Ban Thai — Restaurant in Ko Samui

Traveling more than 20years to Thailand and being 23 times on Koh Samui, I am more than happy to have found this wonderful and AUTHENTIC Thai restaurant.

The owner an elder lady is taking care of all guests and shows high appreciation towards EVERYBODY. This is the type of lady which you will call old school if you know how Thailand and especially Samui changed. Anyhow, I love this Island and I now after our stay in November 2024, I can surely say I found a second mom which is taking care of my family - foodwise and mentally!

I know that my words might not reach her and I hope all tourists will and can appreciate the quality and hospitality of this little family owned restaurant.

May be one of the examples which should better reflect my experiences. After my training session I came to pick up Ty laundry at the restaurants place ( also very good) I could see and understand how much passion she puts into her little restaurant.

The fried rice sauce is prepared, all other sauces and ingredients are prepared for lunch and dinner time. Fresh vegetables, fish, squids and shrimps are hand selected from local fisherman. It was very interesting to watch her buying from fishermen…ourselves would get other stuff but she is so confident what she buys - unbelievable.

Anyway - pics are telling more than thousands of words!!! But you have to taste it to know what I am talking about… It is still a hidden spot on Samui - more or less 😌

Not to forget, her daughter promotes their Ban Thai airport shuttle service - A MUST - especially you intend to travel around the Island with family and friends. Superb prices for...

If anyone is coming to Koh Samui, I will strongly recommend Ban Thai. It’s probably a must come to experience what it means to be in a Thai home (ban in English is home).

We came on 18 May 2024 and were spell-bound by the food they served.. just a simple plate of fried rice with shrimp and fried noodle with chicken.. they were deceptively simple looking but yet they tasted so good! Owner was kind to offer free drinking water, small plate of mango sticky rice and packet of waffle.. oh mine.. they were all so delicious! After we left, we were so in awe with their food that we kept comparing it to the other Thai food we had in Koh Samui.. we just can’t stand it but have to come back on 21 May 2024 (last night in Koh Samui before we fly back Singapore) to make this trip a COMPLETE one!

When we were back, we ordered almost the same dishes.. they knew we were going back to Singapore the next day and prepared all the food with extra “special” portion.. making us feel so loved and at HOME, maybe that is what being in a Thai home means?

Of course, the owner was generous to offer free water, mango sticky rice and waffle again.. it’s like small “gifts” for us to take back home..

PS: do order the fried rice with Shrimp or fried noodle with Shrimp.. the shrimps were so big and fresh.. really...

❤️Friendly family run restaurant ❤️

The restaurant's location is a little hidden (in a residential area) though it's not far from the fishermen's market. If you are looking for a romantic, beautiful restaurant, this will not be for you. The interior of the restaurant and the outdoor space are as basic as you can imagine like you would eat at a night market in Thailand.

However, the food and the service from the family were so wonderful. We ordered green chicken curry with rice, pad Thai with shrimp, pepper chicken curry, and some stir fry veggies with rice, and 2 coconut water for 500 baht shared with 4 people which is cheaper than the restaurants on the main street of Koh Samui.

Everything tasted great! Just before we finished our dinner, the mom (chef) brought out some mangoes and crackers for us as treats! They told us that they were happy to see customers and chatted with us a bit. The whole experience was like visiting an auntie's house for dinner and she cared how we were doing! We recommend this place to you if you like Thai home style cooking and...