For such a small island, the sheer number of Koh Tao restaurants is pretty mind boggling. I’m talking wayyy more than you would expect from the little beach bum paradise.
From al fresco toes in the sand dining, to hole-in-the-wall mom & pop shops, Koh Tao has covered all the bases for all budgets. Plus, with Koh Tao’s strong ex-pat community, if you’re not feeling Thai food for a meal, you can satisfy any other culinary craving you could possibly have.
I spent 3 weeks wandering around Koh Tao and still didn’t manage to try even a quarter of the restaurants on the island. But, I definitely made a very strong attempt. So without further ado, my choices for the best Koh Tao restaurants!
• Duck 995 – Pretty self explanatory. As you would assume from the name, Duck 995 specialize in roasted duck. They do have a few other options besides duck, but if you’re visiting a restaurant literally named duck, why would you choose to order something else? The speciality is an order of roasted duck with your choice of noodles or rice.
Oh, and definitely add the fried egg. I visited Duck 995 three times and there’s always a crowd and a little bit of a wait, but only for a few minutes and so worth it!
• Through the Looking Glass – A western style cafe/bakery across the road from the Sairee Beach 7-11, Through the Looking Glass bakes everything in house. They have a selection of cured meats and cheeses that is a pretty rare find in Thailand, flaky sausage rolls and other delicious looking snacks. We had an amazing pretzel bun sandwich, and the coconut loaf was so good!
• Fruit Shake Stand – On the road across from The Brother Restaurant in Sairee, look for the stall decorated with the string of plastic mangos. 60 baht for a massive bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola? Yes, I’ll take it.
We’re talking the bougie fruit – mango and dragonfruit which usually are a bit skimped out on. You can also get breakfast sandwiches to go from the stall next door, perfect for those early morning dive classes!
• Coffee Boat – The king of cheap eats on Sairee Beach, Coffee Boat’s menu is absolutely massive along with massive portions. We ate here a few times in our 10 days in Koh Tao, and everything we had was good, especially for the price. Highlight for the Penang curry, it was so peanut-y and the pumpkin was delicious. Except the coffee, I would definitely skip the coffee.
Make sure to bring bug repellant, for some reason the mosquitos are insane here.
• Mama’s – So, there are actually two Mama’s in Koh Tao. The story I was told is that the original Mama opened another Mama’s a few minutes away on Nay Pon Road, and some of the staff from the original Mama’s moved to the second location. Since I wasn’t sure what was actually up with the double Mama’s, I just ate at both locations, and both were delicious.
If you go to the Mama’s on the same street as Duck 995, definitely get one of the shakes. You can pick and choose your fruits, so I went with a mango-papaya-orange shake. It was delicious (and I don’t think there was sugar added), plus the shake was served in a pitcher, so it’s definitely shareable.
I feel like I mention shareable a lot, but while travelling I strive to share everything so I have more room to eat later on. I think it’s a pretty solid plan.
• Samosa – Everyone I spoke to told me to visit Samosa for the infamous cashew chicken. The Samosa version of cashew chicken features breaded chunks of chicken vs. the usual un-breaded chicken. I obviously had to try it, and it was really good, but the basil chicken was definitely my favourite on the menu.
• Coconut Monkey – This beach front vegan/vegetarian friendly restaurant is tucked away down a less frequented road near Haad Rin pier, but it definitely deserves a visit (or multiple, if you’re like me). Coconut Monkey doesn’t really have a lot of Thai dishes, but it was hands down my favourite cafe on the island.
Absolutely everything is made in house and it all has a fairly healthy twist. Plus, the added bonus of iced coconut milk lattes really sealed the deal for me. I ate here almost every day for a week when Koh Tao’s afternoon rain showers were rolling in like clockwork and I needed somewhere to hide out for a couple hours.
I made my own little falafel platter thing, and it was the best decision. An order of delicious garlic-y hummus, home made tortillas, and two falafels. It was the perfect afternoon pick me up. I swear everything I had was amazing. Especially anything out of the dessert fridge (I had most of it). The vegan banoffee pie was my favourite!
• Cappuccino – Cappuccino was my go-to for breakfast, I ate here 4 or 5 times. The omelettes are big enough to share, and served with delicious fresh made bread. For 120 baht it’s the perrrrfect way to start the morning. They have really good espresso as well, so might as well get an iced cappuccino while you’re there.
• Famosa – Had enough of Thai food for one night, and having a little pizza craving? Visit Famosa! They serve up thin crust pizzas cooked in a legit pizza oven, and they are large. I didn’t go with anything crazy, I had a garlic sauce mushroom pizza and it was delicious. Famosa can be found on the same street as the 7-11 in Mae Head.
• Da’s Sandwich – A small side of the road stand, Da’s is the place to go for a sandwich that will definitely cure your hangover. Breaded chicken seems to be the go-to, and we got a monster of a sandwich with two layers of fried chicken and bacon served on a sub bun. Grab one and head to the beach, you’ll feel better in no time.
⋅ P. Oy’s – On the back road between Haad Rin and Baan Chalok, P.Oy’s has made a solid name for herself on the island. I mean, she actually takes reservations. I didn’t even know reservations were a thing on Koh Tao. Since everything is made to order, the food can take a few extra minutes but is SO worth the wait.
Plus, you’re in Koh Tao. What else do you have to do? The slow cooked chicken masaman curry is raved about, and I entirely support it’s glowing praises. The masaman curry was SO good and served with brown rice which is super rare in Thailand.
⋅ Big Bite Cafe – Big Bite is an adorable coffee shop on the way to Chalok Baan, the smoothie bowls are fantastic and as per my usual, the iced cappuccinos. I swear, I’m just a large iced cappuccino at this point. Big Bite also offers a more extensive menu if you’re hungry, supposedly the burgers are amazing but I didn’t get around to trying one.
We ended up getting rained out on our bike ride to the beach, so it was the perfect place to wait out the storm.
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