Samut — Restaurant in Rawai

It should have been a 5 star review. But…

It all started with unexpected call. Lady was calling from a restaurant, which seemed at first like a call to confirm the reservation. But it was to inform that a guest toilet is going to be broken tonight… well… unexpected approach, but won’t ruin the night, right?

In the middle all was perfect. Attentive service, amazing food, decent wine served promptly.

Really, the only thing that could not be erased with any circumstance- food. I am not a fan of Thai cuisine in general, but whole experience was like Bon Jovi live show in my mouth. Just amazing, kudos to the Chef!

All turned around at the last minute of experience. By the time we were at the finishing line of the experience, service just flowed into “shove off” attitude. We got 2 last courses in same minute. After that instance, very attentive servers just vanished behind the counter.

On a last bite I had to come up for the check, roadside diner style and got served with fake smile and 1/2 unfinished bottle of wine with cork already inside and server’s eyes directed to the door.

On simple request, if we could finish our 100$ bottle of wine on the table outside(extremely dirty by the way), the answer was “The Glasses”. Period. Let’s leave true meaning to the imagination, but my best guess is that “The Glasses are watching, we need to run”.

All in all, I would still recommend (and will) this place to my friends to go and experience the food.

All in all, one of the most unprofessional service staff behaviour I have ever...

My husband and I honeymooned in Thailand for two weeks. In that time, we had some really terrific meals, including at Pru (one Michelin star) in Phuket and Baan Tepa (two stars) in Bangkok. Samut was our final dinner of the trip, and honestly was the best meal we had. The food would hold its own against some of the best restaurants at home in NYC.

Dishes ranged from the plain old scrumptious (a fried shrimp rice noodle dish with a peanut curry, a cold squid udon in broth) to the revelatory (a cured shaved fish on a pickled plum, an oyster with bean sprout risotto and an otherworldly taro purée, a coconut desert layered with a shrimp paste sticky rice). Many bites were surprising; every bite was delightful.

Samut was the best fusion of Thai flavors/ingredients with culinary technique/creativity we had. That being said, it’s definitely is rooted in core Thai flavors, so if you don’t like the funky/spicy flavors of fermented shrimp, chili paste, and curry paste, maybe choose a different restaurant (or, I dunno, a different country) to go to.

Service was lovely—less formal, more friendly, which is how I prefer it. Only issue—we were the only diners in the restaurant! And as much as we enjoyed our accidental private dining experience, this food deserves to be eaten and enjoyed by way more...

I have to say, if only talk about food, this could be my favorite during this trip. But then again overall experiences wise, probably not the best (still very enjoyable though).

I was here for lunch and, I was the only guest of the entire restaurant for the time I was there, I wonder why. Food is fantastic, innovative, yet incorporates local flavors very well. Good flow and balance among the dishes. I truly enjoyed the 16 course menu. It's pescatarian, no meat was served, only seafood, but I didn't even realize till later as I enjoyed almost every dishes. The main dish served as rice with soup and some side dishes were fantastic.

Surprisingly the wine list was also more extensive than most of the restaurants I have visited in Phuket. I ordered a good Italian which is very enjoyable and pairs well.

Service, on the other hand, was lukewarm. Polite but, feels lacking. There was not much interaction between staffs, chef and guest, even I was the only person there. It felt like I walked into a random store and they just have to open the shop for me (which is true actually haha).

Maybe it would be different during dinner or when there are more guests, but to go up another level, services definitely needs to be improved. Again, food...