Sawasdee Restaurant — Restaurant in Ko Lanta Yai

We were walking past this place, heading to another restaurant, when the relaxed atmosphere caught our attention. The staff were friendly and the menu was clear with lots of options, both Thai and some western with vegetarian too. We were impressed with the range of Tom Sum salads on offer, we opted for the green mango one and it was delicious, juicy and crunchy with a good kick of spice to it. We also had garlic pepper prawn stir-fry and a chicken yellow curry accompanied with rice. To drink we had 2 sprites and a red wine. The meal in total came to 535 baht. There were 2 of us and we left well-fed and very pleased with the quality of the food and the service, this is our first night in Koh Lanta but we’ll be sure to come back...

We were disappointed. A Tuk Tuk driver took us there on her recommendation. They probably have too much on the menu. The one dish that wasn’t too bad was Thai red curry with chicken. Although the curry sauce was runny it was tasty.

We ordered two appetizers, Satay chicken which was cooked, but not barbecued as normal. Also the peanut sauce was not very good. Second appy was Tempura veggies. They were not tempura, but deep fried in a thick batter.

The last dish was Baked Lemon Fish. Heavily breaded and no...

This is without doubt one of the best restaurants (if not the best) on Lanta. Affordable too. The stir fried morning glory is fragrant and fresh, the steamed rice actually soft and fluffy without that pebbly texture. And the star of if all has to be this fried garlic snapper - generously sized, firm and fresh. The crispy garlic and skin is super aromatic. The food is definitely Thai and has not been watered down for western tastes....