While these best local Thai restaurants in Chaweng may not be the finest of the dining establishments in the resort town, they're ideal for the genuine ‘local’ experience. Thai food is globally renowned for its unique flavours, but there's no experience quite like enjoying Thai food prepared how the Thai people like it. Using fresh local ingredients and time-honoured preparations, what's already a remarkable experience is made even more appetising.
Being a popular destination, many of the Thai restaurants in Chaweng have westernised their dishes, taking out some of the chillies (and, often, adding a few more baht to the price). We’ve done our best to find places that stay true to the original recipes (and prices) while still being comfortable and approachable venues, giving you an enjoyable taste of Thailand.
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Green Bird
Thai seafood at affordable prices
- Budget
- Food
Read moreGreen Bird specialises in Thai seafood at affordable prices, compared to the bigger places right on Beach Road. It’s an unpretentious little restaurant located just off the main road through Chaweng. In spite of a rough appearance, it is scrupulously clean and consistently gets great reviews – as you can see from the walls of the restaurant, where they're posted.
The extremely friendly service is particularly frequently mentioned. It is particularly popular with tourists, with some of the most favourited dishes including fried basil and chilli with seafood and fried rice with seafood.
Location: 157/17 Moo 2, Chaweng Beach Road, Chaweng, Koh Samui, Surat Thani 84320, Thailand
Open: Daily from 12 pm to 10 pm
Phone: +66 (0)86 906 4638
Map - 2
Mit Samui Restaurant
A top spot for Issan-style seafood
- Food
Mit Samui Restaurant claims to be “the biggest Thai food and seafood restaurant in Samui”, and almost certainly deserves the title. The huge building with a pair of giant light-up lobsters on the frontage is situated along the unnamed road. The road heads inland from the northern end of Chaweng, skirting the top of the lake.
Inside the restaurant, you'll find a menu with over 200 dishes, mostly Issan-style seafood. Among the most popular dishes are lobster in tamarind sauce and stir-fried crab in yellow curry.
Location: 184/27 Moo 2, Chaweng, Koh Samui, Surat Thani 84320, Thailand
Open: Daily from 11 am to 11 pm
Phone: +66 (0)89 727 2034
Map - 3
Ploy Samui Seafood & Thai Food
Affordable and close to the beach
- Food
Ploy Samui Seafood has its own little courtyard just off the main road in Chaweng with all the common styling of a small local Thai restaurant. It has plastic chairs, simple metal roofs and a barbecue blackened by constant use.
The menu also has a lot of common features, including a limited range of western dishes and an extensive selection of great cheap Thai food, including fried squid in curry sauce and steamed fish in lemon sauce. Ploy Samui is a popular place with tourists, being close enough to the beach without also becoming over-touristy.
Location: Chumchon Chaweng Yai Soi 4, Chaweng, Koh Samui, Surat Thani 84320, Thailand
Open: Daily from 11 am to midnight
Phone: +66 (0)94 971 4669
Map - 4
Surat Restaurant
Tasty yet affordable Thai seafood
- Food
Surat Restaurant is a tiny little Thai eatery on Chaweng’s famous Soi Green Mango. Not much more than a little shop-house establishment, it is located around the corner past the majority of the bars and clubs, at the more dimly-lit extremes of the street.
Despite being right next to such a tourist-oriented location, the prices are what you would expect of a local Thai restaurant, with pad kra pao (Thai basil stir-fry) and fried clams with chilli sauce among its tasty yet affordable offerings.
Location: 166/32 Moo 2, Bophut, Koh Samui, Surat Thani 84320, Thailand
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