Beach Garden — Restaurant in Ko Pha Ngan

Arguably the best restaurant on Koh Phangan! The service was excellent and the location / set up facing the beach is really nice. But what really makes the difference is the food. It is truly amazing to find such good food and products in such a "remote" place!

The chef was trained in the best French restaurants and was a rising star of the French cuisine a few decades back before he moved to Thailand. Everything is fresh and of the best quality. And when I mean the best, I mean the Chef will import the best worldwide options when necessary. For example some of the beef is imported from Argentina, the Turbot arrives fresh (and still alive) from Norway in less than 72h and the butter, chocolate and cherries in the pastries will come from some of the best craftsmen in Belgium and Italy respectively. No wonder we re-ordered some chocolate mousse after dinner! Of course, the Chef also does wonders with the local products. A simple mashed potato and grilled squid becomes an incredible experience. Just don't forget to order your favorite sauce or you would miss half the experience!

The French cuisine is excellent. In fact it is better here than in 90% of French restaurants. But the menu has also all the Thai options which tasted also very good to my less experienced self. The restaurant also serves sushi. We didn't order any that night but I was told they were also excellent. Considering how focused the Chef is on having the best products/ seafood in his restaurant I'll be looking to trying those next time I come.

My advice: you should definitely include this place in your to-go list if you like good food and come to Koh Phangan.

There is a real mastery behind the cuisine of...

Clearly overrated.

Prices are way too high for what it is. Even though the story told is that it all comes from France by plane, it's not worth it.

And by the way, does it need to come from France by plane?

I guess that's the thing with French people, they think France is the place where everything happens.

Garlic shrimps are very good. It's a simple thing that is done well there. Shrimps don't "come from France", but you pay them as if they did.

Some prestigious dishes are served there, I wouldn't say it's not good, but I didn't find anything honestly amazing.

So, to summarize, why go pay so much for things you can find of better quality on the island?

...

(2years later) After two years, they decided they weren't French anymore. It's now a sushi place. The bosses are posing like Jabba the Hut, poor Burmese staff is running the show; or surviving the drama...

The model is clearly exploitation! Too much personnel paid too low, but with an idiot-proof system that makes sure the bosses don't have to worry too much: you basically get an online tablet with the menu and choose from options in your language (tech friendly) but when you ask the staff, the don't know anything and barely speak enough English to help themselves...

PLEASE I UNDERSTAND THAT I LIKE BURMESE WORKERS...

I really don't complain like a Karen.

I'm appalled to see how little pride there is for the owners not to do better than that.

2 years ago, one of them was, at least, in...

Awful wine service. Good food. Had a nice meal with some friends here. We were excited about the meal, as it was a lovely setting, and the service was good. And good French food in Phangan? Nice.

Except in regard to the wine. We ordered two bottles. The first was an entry level Chablis. At 1800 baht. It was ok. It showed some very minor notes, and was not offensive. The second bottle was the issue. It was a minor St. Emilion. At 2200 baht. It was awful. I have had better $5 bottles in the US. It showed nothing. And we were certain it was poorly stored, at some point, as there was nothing there.

So we called the owner over after some discussion, and asked him to give us some feedback on the wine. He completely disagreed with us, said the wine was just fine, it tasted good, it had good mouthfeel and a nice finish, though he agreed that it was a bit green. We all just kind of looked at each other in astonishment and after he walked away we agreed that he should have taken the bottle back.

I've been to restaurants all over the world and when a good customer complains about the wine, the owner simply takes it back. Now you have a whole group of people who will never return to that restaurant again, who will never recommend that restaurant, and you have guys like me online blasting the owner for having a bad and arrogant attitude. All over one bottle of wine.

Was it worth it for him? of course not. Oh well. You cannot teach someone to possess...