Tonkow Restaurant — Restaurant in Ko Lipe

We decided to try this place after seeing all of the glowing reviews and we weren’t disappointed! The fried pork gyoza to start were super fresh, crispy and tasty and then we shared the whole fried fish with papaya salad, a Thai omelette and slow-cooked massaman curry with sticky rice for mains. The fish was incredible - the best we’ve had in Thailand so far with crispy skin and soft tender fish underneath. It’s also the best papaya salad we’ve had to date, as it actually came spicy like the locals have it! We like spice and every papaya salad we’ve ordered we’ve asked for medium spice and it has always come without any spice at all, so we asked for it normal and we finally got the heat we were looking for! The freshness and citrus from the salad also complements the fish very well!

The slow-cooked massaman is also by far the best we’ve had so far, as the chicken just falls off the bone and can be pulled apart easily so it’s filled with pulled chicken rather than the thin slices of meat that’s usually served in most other Thai curries. The Thai omelette also impressed us, as it was filled with tasty minced pork and veggies.

We managed to get a table easily for dinner and about 20 minutes after we sat down, every single table in the place was full! Would 100% recommend this restaurant - everything we...

Easily the best Thai food restaurant on the island. Being here several days after Koh Lanta, which had some the the greatest Thai food restaurants, Koh Lipe, in my opinion, failed to match my expectations with Thai cuisine. After trying several, I gave my final chance to Tonkow for good Thai food before giving up and switch to western food. I had the Paneng curry with chicken and my wife had the green curry vegetarian option. We were finally happy having good, spicy, Thai cuisine! The Paneng curry had the right creamy level, and had the right balance of spices! The service was quite fast, maybe because we just entered the restaurant before everyone came, and we've noticed all the tables were full before we know it. Seeing all the customers greeting the owners, which are attentive and nice, gave us the impression they were returning customers. That can only mean they came back because the food is good! Overall 5/5 for us. And also the prices were...

So dang impressed with Tonkow! After being super disappointed in Nee Papaya, we went on a search for the three Fs of hospitality; freshness, flavours, and fantastic service. Thank you Tonkow for living up to all three 💜

I had the King Prawns in southern red Thai sauce and at the very first sip and bite, experienced very happy tastebuds! Their spring rolls are bursting with flavour as well...it can be easy to get the simple spring roll wrong, but the delightful female chefs at Tankow get it so right!

My husband ordered his usual chicken and cashew nut, and adored his flavours as well. The vegetable tempura, despite tempura being bland by nature, was also really enjoyable.

All in all, we had 4 amazing dishes, a watermelon smoothie and a soda water, and only paid 690 bhat. Incredible value for the freshness, quality and flavour of the food, topped of with fantastic...