Best restaurants in Koh Tao

Koh Tao rewards the diner who picks a kitchen for what it commits to, and this list is built that way. It runs from a Thai room on Sairee Soi 1 to an Indian kitchen that opens in the afternoon, a Mexican cantina, a daytime spot that does breakfast, coffee, pancakes and sandwiches, and a hotpot and BBQ buffet. Five cuisines, five reasons to eat. Skip the menus that try to cover every cuisine on one laminated page; a kitchen that does one thing tends to do it with more care, and that is the bar we used here. Hours matter on a small island, so we give them where they are known: The Gallery Restaurant serves from 12:00 to 22:30, Monday to Saturday, The Factory keeps a 09:00 to 19:00 day, and Cantina de Koh Tao rests on Mondays. Where a closing time or phone number is missing, we say so rather than guess. This is a list for people who plan a meal, not people who stumble into one: divers coming off a long day, couples after a slow dinner, and anyone who wants breakfast that is not a hotel tray.

1. 

   1

   The Gallery Restaurant

   20/27 Sairee Soi 1 Moo 1, Koh Tao, 84360

   Thai cooking served from 12:00 to 22:30, Monday to Saturday

   From 12:00, Monday to Saturday, The Gallery Restaurant at 20/27 Sairee Soi 1 Moo 1, Koh Tao, 84360 runs its Thai kitchen through to 22:30, which means a late lunch can stretch into dinner without anyone watching the clock. We'd take a kitchen that commits to one cuisine over any menu that tries to cover everything, and this one does. Sunday is its day off, so plan around it. The menu and booking details are at thegallerykohtao.com, and the phone line is 077456683 if you'd rather call ahead for a table.

   • thai

   Hours: Mo-Sa 12:00-22:30

   Directions Call Website

2. 

   2

   Shalimar Indian Restaurant

   17/59 Moo 1, Ban Ko Tao

   Indian cooking from 14:00 onward

   Shalimar Indian Restaurant at 17/59 Moo 1, Ban Ko Tao doesn't open until 14:00, and with no closing time posted, lunch isn't on offer here. This is an Indian kitchen for the late afternoon onward, when a long day on the water calls for something slower and richer than a quick plate of fried rice. We'd call it the right pick when your group can't agree on anything and somebody wants bread, rice, and a sauce to share. Ring 089 217 7220 before you walk over if you're planning a late sitting. Order a spread for the table rather than a dish each, and let the conversation carry on.

   • indian
   Directions Call
3. 3

   Cantina de Koh Tao

   9/289 Moo 1

   A Mexican kitchen open from 10:00 to 22:00, Tuesday to Sunday

   Cantina de Koh Tao at 9/289 Moo 1 runs a Mexican kitchen from 10:00 to 22:00 Tuesday through Sunday, long enough that you can come for a late breakfast, head back to the water, and return for dinner without it feeling like two separate visits. We'd steer you past the spots with pizza-and-burger menus designed to offend nobody; a room that commits to Mexican food gives you a clear reason to choose it. Monday is the closed day, and it catches out more visitors than it should, so ring 0933649277 if there's any doubt. Bring friends, order too much, and share it all.

   • mexican

   Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-22:00

   Directions Call

4. 

   4

   The Factory

   2/55 moo 3

   All-day breakfast, coffee, tea, pancakes and sandwiches alongside local and international plates

   The Factory at 2/55 moo 3 runs from 09:00 to 19:00 every day, which makes it a breakfast and lunch place rather than a dinner plan. The menu covers breakfast, coffee, tea, pancakes and sandwiches, with international and local plates alongside: a range that might look like indecision, but at a daytime spot it works in your favour, because one person can order pancakes while another goes for something local and the table still makes sense. Skip the hotel breakfast tray and its tired toast and come here instead, where a second coffee and no particular reason to leave are the whole point. It closes at 19:00, so save the evening for somewhere else, get there early, and sit as long as you like.

   • breakfast
   • coffee shop
   • tea
   • international
   • pancake
   • sandwich
   • local

   Hours: Mo-Su 09:00-19:00

   Directions

5. 

   5

   SAIREE HOTPOT & BBQ, BUFFET, KOHTAO

   9/31 เกาะพงัน - เกาะเต่า เกาะเต่า, 84360

   Hotpot and BBQ served buffet-style

   Broth rolls at the table at SAIREE HOTPOT & BBQ, BUFFET, KOHTAO, listed at 9/31 in the 84360 postal area. The name says it plainly: hotpot and BBQ, buffet-style, which means you do the cooking yourself, at your own pace, for as long as appetite keeps you at the table. Don't come here for a light snack; this is a meal to build an evening around, and it works best with a group willing to bicker over whose turn it is at the grill. We'd steer anyone worn out by yet another fried-rice plate straight here, because the cooking is in your hands and the evening moves at whatever speed you set. No hours and no phone number are listed, so leave yourself some slack before you head out. Arrive hungry, pace yourself, and keep room for one last round from the pot.

   Directions

This is an early version of the Koh Tao list. We add picks as we test more places.