the view, by contrast, is constant.

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

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

The door opens only at five, so this is an evening story: prawn and pomelo salad, tender pork ribs, duck confit in small buns, tartare and potato gratin — and there's pizza too, for anyone after something familiar.

ℹ Opens in the evening only

Pizza in the Thong Nai Pan Noi restaurant strip — the neighbourhood Italian

An Italian evening waiting in the restaurant strip: the pizza is the safe order, and the plates beyond it look excellent too. The level shifts between visits — some evenings touch Italy itself, others are a good meal and no more.

⚠ Opinions are divided

A genuinely good Indian menu right on the beach at Thong Nai Pan

A late lunch with your parents is the scenario where this place wins — an unhurried meal with the sea right there. One caveat, to set expectations: anyone who knows North Indian cooking well may find the local version less to their taste.

⚠ Opinions are divided

A café in Thong Nai Pan Noi — desserts, breakfast and pesto pasta

The sweet side leads here — desserts, and sometimes a Basque cheesecake worth asking about — while the savoury side runs to pesto pasta with red tuna. Easy for breakfast without crossing the island, right in the heart of the restaurant cluster.

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