Spices Cafe — Restaurant in Ko Samui

Spices Cafe is one of the restaurants you come across only rarely, an idyllic cross of family owned with an eye for detail and freshness that rivals the gourmet.

Come hungry and come excited. We went several times during our stay in Ko Samui and it's what we'll miss most about the island I think.

As soon as you enter you can see they've poured their heart and soul into the place and they've done it with a keen eye for clean, modern rustic comfort while never losing focus on the most outstanding part of the experience--the food.

We ordered seven dishes over two visits and each was a delight. Even their cocktails are wonderful (the best balanced drinks we had on the island in fact; the caipirinha was fantastic).

Their soups blaze with flavor. The sauces accompanying the rolls and other apps are so delightfully fresh and delicious it's tempting to take a jar home if they offered it for sale. The prawns were succulent and freshly pulled from the sea and bought that morning (as Dina, the owner, does every morning, we know cuz we asked when she visited our table :).

Each dish is well thought out and skillfully presented. And the price tag of 'one dollar sign' is true. We both gorged ourselves on food and drink and left with leftovers for ~$30.

I could go on, but I hope you're not still reading this and are already working on making a reservation.

Oh--there are two locations very close to each other, but only one is open right now. Don't be fooled if you drive by and see a Spices Cafe that's closed, the other is one block east and...

Spices is a wonderful small restaurant with excellent Thai cuisine. Traditional Thai dishes are refined and presented here with a subtle modern influence. All the ingredients are fresh and very diverse. We were there many times and we've had the chance to taste a lot of different dishes. It's hard for me to recommend only one single dish, especially because everything tasted so good. We combined always several different starters and different main dishes. It's not easy to please me cause I'm addicted to thai food. That is why I eat wherever the occasion offers Thai food. Besides, I already had a few intensive classes at cookery schools in Thailand. And I must say the food at Spices rank among the best I have ever had in Thailand. All dishes were absolutely mouth watering and delicious. Here only a few of our favorites: Larb Gai (Chicken Salad), Larb Plaa (Fish Salad), Tord Man Plaa (Fish Cakes), Som Tam (Papaya Salad), Gai Pad Gratiem Prik Thai (Garlic & Pepper Chicken), Phad Thai Gai (Thai Fried Noodles) and of course all different curries (specially the variations with fresh fish or prawns...) (I've heard the soups must also be amazing but unfortunately our holiday was to short to try all.)

We can't wait to go back to this cosy place and the wonderful friendly staff.

We can only recommend this restaurant (although we would love to keep this restaurant as our secret)!

... Unfortunately there is no place like...

Best Pad Thai in Samui

We discovered this gem of a restaurant on our second night at a nearby hotel and had dinner 4 nights in a row. The best Thai food we have had so far including high end Thai in Bangkok. Service was excellent and Mimi (along with all the team) deserves the biggest thank you - super friendly up for a chat and a laugh and makes a mean drink as well. Prices are extremely cheap and quality of food is next level. We will definitely come back again on our next visit. Thanks to the team for making us so welcome, for the wonderful food and the great service and...